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]
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.
Seven teams started wearing City Connect jerseys during the 2021 MLB season.
Arizona Diamondbacks (first design), sand-colored with black letters and red numbers, and with "Serpientes" in front as an homage to Arizona's Hispanic community.[4] The uniform was retired after the 2024 season and was replaced with a new City Connect uniform.
Boston Red Sox (first design), with a yellow base and blue letters as an homage to the Boston Marathon, which normally takes place on Patriots' Day.[5] Starting in 2025, the yellow City Connect uniforms were added as a regular alternate uniform and a second City Connect uniform was introduced (see below).
Chicago White Sox (first design), in a dark grey shade with white pinstripes and featuring Gothic-styled lettering as an homage to the South Side of Chicago. Alongside the Red Sox, in 2025, the “Southside” City Connect uniforms were added as a regular alternate uniform and were replaced with a new City Connect uniform (see below).
Los Angeles Dodgers (first design), with a blue cap, jersey, and pants with “Los Dodgers” written on the cap and jersey. Jersey also includes black on the sleeves as a nod to street art culture in Los Angeles.[7] Cap was revised in 2022, moving the "Los Dodgers" to the side, replacing it with the traditional "LA" logo, and adding black to the brim and button.[8] In 2023, white pants with blue piping replaced the blue pants,[9] before being replaced by a new City Connect jersey the following year (see below).
Miami Marlins (first design), with a red base, white pinstripes, and white letters with light blue trim as a tribute to the Cuban Sugar Kings.[10] The uniform was retired after the 2024 season and was replaced with a new City Connect uniform (see below).
San Francisco Giants (first design), with an orange and white design, a silhouette of the Golden Gate Bridge, and a unique fog gradient across the front, sleeves, and numbering of the jerseys.[11] The uniform was retired after the 2024 season and was replaced with a new City Connect uniform (see below).
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.
Colorado Rockies (first design), with a green base, purple accents, Colorado written on the front and a special logo on the cap resembling the state's license plates.[12] In 2023, white pants were added as an alternative during day games, with the green pants being used for night games.[13] The uniform was retired after the 2024 season and was replaced with a new City Connect uniform (see below).
Houston Astros (first design), with a navy base, tequila sunrise accents (suggestive of its 70s and 80s rainbow uniforms), "Space City" stenciled in the NASA 'worm' font on the front, and a hat with a planet revolving around a futuristic version of the "H-star" logo, in honor of Houston being home to the Johnson Space Center.[14] The uniform was retired after the 2024 season and was replaced with a new City Connect uniform (see below).
Kansas City Royals, with a navy base and powder blue accents, and a stylized "KC" insignia in homage to Kansas City's "City of Fountains" nickname.[15]
Los Angeles Angels, with a sand base, red accents and "Angels" written on the front in honor of the beaches in Southern California.[16]
Milwaukee Brewers, with a powder blue base, navy accents, yellow and white striping, a grill and bratwurst patch, the team's "Brew Crew" nickname, and the MKE airport code with "414" blended in on the hat in honor of being in Milwaukee during the summer.[17]
San Diego Padres (first design), with a white base, pink and mint sleeves, and San Diego on the front in honor of the culture of both the city of San Diego and Tijuana.[18] The uniform will be retired after the 2025 season and will be replaced with a new City Connect uniform (see below).
Six teams wore City Connect uniforms for the first time in 2023.[21]
Atlanta Braves, with a white base, blue sleeves, and red accents, heavily inspired by the team's 1974 season home uniform worn by Hank Aaron when he surpassed Babe Ruth with his 715th home run.[22]
Baltimore Orioles, with a black base and white accents. The jersey is inspired by Baltimore and its neighborhoods. The cap features an italic B (commonly used on the Orioles Away Jersey). The jersey features the word “Baltimore” in capital letters and white lettering. On the collar and the piping, it features the colors and shapes of the neighborhoods of Baltimore.[23] In 2024, the Orioles added white pants to their City Connect uniforms as an alternative to black pants.
