City Connect

Last updated

Masyn Winn wearing the City Connect jersey of the 2024 St. Louis Cardinals Maysn Winn 2024.jpg
Masyn Winn wearing the City Connect jersey of the 2024 St. Louis Cardinals

City Connect is a brand name for a line of alternate uniforms made by Nike, Inc. for Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The uniforms feature different color schemes, typefaces, and graphic elements compared with the teams' typical home and away uniforms. The uniforms are designed to reflect the cultural aspects of each team's home city. [1] According to the agreement, teams may rotate in a new jersey after three years to debut a new look. [2]

Contents

Of the MLB's 30 teams, 28 have a City Connect uniform. The New York Yankees (who traditionally do not wear an alternate uniform) and the Athletics (who are not officially associated with any city during their planned relocation to Las Vegas) are the only two teams without a City Connect uniform.

Teams

Nike and MLB introduced the first round of City Connect uniforms during the 2021 season for seven teams, (Red Sox, Marlins, White Sox, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Giants, Dodgers). A second round debuted during the 2022 season for another seven teams (Nationals, Astros, Royals, Rockies, Angels, Brewers, Padres), a third during the 2023 season for six teams (Braves, Rangers, Mariners, Reds, Orioles, Pirates), and a fourth during the 2024 season for nine teams (Phillies, Mets, Rays, Tigers, Guardians, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Twins, Dodgers). [3]

2021

Logan Webb wearing San Francisco's City Connect uniforms before a game in 2021 Logan Webb 20210928 (cropped).jpg
Logan Webb wearing San Francisco's City Connect uniforms before a game in 2021

Seven teams started wearing City Connect jerseys during the 2021 MLB season.

2022

Dominic Smith wearing Washington's City Connect uniforms during a game in 2023 Dominic Smith (52995692184) (cropped).jpg
Dominic Smith wearing Washington's City Connect uniforms during a game in 2023

The seven teams that introduced City Connect uniforms in 2021 would continue to wear them for selected games. Seven additional teams introduced City Connect uniforms in 2022.

2023

Corbin Burnes wearing Baltimore's City Connect uniforms during a game in 2024 Corbin Burnes (53707022434) (cropped).jpg
Corbin Burnes wearing Baltimore's City Connect uniforms during a game in 2024

Six teams wore City Connect uniforms for the first time in 2023. [22]

2024

Eight teams revealed their City Connect uniforms and wore them for the first time in 2024. The Los Angeles Dodgers also revealed their second City Connect uniform design during the season. [29]

Luis Severino wearing New York's City Connect uniforms in 2024 Luis Severino pitching, May 25, 2024 - 01-00005 (cropped).jpg
Luis Severino wearing New York's City Connect uniforms in 2024
Tanner Bibee (53749194714) (cropped).jpg
Tanner Bibee (53749058653) (cropped).jpg
Tanner Bibee wearing Cleveland's City Connect uniforms in 2024
JoJo Romero wearing St. Louis' City Connect uniforms in 2024 Romero pitch 2024.png
JoJo Romero wearing St. Louis' City Connect uniforms in 2024

2025

The 2025 season will see eight teams debut a second City Connect design:

2026

No City Connect uniform

The following teams do not have a City Connect uniform:

Summary table

This is a summary list of the teams that have worn City Connect uniforms, their reveal dates, their on-field debut dates, their most recent use, the number of times each team has worn in total and the total for the current season, and their usage patterns during the 2025 MLB season.

