Appreciating minor league Star Wars uniforms

Happy Star Wars Day, Athletics Nation! What was once just a fun play on words on the internet (“May the 4th be with you”) has now expanded into a full-on cultural holiday.

As a lifelong fan of both the Oakland A’s and the Star Wars franchise, I always enjoy seeing the two intertwine. In recent years, the A’s have embraced the Star Wars theme at least once each summer for one of their fireworks nights, usually accompanied by plenty of cosplay during the opening ceremonies and throughout the night in the stands.

However, nobody capitalizes on pop culture for promotional purposes more than minor league baseball. Filling the seats ain’t easy in the minors, and they’re good at making use of creative ideas to attract more eyeballs. In the case of Star Wars, that often means special jerseys.

The High-A Stockton Ports were early to the game, using this starry design as far back as 2013.

The Ports upped their game even further in 2018, with this intricate layout. It’s almost like a full movie poster printed onto the shirt.

A closer look:

Photo from Stockton Ports Twitter account

In 2019, the Ports were stormtroopers, though they weren’t the only team to use that design.

The Double-A Midland RockHounds have also gotten in on the fun. In 2019 they sported some impressive duds, featuring Luke Skywalker and an X-Wing on the front, and Darth Vader and the Death Star on the back. (These photos are from the blog Rebel Random Ramblings.)

Rebel Random Ramblings

Rebel Random Ramblings

The Hounds also did the stormtrooper look, back in 2015:

Are there any other Star Wars jerseys I missed from the A’s minor league system? If so, share them in the comments! To see some more from other teams, here are some designs from the Dodgers minors at True Blue LA. Also make sure to check out the video below for some Coliseum fireworks.