1962–77: Original design

The original Mets uniforms from 1962 were of essentially the same design as the team's current primary home and road uniforms.^[18] The home uniform was white with blue pinstripes, "Mets" script in blue outlined in orange angled upward across the chest, with the player's number on the back of the jersey in blue block numerals outlined in orange, but no player name on the back and no numerals on the front. The cap was blue with the orange "NY" crest on the front panel, the same as the current cap but with a blue button on top of the crown. The road uniform also resembled the current road grays, with "NEW YORK" in Tiffany lettering radially arched across the chest, blue placket piping, and also with no player name on the back, no numerals on the front, and no piping on the sleeves. The primary logo appeared as a patch on the left sleeve of the road jersey in 1962, then was added to the home jersey in 1963.

Apart from the addition of numerals to the front of the jerseys in 1965,^[19] underneath the wordmark on the player's left side, and some variations to the numeral typeface, this uniform remained largely unchanged through 1973.^[20][21] A special New York World's Fair patch was worn on the left sleeve in 1964 and '65, in place of the Mets' primary logo.^[22][23] In 1969 the logo patch was supplanted by a patch commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Major League Baseball.^[24]

In 1974, the "Mets" script replaced the "NEW YORK" wordmark on the road jersey. The home uniform was unchanged.^[25][26]

On a few occasions in 1976, the Mets wore special "pillbox" caps that had a cylindrical (as opposed to hemispherical) crown and three thin orange horizontal stripes around the cap.^[27]

1978–82: Pullovers and player names

In 1978, the home and road jerseys changed from conventional button-down jerseys to Henley-style pullover jerseys, with two buttons just below the collar. The blue piping was removed from the road jerseys. Three thin stripes (blue-orange-blue) were added to the sleeve cuffs and collar on both home and road jerseys.^[28][29] Responsible for the redesign was chairman of the board M. Donald Grant.^[30]

In 1979, player names were added to the back of the jerseys, radially arched above the number in blue block letters outlined in orange. The letters were sewn onto an arched fabric "nameplate" (white on the home jerseys, grey on the road jerseys) that was in turn sewn onto the jersey itself.^[2]

1982–92: Racing stripes

In 1982, the primary logo patch was removed from the left sleeve of both jerseys, and the road uniforms added thick "racing stripes" (blue with orange borders) on the shoulders from neck to sleeve cuff, on the sides of the jerseys from the armpit to the hip, and on the sides of the pants from the beltline to the cuff; the collar and sleeve-cuff striping were removed.^[31] The two-button collar was replaced by a gray V-neck.^[32] The home jerseys received the same treatment in 1983, adding the "racing stripes" along with a blue V-neck.^[33][34]

From 1982–84, the team occasionally wore blue alternate jerseys on the road. The 1982 blue jersey, worn only rarely, had the "Mets" script, numerals and lettering in orange with white outline, and orange-blue-orange striping on the collar and sleeve cuffs.^[35] For 1983–84, the road blue alternate had the "Mets" script, numerals and lettering in grey with an orange outline, and orange-white-orange collar and sleeve striping.^[36]

In 1986, the team wore a special 25th Anniversary patch on the left sleeve, over the "racing stripes".^[37][38]

In 1987, the nameplates were eliminated and the letters of the players' names were sewn directly onto the jerseys.^[39] The collar on the road jerseys was changed from gray to blue, and the "Mets" script was replaced with "New York" in cursive script.^[40] This was replaced in 1988 by "NEW YORK" in radially-arched block letters (matching the names on the back^[41]), with no front numerals.^[42] Also in 1988, a thin white outline was added to the wordmark, numerals, lettering, and "racing stripes" on the road jerseys.^[43]

In 1991, the pullover jerseys became button-down jerseys, resulting in the elimination of the blue collars, and a thin white outline was added to the graphics on the home jerseys.^[44][45]

In 1992, the team wore a patch on the left sleeve, over the "racing stripes", consisting of a white circle with black outline, pinstripes, and the letter "S" in honor of the late William A. Shea, the New York attorney who was instrumental in bringing National League baseball back to New York, and for whom Shea Stadium was named.^[46][47]