TeamOn-field debutReveal dateLatest useTimes usedTimes used in 2024UsageSources
Arizona Diamondbacks June 18, 2021June 13, 2021September 24, 20245015Tuesday home games [4]
20252025TBA
Athletics
Atlanta Braves April 8, 2023March 27, 2023September 28, 20242813Saturday home games [23]
Baltimore Orioles May 26, 2023May 22, 2023September 20, 20242716Friday home games [24]
Boston Red Sox April 17, 2021April 6, 2021September 28, 20245015 Patriots' Day weekend; Saturday home games [5]
20252025TBA
Chicago Cubs June 12, 2021June 8, 2021September 6, 2024317Friday home games (June−September) [6]
Chicago White Sox June 5, 2021May 28, 2021September 9, 20244010Monday home games [7]
20252025TBA
Cincinnati Reds May 19, 2023May 13, 2023September 20, 20242312Friday home games [25]
Cleveland Guardians May 17, 2024May 12, 2024September 27, 20242020Various home games [34]
Colorado Rockies June 4, 2022May 27, 2022September 28, 20244712Saturday home games [13]
20252025TBA
Detroit Tigers May 10, 2024May 6, 2024September 13, 20241616Friday home games [33]
Houston Astros April 20, 2022April 10, 2022September 23, 2024257Monday home games [15]
20252025TBA
Kansas City Royals April 30, 2022April 25, 2022September 20, 20243914Friday home games [16]
Los Angeles Angels June 11, 2022June 6, 2022September 16, 20243610Various home games [17]
Los Angeles Dodgers August 20, 2021August 19, 2021September 18, 202319Various home games [8]
June 22, 2024June 17, 2024September 21, 202477Saturday home games [47]
Miami Marlins May 21, 2021May 17, 2021September 21, 20245014Saturday home games [11]
20252025TBA
Milwaukee Brewers June 24, 2022June 17, 2022September 27, 20244214Friday home games [18]
Minnesota Twins June 14, 2024June 10, 2024September 27, 20241313Friday and Saturday home games [47]
New York Mets April 27, 2024April 19, 2024September 21, 20241212Saturday home games [31]
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies April 12, 2024April 5, 2024September 13, 20241212Friday home games [30]
Pittsburgh Pirates June 27, 2023June 22, 2023September 13, 20242214Friday home games [26]
San Diego Padres July 8, 2022July 1, 2022September 20, 20243513Friday home games [19]
San Francisco Giants July 9, 2021July 5, 2021September 10, 20244610Tuesday home games [12]
20252025TBA
Seattle Mariners May 5, 2023April 28, 2023September 27, 20242818Friday home games [27]
St. Louis Cardinals May 25, 2024May 20, 2024September 20, 20241212Various home games [35]
Tampa Bay Rays May 3, 2024April 29, 2024September 21, 20241919Saturday home games [48] [32]
Texas Rangers April 21, 2023April 17, 2023September 20, 20243311Friday home games [28]
Toronto Blue Jays May 31, 2024May 30, 2024September 25, 20241616Various night home games [36]
Washington Nationals April 9, 2022March 29, 2022September 29, 20246224Friday and Saturday home games [20]
20252025TBA

Reaction

Boston.com conducted a poll of its readers in April 2021 and found a polarized reaction to the Red Sox's yellow and blue City Connect jerseys. About 49% of respondents said that they loved the new uniforms, about 36% said that they hated them, and about 9% chose the "I'm speechless" option. [49] After the Red Sox wore the City Connect uniforms for four consecutive games in September 2021, winning all four, manager Alex Cora said that the team would continue to wear them for as long as they kept winning. "I'm sorry, but if we continue winning, we've got to stay with them," Xander Bogaerts told NESN. [50]

A columnist for the San Francisco Examiner wrote in May 2022 that the Giants had a record of 122 in their City Connect jerseys. Although some fans derided their design as looking like an orange Creamsicle, fans eventually warmed to the jersey, increasingly wearing them to games on Tuesday nights, when the team typically wears their City Connect uniforms. [51]

Of the first 11 City Connect designs, USA Today's For the Win blog ranked the White Sox's uniform design as the best and the Giants' design as the worst. [52] In a July 2022 review ranking the first 14 uniform designs, ESPN's Joon Lee described the City Connect program as the league's boldest alternative jersey designs since the Turn Ahead the Clock promotions of the late 1990s. Lee rated the Rockies' City Connect uniforms as the best, and the Dodgers as the worst. [3]