Cincinnati Reds, with a black base and red accents. The jersey features a diamond shape "C" on the cap and jersey. It also features the word "CINCY" (nickname for Cincinnati) across the chest. On the collar it features an Ohio Buckeye and under it is the motto of Cincinnati, "Juncta Juvant" ("Strength of Unity" in English).[24]
Pittsburgh Pirates, with a gold base and black accents. The Jersey and Pants colors are similar to the flag of Pittsburgh. The jersey features the abbreviation of Pittsburgh, "PGH". The uniform also features a custom print with three elements: the inverted "Y", the asteroid, and the check. Inside of the "PGH" and the numbers on the back features a pattern located on the sides of the Three Sisters Bridges.[25] In 2024, the City Connect uniforms were paired occasionally with the home white pants and the black "P" batting practice cap featuring Stargell Stars.
Seattle Mariners, with a dark blue base with yellow lettering and black pants. It features a patch on the jersey sleeve featuring Mount Rainier, as well as the letters "PNW", an acronym for Pacific Northwest. The uniform also features the colors of Amarillo, Rush Blue, and Sundown, representing the inaugural colors of the team, as well as the word "Seattle" across the chest in the lettering style of the city's first Major League Baseball team, the Seattle Pilots.[26]
Texas Rangers, with a cream base, black lettering, pants, and cap, and red numbers. The jersey features the Texas abbreviation "TX" on the left side of the jersey; it is also featured in the cap, but in white lettering. The sleeve of the jersey features a Peagle, a mix between a panther and an eagle, representing the Fort Worth Panthers and Dallas Eagles, two former minor league teams that were based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.[27]
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.[28]
Cleveland Guardians, with a dark blue base, white lettering and pants, and red and white stripes. The jersey features Cleveland's abbreviation "CLE" across the chest and in white lettering. It also featured a red and white stripe pattern around the jersey, which pays tribute to the team's past uniforms from the 1990s. The cap features a dark blue diamond-shaped "C" along with white and dark blue colors. The uniform is to pay tribute to the Guardians of Traffic statues at the Hope Memorial Bridge, which connects to Progressive Field.[29]
Detroit Tigers, with a navy blue gradient base and white lettering. The jersey features Detroit's nickname "Motor City" across the chest in white lettering, while the cap, which is dark navy blue, features the city name across in white lettering. The uniform is to pay tribute to the automotive industry in Detroit.[30]
Los Angeles Dodgers (second design), with a cream base and blue lettering. The jersey features the city name in dusk and electric blue lettering. The sleeve features the "LA" interlocked along with the Dodgers scripted "D" combined in dusk blue. The cap is dusk blue and features combined "LA" interlocked and the Dodgers scripted "D" in cream lettering.[31]
Minnesota Twins, with a blue "ripple–effect" base and white lettering. The jersey features Minnesota's abbreviation "MN" in whiter lettering, integrating with the North Star, the state's nickname. The cap is also blue and features the outline of the state of Minnesota where the inside features the Northern Lights reflected in the water line of the lake.[32] In 2025, the blue pants were replaced with white pants with blue and yellow piping.