1993–94: The "swoosh-tail"

In 1993, the color blue used on the Mets uniforms was changed to a slightly darker shade. The "racing stripes" were removed from both home and road uniforms, and the primary logo returned to the left sleeve. The "Mets" script on the home jersey was modified, and for the first time incorporated a "swoosh-tail" attached to the letter "s" underlining the wordmark. The road jersey had "New York" in cursive script, similar but not identical to the script used in 1987, and also with a "swoosh-tail" attached to the letter "k" underlining the wordmark. The road uniform had thin blue-orange-blue piping on the sleeve cuffs and on the sides of the pants from the beltline to the cuff.^[48]

In 1994, player numerals were added to the front of the road jersey, below the wordmark on the player's left side, and the piping was removed from the road uniform.^[49] Also in 1994, the primary-logo sleeve patch was modified to incorporate rectangular spaces above and below the circle, containing text commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1969 "Miracle Mets."^[50] On the right sleeve was a patch, worn league-wide, commemorating the 125th Anniversary of Major League Baseball.

1995–97: Back to basics

The Mets returned to their traditional uniform design in 1995. The original "Mets" script was restored to the home jersey; the road jersey eliminated the white outlining, revived the original "NEW YORK" wordmark and blue placket piping, and added blue piping to the sleeve ends.^[51]

In 1997, the blue button on the top of the caps was changed to orange. The Mets introduced an alternate home uniform that was plain white with no pinstripes, and blue piping matching the road uniform.^[52][53] The team also introduced an alternate cap with a white crown and blue bill. The "NY" crest on the alternate cap was blue with an orange outline, and the button on top of the cap was blue.^[52] The white cap was worn with the white alternate jersey on some occasions early in the season. Also in 1997, the team wore a patch on the right sleeve of all three jerseys commemorating the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking of Major League Baseball's color barrier.

1998–2011: Mets in black

In 1998, a black alternate jersey was introduced, matching the white home alternate in style but with the "Mets" script, numerals and lettering in blue with a white outline and an orange drop-shadow.^[54] The black jersey was worn as an alternate at home, paired with the white home alternate pants, and on the road.^[55] The team also introduced a black alternate cap with a blue bill, blue button on top, and "NY" crest in blue outlined in orange, to be worn with the black jerseys.^[56] The white alternate cap from 1997 was discontinued. A black drop-shadow was added to the script, numerals and lettering on the home white alternate^[57][58] and road gray^[59][60] jerseys.

In 1999, the black drop-shadow was added to the graphics on the home pinstriped uniforms,^[61][62] and a road version of the black alternate jersey (with the "NEW YORK" wordmark) was introduced.^[63] An alternate version of the Mets' primary logo, with a black skyline and "Mets" script in blue outlined in white with orange drop-shadow, was also introduced in 1999 and worn on the left sleeve of both black alternate jerseys. A second black alternate cap was added, this one with a black bill, black top-button, and "NY" crest in blue outlined in white with orange drop-shadow (matching the graphics on the black jerseys).^[64] This became commonly known as the "solid black cap" or "all-black cap" while the 1998 black alternate cap, which was retained, became known as the "two-tone cap" or "hybrid cap" thanks to its blue bill. Also in 1999, for that season only, the player names were removed from the back of all three home jerseys.

Although the Mets continued to officially designate the pinstriped uniform as the club's primary home uniform, and the blue cap with the orange crest as the primary cap,^[65] the reality of what was worn on the field from 1998 through 2009 was quite different. At some point during the 1998 season, the team began occasionally pairing the two-tone cap, which was designed to be worn with the black jerseys, with the white alternate jerseys and gray road uniforms as well. By the end of the 1998 season the two-tone cap had become the team's de facto road cap and was frequently worn at home with the white alternates as well as the black, but not with the pinstripes which still had no black trim. After 1998, the blue cap was worn only rarely and exclusively at home; the road gray jerseys were paired exclusively (except for one game in 2008) with the two-tone cap, and the black jerseys (home and road) were paired exclusively with the all-black cap. Although the home pinstriped and white uniforms were paired at various times with all three caps, in most home games during this period the team wore the white alternate uniform with the two-tone cap. All five uniforms were worn with black socks, belts, and undersleeves; the blue accessories appeared only with the blue caps. In addition, beginning in 2001 when the two-tone cap was designated as the official road cap and until it was discontinued after the 2011 season, the Mets were the only team in MLB to wear its designated road cap at home.