The Padres' City Connect uniforms generated $240,000 in revenue at the team's official store on July 1, 2022, their first day of sale. The last time the team introduced a new alternative uniform, in 2020, the team store sold $73,000 worth of merchandise on launch day. [53]

Upon its announcement in 2023, the Texas Rangers' City Connect design met with polarized reactions from local sports media commentators and fans, particularly about the hybrid "Peagle" mascot that appeared on the uniform tops. [54] [55] [56] [57]

Baltimore's City Connect design drew positive reviews for the colorful interior patterns, and also criticism for its mostly black, unadorned exterior. [58] The Orioles' players liked the look of their City Connect uniforms. [59]

Of the 20 designs that were announced during the first three seasons of City Connect, Joon Lee ranked the Orioles' design 20th, noting comparisons to Great Britain's generic uniforms at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Lee rated the Rockies' design as the best. [60] Three writers for The Athletic voted on their preferences among the first 20 City Connect designs. The Giants' and Rangers' designs tied for last place; the White Sox were rated as the best. [61]

See also

References

  1. Thompson, Jackson. "Nike unveils NBA-like 'City Connect' uniform for Boston Red Sox, with more MLB teams coming soon", Insider. April 16, 2021.
  2. Wells, Adam (September 14, 2024). "Rockies to Get New City Connect Uniforms for 2025 MLB Season". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Lee, Joon (July 1, 2022). "Ranking MLB's radical City Connect uniforms: Which one's No. 1?". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "D-backs reveal City Connect series uniforms". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Red Sox unveil Patriots' Day-inspired unis". MLB.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Cubs embrace all of Chicago with new unis". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  7. 1 2 "New White Sox jerseys a true game changer". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Los Dodgers! Los Angeles Unveils New, Truly Dodger Blue, City Connect Uniform".
  9. "New Dodgers City Connect Cap for 2022 Season". June 6, 2022.
  10. "New Dodgers City Connect Pants For 2023 Season". April 17, 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Marlins unveil Cuban-inspired uniforms". MLB.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Giants rep Golden Gate, fog on new unis". MLB. July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Rockies' City Connect uniforms a nod to iconic Colorado plates". MLB.com.
  14. Purple Row [@PurpleRow] (April 8, 2023). "Big uniform news: *Except for today*, when the Rockies wear their City Connect uniforms during the day, they will wear white pants. For night games, they will wear their green pants. But today is special, so white pants at night" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  15. 1 2 "Astros reveal space-themed City Connect unis". Houston Astros. MLB. April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  16. 1 2 "Royals unveil City Connect uniform". Kansas City Royals. MLB. April 25, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Angels City Connect unis rep SoCal beach scene". Los Angeles Angels. MLB. June 6, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  18. 1 2 "Brewers unveil "Brew Crew" City Connect uniforms". Milwaukee Brewers. MLB. June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  19. 1 2 "San Diego culture, colors highlight Padres City Connect unis". San Diego Padres. MLB. July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  20. 1 2 "Cherry blossoms burst with flair on Nationals' City Connect uniforms". Washington Nationals. MLB. April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  21. Camerato, Jessica (January 26, 2024). "Nationals unveil new uniforms for 2024". Washington Nationals. MLB. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  22. Svoboda, Dylan (March 27, 2023). "Braves, Rangers, Mariners, Reds, O's, Bucs to wear City Connect unis". MLB.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  23. 1 2 "Braves honor Aaron's legacy with new City Connect uniforms". Major League Baseball. MLB Advanced Media. March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  24. 1 2 Rill, Jake. "O's drop bold new City Connect jerseys -- with a surprise inside". MLB.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  25. 1 2 "Reds' City Connect unis a nod to the future, younger generations". MLB.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  26. 1 2 "'We bleed black and gold': Bucs unveil City Connect uniforms". MLB.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  27. 1 2 "Spirit, colors of Pacific Northwest come alive in Mariners' City Connect unis". MLB.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  28. 1 2 "Texas Rangers Reveal Nike City Connect Jerseys, Pay Homage to Dallas-Fort Worth" . Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  29. "9 new City Connect uniforms coming in 2024". MLB.com. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  30. 1 2 "Phillies unveil 'Unapologetically Philly' City Connect uniforms". Phillies.com.
