Twins Get New Alternates 

Twins Get New Alternates

Opening Day may still be months away, but the Minnesota Twins are already making some changes in the way the team will look for the 2006 season.
On Wednesday, the Twins will unveil two new jerseys to be worn by the club during the upcoming year.

The headliner of the uniform additions will be the introduction of a white sleeveless jersey as an alternate home uniform. The new jersey will be similar to the traditional white Twins home jersey, with blue pinstripes and the Twins script logo in red on the front. A navy blue undergarment will be worn in combination with the jersey. It is the first time in club history that Minnesota will sport a sleeveless jersey during games.

"We've seen some of the other teams around the league have these types of jerseys, and we liked the look," said Brad Ruiter, Twins director of corporate communications. "It's been a few years since we added a uniform to the mix, so we decided to add this sleeveless jersey to our ensemble."

The Twins will also unveil a newly designed navy blue alternate/batting practice jersey that will replace a similar one worn during the 2005 season. The new batting practice jersey will feature the traditional red and white "TC" logo on the upper left portion of the chest with the back featuring players' numbers in red.

Adding the sleeveless jersey means the Twins now have six uniform combinations. In 2005, Minnesota wore five different uniform options: a home white jersey and pants with blue pinstripes; a home navy blue jersey and white pants with blue pinstripes; a gray away jersey and pants with blue pinstripes; a road navy blue jersey and gray pants with blue pinstripes; and a standard navy blue practice jersey with either white or gray pants.

It has yet to be determined exactly when the new jerseys will be worn or how often, but the first priority is to introduce them to Twins fans.

"We wanted to make sure that the new jerseys were available to the fans prior to the holidays," Ruiter said. "We've had very positive feedback from our players on the look and we wanted our fans to have the opportunity to get that new look for their favorite Twins fan."