On Tuesday evening, the Norfolk Tides baseball team introduced a new creative identity that honors the region’s oceanic and military heritage. Gone is the longstanding and rather conservative identity that looked as if the team’s parent club were the Los Angeles Dodgers. Enter, stage right, a trident-bearing seahorse that has captured the attention of minor league baseball fans across the country.

Many in Western Tidewater may not have even realized the rebranding occurred. But for a fan of the Baltimore Orioles and its affiliates who is also obsessed with sports aesthetics like me, the date was circled on the calendar.

Few people understand my passion for sports logos and uniforms. In fact, there are only two dedicated websites — both of which I have contributed — and one forum that covers everything from contrast stitching on the Cleveland Browns’ jerseys to the unhappy robot reading a book hidden in the Chicago Bulls’ logo (flip it upside down). I’ve gained several contacts in the shoe and apparel business over the last few years and even started my own uniform blog months before I started working at The Tidewater News.

My work schedule is not conducive to the time it takes to compete with the aforementioned sites, though, so I’ve simply receded to tweeting the latest news when I uncover it first.

And while this newspaper is not necessarily the forum by which I would usually talk about my infatuation, Norfolk’s proximity has opened the door for me to share with our subscribers something they may not have known about the person behind the keyboard.

That said, I think that Tides’ update is a complete success. It offers a unique color scheme to sports — Battleship Gray, Sea Foam, Tidal Green, Orioles Orange and black — while paying homage to Hampton Roads’ nautical roots. The fonts bring to mind historic naval lettering, and the alternate anchor logo resemble those which you might find at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Not to mention the seahorse, which I can’t wait to wear on my head when I next visit Harbor Park.

ANDREW LIND is a staff writer and sports editor at The Tidewater News. He can be reached at (757) 562-3187, andrew.lind@tidewaternews.com or @AndrewMLind.