  31. 1 2 "IYKYK: Mets' City Connect jerseys are for all of NYC". MLB.com. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  32. 1 2 "Skateboarding culture inspires Rays' City Connect uniforms". MLB.com. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  33. 1 2 "Tigers' City Connect unis celebrate the Motor City". MLB.com. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  34. 1 2 "Guardians dig into The Land's history for City Connect uniforms". MLB.com. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  35. 1 2 "'From The Lou and proud': Cards City Connects a fresh take on iconic brand". MLB.com. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  36. 1 2 "Blue Jays go 'Night Mode' for City Connect uniforms". MLB.com. May 30, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  37. "New drip: Twins' City Connect unis inspired by 'Ripple Effect'". MLB.com. June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  38. "History of LA frames next set of Dodgers' City Connect unis". MLB.com. June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  39. Crowley, Tim (September 25, 2024). "Red Sox Will Reveal New Uniform In Significant Jersey Shakeup For 2025". NESN.com. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  40. "Rockies Set to Discontinue Nike City Connect Uniforms, Introduce New Look in 2025". Fastball On SI. September 13, 2024. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  41. Young, Matt (September 19, 2024). "Astros will wear Space City uniforms for final time Monday, new City Connect jerseys coming in 2025". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  42. Sussman, Eli. "Marlins to retire 'Sugar Kings' City Connect uniforms". FishonFirst. September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  43. Lehman, Gabe (September 10, 2024). "SF Giants say goodbye to their critically loathed City Connect jerseys". SFGATE. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  44. Adducchio, Benjamin (January 27, 2024). "Nationals make surprising decision on their City Connect uniforms". ClutchPoints | Washington Nationals News. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  45. "Final year of the club's pink and mint City Connect uniforms".
  46. "More Signs That the Yankees Won't Have a City Connect Uniform". Uni-Watch.com. January 2, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  47. 1 2 "Tracking MLB's City Connect uniforms". ESPN.com. April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  48. "Rays City Connect | Tampa Bay Rays". MLB.com. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  49. Chianca, Peter (April 8, 2021). "Boston.com readers love the Red Sox Patriots' Day look - except for the ones that hate it". Boston.com. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  50. Starr, Gabrielle (September 22, 2021). "Red Sox will continue to wear lucky yellow City Connect uniforms". BoSox Injection. Fansided. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  51. Kassel, Ethan (May 26, 2022). "San Francisco Giants win but eyeballs lose with Creamsicle uniforms". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  52. Curtis, Charles (June 6, 2022). "The MLB alternate City Connect Nike jerseys, ranked: Where the Angels' threads land". For The Win. USA Today. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  53. Bacharach, Erik (July 19, 2022). "Padres City Connect jerseys bring revenue bump". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  54. Dearmore, Kelly (April 18, 2023). "Texas Rangers City Connect Uniforms Don't Connect With Many Sports Personalities". Dallas Observer. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  55. Dow, Lawrence (April 18, 2023). "Social media is conflicted over the Rangers' newly released City Connect jerseys". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  56. "Texas Rangers fans disgusted by team's City Connect outfits: "Must have had an elementary school contest on designing the uniforms"". sportskeeda.com. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  57. "The Texas Rangers New City Connect Uniforms are Awful". sportstalk790.iheart.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  58. Worthington, Aliza (May 22, 2023). "Orioles unveil City Connect uniforms to mixed reviews". Baltimore Fishbowl. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  59. Kostka, Andy (May 23, 2023). "Here's what Orioles players actually think about the City Connect jersey". The Baltimore Banner. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  60. Lee, Joon (June 22, 2023). "Ranking MLB's radical City Connect uniforms: Which one's No. 1?". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  61. Jones, Jason; Koreen, Eric; Edwards III, James L. (June 28, 2023). "MLB City Connect series: All 20 uniforms ranked, including the newest ones from 2023". The Athletic. Retrieved June 29, 2023.