In 2001, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, when play resumed and for the balance of the season all MLB teams including the Mets had an American flag patch sewn onto the back of the collar of all game jerseys. The Mets added embroidery to the right sleeve cuff of all five jerseys showing the phrase "9-11-01" flanked by two American flags. In addition, beginning September 21 at their first home game after the attacks, the Mets wore caps of New York City's first-responder agencies—the Police Department (NYPD), Fire Department (FDNY), Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Port Authority Police (PAPD)—in place of their regular game caps. The Mets were only permitted to wear these caps during pre-game warmups on September 21 but defied MLB instructions and wore them in game play, that night and for the remainder of the season. All of the first-responder caps were navy blue, with either "NYPD" in white serif lettering, "FDNY" in thick yellow-orange-red gradient lettering, or the EMS or PAPD shield logo on the front. Typically, each player and coach chose one of the caps and wore that same one for the balance of the season.

In 2002, the Mets wore a patch on the right sleeve commemorating the club's 40th Anniversary.^[66] The "9-11-01" sleeve embroidery was carried over from the previous season.

In 2004, the Mets wore a patch on the right sleeve commemorating the 40th Anniversary of Shea Stadium.^[67] Below this patch, embroidered onto the sleeve in black lettering on the pinstriped, white and gray jerseys and white lettering on the black jerseys, was the phrase "Ya Gotta Believe" and the name "TUG", in honor of former Mets pitcher Tug McGraw who died on January 5. Also in 2004, the name of longtime Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy was embroidered on the left sleeve above the primary logo patch after Murphy died on August 3.^[68]

Prior to 2006, throughout Mets history, the team's batting helmets were designed to match the caps. The 1976 "pillbox" cap had no corresponding batting helmet, nor did the 1997 white alternate cap (although first baseman John Olerud and catcher Todd Hundley wore white helmets on the field); the team used its standard batting helmets (matching the primary caps) in all games. Beginning in 1998, each alternate cap had a matching corresponding batting helmet with the same crown and bill colors, and the same "NY" logo crest applied as a decal on the front of the helmet. In 2006, however, the club began using the Rawlings Coolflo batting helmet, and changed the design of the two-tone helmet such that the cap and helmet no longer matched. The helmet shell was black; the bill and the front of the crown were painted metallic blue, the area of which conformed to the surface contours of the helmet shell and faded gradually toward the back. The "NY" crest on the front of this helmet was black with a white outline and orange drop-shadow. The blue and all-black helmets received the same metallic paint treatment as the two-tone helmet, but still essentially matched the respective caps as the metallic paint was the same color as the helmet shell and the "NY" logo decals matched the crests on the corresponding caps.

In 2008, the Mets wore a patch on the right sleeve denoting the final season of Shea Stadium.^[69] For the team's final home series at Shea in late September, the patch was embroidered on the left side of the caps. Also in 2008, for the first game of a doubleheader on June 27 against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, the Mets wore blue caps and accessories with the road gray uniforms for the first time since 1998. This combination would not appear again until the black trim, caps, and accessories were eliminated for the 2012 season.

