Orioles going retro with 2012 uniforms

BALTIMORE, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- The Baltimore Orioles are going retro with next year's uniform, bringing back cartoon orioles and orange jerseys, officials said Tuesday.

The 2012 uniforms will look more like those the team wore in 1992, the year Camden Yards opened, The Baltimore Sun reported. All team jerseys will also have a Camden Yards patch on the right sleeve, balanced by a Maryland flag logo on the left.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards, to give its full name, set a new style for ballparks. It was an updated version of the single-purpose baseball stadium in or near an urban downtown.

The team plans to emphasize the 20th anniversary next year. Dropping the realistic orioles is part of the move.

"We're always looking for ways in which to enhance the strength of our brand. And we feel that a change to the hat, adding a version of the cartoon bird, was a way in which to do that," said Greg Bader, the team's director of communications. "We find it has widespread appeal among many demographics, many age groups. … And it's a logo, it's a mark, that has a lot more character and personality than the ornithologically correct bird."