Past glory and hope for the future combined for Friday’s dramatic unveiling of the 2012 Toronto Blue Jays uniforms at the Rogers Centre.

“It’s kind of throwback to the World Series Jays, but then a little modern for the newer Jays,” Toronto pitcher Brandon Morrow told thedailyplanet.com. He was one of seven Blue Jays players on hand to model the look.

The new logo has a bird similar to that of the original 70s design, and also includes the classic split lettering, maple leaf, and of course, blue.

“It didn’t make any sense, we were the Blue Jays but we had grey and black and we didn’t have any blue,” Jays senior vice-president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos told thedailyplanet.com.

The new uniforms will be white for home games, grey for away, and have the option of a royal blue alternate jersey.

Blue Jays president Paul Beeston said the design process took two years, and involved input from several people, including the players.

Jays rookie Brett Lawrie said he thinks the new uniforms will give the team a boost in their fanbase.

“I think it’s going to bring a lot more fans out and it’s going be a good vibe in the city,” Lawrie told thedailyplanet.com. “Everyone’s just going to be – wow now the Jays are back.”

As a Canadian, Lawrie said he’s excited to see the maple leaf back in the logo.

“It’s very special,” he said. “Not a lot of people get to play major league baseball and I get to do it in my home country.”

First-baseman Adam Lind was born in the United States, but also appreciates the Canadian addition.

“It’s cool to represent something more than just a team, you also represent a country,” Lind told thedailyplanet.com. “It’s exciting every time you look at your uniform you get to see that.”

Anthopoulos said the organization embraces its role as Canada’s baseball team and has been working to drum up support across the country.

“There’s a lot of interest from the east coast to the west coast and obviously that’ll only grow the better the team is,” he said.

The new gear hits Jays Shop locations Friday.

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