In 2009, the Mets wore a patch on the right sleeve of their home jerseys to mark the opening of their new ballpark, Citi Field.^[70] A different Inaugural Season logo for Citi Field was placed on the left side of the caps, worn at home and on the road.^[71] Neither logo patch contained the name of the ballpark, in deference to MLB rules prohibiting corporate names or logos (other than those of the uniform manufacturer) from appearing on the uniform; similar logos containing the name "Citi Field" were designed and used in publications, signage and other contexts.^[72][73] Also in 2009, the road ("NEW YORK") version of the black alternate jersey was discontinued, although the home ("Mets") version continued to be worn as an alternate in road games as well as at home.^[74]

In 2010, the home white alternate uniform was re-designated as the primary home uniform.^[75] The pinstriped uniform was re-designated as an alternate, with the fabric base color changed from white to off-white/cream.^[61] This uniform was paired exclusively with the blue cap, which was still the designated home cap and was worn somewhat more often in 2010 and 2011 than it had been from 1998–2009, but still only at home.

2012–present: Back to basics, again

In 2012, the black drop-shadow was removed from all of the team's jersey graphics, and the two-tone cap was discontinued. The off-white/cream-colored pinstriped uniform became the primary home uniform,^[76] the white uniform became the home alternate,^[77] the blue cap with orange crest became the sole uniform cap for both home and road games, and all three uniforms were worn with blue socks, belts and undersleeves.^[78] The metallic paint treatment on the batting helmets was discontinued. The black jerseys and all-black caps were retained but worn only twice, on occasions honoring former players Edgardo Alfonzo and John Franco who wore them during significant portions of their Mets careers.^[79] A special 50th Anniversary logo patch supplanted the primary logo patch on the left sleeve of the home, alternate and road jerseys, was added to the right sleeve of the black jerseys, and was also embroidered on the back of the caps.^[80] A memorial patch for former Mets catcher and Hall of Famer Gary Carter was worn on the right sleeve of the home, alternate and road jerseys, and on the front of the black jerseys by the player's right shoulder. This patch was black, in the shape of home plate, with "KID" (Carter's nickname) above "8" (Carter's number) in white lettering.

In 2013, the Mets hosted the All-Star Game, and wore a corresponding logo patch on the left sleeve of their jerseys, supplanting the primary logo for another year. The team also added blue home and road alternate jerseys to its uniform rotation. The blue home jersey had the "Mets" script, numerals and lettering in orange outlined in white, and orange placket and sleeve piping, and was worn with the white home alternate pants. The road version had the "NEW YORK" wordmark, numerals, and lettering in grey outlined in orange. Also in 2013, the club introduced an alternate cap with a blue crown, orange bill, and "NY" logo crest in orange outlined in white, but with no corresponding alternate batting helmet. This alternate cap was worn occasionally at home, with either the blue or white alternate jerseys. The black alternate jerseys were not worn at all in 2013, despite indications that the club might retain them for special occasions as it did in 2012, and thus were finally phased out.

In 2014, the blue alternate jerseys were given a new left-sleeve patch depicting the Mets' mascot, "Mr. Met", in a running pose facing to the left of the viewer toward the front of the jersey.^[81] The primary-logo patch returned to the left sleeve of the home pinstriped, white alternate and road gray jerseys after being supplanted for two years. Also in 2014, the Mets wore a patch on the right sleeve of all five jerseys honoring former longtime Mets broadcaster and baseball Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, who died on February 6.^[82] The patch was a black circle with silver border and lettering, depicting a microphone at center with the name "RALPH KINER" circumscribed above and "1922–2014" below.

In addition, the Mets introduced a military-camouflage alternate jersey for 2014, to be worn in select Monday home games.^[83] This jersey had the regular home "Mets" script and numerals with no piping, and an American flag patch in place of the primary logo on the left sleeve. It was worn with a matching camouflage cap, with the "NY" logo crest in blue outlined in orange.^[84]

In September 2014, a revised version of the Mets' primary logo began to appear on the club's social media accounts, substituting the Citigroup Center for the United Nations building on the right side of the skyline. The club subsequently announced that the primary logo was not changing and the accounts reverted to the proper logo.^[85]

In 2015, the Mets changed the fabric base color of the home pinstriped uniform from off-white/cream to white, and discontinued the white alternate uniform. As a result, the blue home alternate jerseys were worn with the pinstriped pants. The club also added an alternate road cap, with a blue crown and bill and the "NY" logo in grey outlined in orange, matching the road blue alternate jerseys; as with the home alternate cap, there was no corresponding alternate batting helmet.

