Major League Baseball today announced that all clubs would be wearing a special MLB 150 patch on their sleeves throughout the 2019 regular season. The announcement follows a bit of a leak which showed part of the patch on the sleeve of a jersey back in January.

The patch contains the MLB “Batterman” silhouette logo, which was the logo used for the 100th anniversary of the league in 1969, surrounding this logo is MLB 150 on either side, MLB in blue on the left and 150 in red on the right – like the colours of the MLB logo itself.

Smaller than the usual patch, my thinking is it was created to slide in easily on every team jersey without requiring clubs to remove any existing team logo or planned commemorative patches, the shape and side would seem to suggest it could fit under any logo that may be on a sleeve. The same patch (but smaller) will be added to the side of all player ballcaps for the games played on Opening Day only – note that’s the league’s opening day, so if your team starts on the road you will not see the cap patch worn again at home.

While what we know as Major League Baseball didn’t quite begin one hundred and fifty years ago, the first professional ballclub did – the Cincinnati Red Stockings, which eventually paved the way for organized professional baseball leagues to begin in the 1870s, the current National League played their first season in 1876. The American League started up in 1901 with the two participating in the first World Series two years later in 1903.

The league has previously recognized the anniversary of the 1869 Red Stockings with a 100th anniversary patch in 1969 and a 125th anniversary patch in 1994. The Cincinnati Reds will do their own (epic) celebration of the Red Stockings by wearing 15! different throwback uniforms throughout the 2019 season.