In 2016, the Mets wore 1986 "throwback" uniforms in every Sunday home game, to mark the 30th anniversary of the club's last world championship.^[86] The uniform featured the same pullover jersey, blue collar, "racing stripes", and commemorative patch worn in 1986. The military-camouflage alternate jerseys and caps were discontinued.^[87]

For the 2017 season, the Mr. Met sleeve patch on the blue alternate jerseys was replaced by the standard primary-logo patch.^[88] The Mets also revised their home alternate cap, replacing the orange bill with a blue bill.^[2][89]

In 2018, beginning with the second game of the season on March 31, the Mets wore a memorial patch on the right sleeve of their jerseys to honor Rusty Staub, who died on March 29. The patch was a black circle with Staub's autograph (first name only) rendered in orange.^[90]

In 2020 the Mets made minor changes to their batting helmets, giving the orange "NY" logo decal a metallic sheen^[91] and removing the orange dot from the top of the crown.^[92] Beginning September 4, a memorial patch for Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, who died on August 31, was worn on the right sleeve of the Mets' jerseys; a black circle with white outline, and Seaver's number 41 in white. For the 2021 season the Mets wore a different Seaver tribute patch, this one a white circle with an orange outline, blue pinstripes, and Seaver's 41 in blue outlined in orange.^[93][94]

On March 29, 2021, Mets owner Steve Cohen announced that the team would bring back the black jerseys for "a few games" later in the 2021 season.^[95] On July 15, the Mets announced that the black jerseys would be worn in Friday home games starting on July 30 for the remainder of the 2021 regular season.^[96] The jerseys featured the standard primary-logo patch on the left sleeve, matching the original black jerseys from 1998, and were worn with plain white pants with blue piping and the all-black caps and batting helmets used from 1999-2012. The Mets brought back the black jerseys, without the blue piping, as a full-season Friday home alternate for 2022, and discontinued the blue alternate road jersey and cap.^[97] Also in 2022, after one game wearing the blue home alternate jerseys with pinstriped pants (as they had done since 2015) the Mets switched to the plain white pants with blue piping for the blue home alternates.

In 2023, beginning with the team's home opener on April 7, the Mets added an advertising patch to the sleeves of their jerseys. The advertiser is NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; the patch initially consisted of a large white square outlined in red with the advertiser's name and logo in red lettering.^[98] Almost immediately after the ad patch debuted the Mets indicated that its colors would change from red and white to "a more team-friendly look."^[99] On April 25, 2023 the team introduced a revised ad patch which reduced the large white square to a smaller blue rectangle outlined in orange and horizontally oriented around the advertiser's logo and wordmark in white lettering.^[100] Although the Mets have traditionally worn the primary-logo patch on the left sleeve, its position now depends on the player's handedness; left-handed batters and pitchers still have the primary-logo patch on the left sleeve, with the ad patch on the right sleeve, while right-handed batters and pitchers have the ad patch on the left sleeve with the primary-logo patch moved to the right sleeve. Switch-hitters have the patches placed according to the opposing team's starting pitcher; primary on the left, ad on the right against right-handed starters, the opposite against left-handed starters.

In 2024, Major League Baseball clubs began using a new uniform template that resulted in some minor changes to the Mets' uniforms. The MLB batterman logo on the back of the collar was moved downward (below the piping on the blue home alternate and road gray jerseys) resulting in the players' names being rendered in smaller letters, while the front numeral typeface was altered to be slightly thinner and taller.^[101][102] Also in 2024, the Mets made additional changes to their black home alternate jerseys and caps, changing the graphics to blue with an orange outline.^[103] On March 25, 2024 the Mets announced that they would wear a memorial patch for former player, coach and manager Bud Harrelson, who died on January 11, on their uniform sleeves above the primary logo. The diamond-shaped patch is black with a white outline, containing the numeral "3" (Harrelson's number) outlined in white with the name "BUDDY" in solid block letters inscribed vertically through the open side of the "3" from bottom to top.^[104]