New York Mets, with a gray base, purple pinstripes and lettering, and white pants. The jersey features New York City's abbreviation "NYC" across the chest. The cap features the Mets' NY logo along with the Queensboro Bridge, which connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens. The purple color was inspired by the 7 subway line that runs to Citi Field.[33]
Philadelphia Phillies, with a blue gradient base, and white and yellow accents. The uniform's colors are based on the Flag of Philadelphia. The jersey features Philadelphia's short name "PHILLY" across the chest in white lettering. The cap features the Liberty Bell, with the skyline of Philadelphia inside and two stars on each side.[34]
JoJo Romero wearing the St. Louis Cardinals' City Connect uniforms in 2024
St. Louis Cardinals, with a red base and white pants. The jersey features St. Louis nickname, "The Lou" in cursive lettering along with the "birds on the bat" logo, which is similar to other uniforms. It also features river lining to symbolize the Mississippi River, which is next to St. Louis. The cap is red and features St. Louis' abbreviation "STL" across and in white lettering, which features the font from their 1920 uniforms.[35]
Tampa Bay Rays, with a "grit" black base and neon lettering. The jersey features the city name, the first since 2007, outlined in neon across the chest, which features lettering similar to the Devil Rays road jersey from 1998 to 2000. The cap features the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which crosses into St. Petersburg along with the sting-ray, also called "skyray". Another logo features three palm trees and a pelican, with several ties to the area. The three palms logo can be seen on a Florida Historical Marker, such as the one located at Perry Harvey Sr. Park, also known as the "Bro Bowl", Florida’s first public skatepark, and the first to be listed on any national registry of historic sites. The pelican is featured on the flag of St. Petersburg and is a nod to the St. Petersburg Pelicans, who played in the Florida State Negro Baseball League in the 1940s and ‘50s.[36]
Toronto Blue Jays, with a pitch-blue base and red and blue accents. The jersey features the city name along with the skyline of Toronto all in neon. The cap features the "split T" logo in red and blue along with the maple leaf, which is from the Flag of Toronto.[37]
2025
The 2025 season will see eight teams debut a second City Connect design:
Arizona Diamondbacks (second design) revealed a new City Connect uniform on May 5, 2025, with a purple base and teal lettering. The uniforms take designs from all their different uniform combinations since they became a franchise in 1998. The jersey pays tribute to the original jersey with the Heritage Pinstripes worn from 1998−2006 as well as its “evolutionary jersey” from 2016−19 by blending pinstripes with a snakeskin pattern. The jersey still features the word "Serpientes" with the S remaining the same from their previous version of their city connect, with the rest being a new design. The faux sleeves pay tribute to the 2001 World Series-winning team, which featured sleeveless jerseys that had a different colored sleeve. The Sleeves also feature the Flag of Arizona on one sleeve, the State outline with a baseball silhouette and the year 1998, the founding year of the club, plus features a light color of teal in the shape of 48, as Arizona is the 48th State in the Union. The trim on the sleeve is in teal and was used on the team uniform from 1998−2006, which is in the shape of a Diamondback Rattlesnake skin. The collar features the phrase "Arizona Born", pays tribute to the legacy of Arizona, rooted in the State of Arizona. The cap is in the original purple and has a teal brim that features the "S" serpientes logo.[38][39]
Boston Red Sox (second design) revealed a new City Connect uniform on May 16, 2025, with a Green base, white lettering, and yellow numbers. The uniforms called "Fenway Greens" represent the colors and look of the iconic Green Monster. The font of the uniform is the same as the numbers and letters on the Green Monster. Inside the color of the jersey features the year "1912" which is the year Fenway Park opened, and also features the same grey color as the concrete used to construct the Green Monster. The yellow number on the uniform represents the same color used for the score during the current inning. The jersey also features a blue and red dot, which matches the colors of balls, strikes, and outs. The jersey has a patch with the letter "B" inside a green and white circle, which represents the city of Boston and also represents when a team gets a hit or an error on the most recent play. The hat is also the same green color as the Green Monster, features the normal "B" font in a grey color that matches the concrete. Their original yellow City Connect uniform will remain in the regular rotation, replacing the team's blue road alternate.[40]
Chicago White Sox (second design) revealed a new City Connect uniform on April 28, 2025, in collaboration with the NBA's Chicago Bulls. (Both teams are owned by Jerry Reinsdorf.) The new jersey is red with black pinstripes and features a black "CHICAGO" wordmark trimmed in white, inspired by the Bulls' "Statement" uniform. Both sleeves are black with a red and white winged-sock patch, a new logo based on the White Sox’s 1950s design. A thick red stripe with “SOUTHSIDE” repeatedly printed in black wraps around the sleeve cuffs, paying homage to the previous City Connect set. The player’s number appears in black with a white outline below the chest wordmark on the front, while the player’s name arches in white over a large black number on the back. Two cap options are available—one red with black pinstripes and a black visor, the other black with a red visor—both featuring four white stars on the eyelets and the nine combined championships of the White Sox and Bulls printed inside the back collar. Their original “Southside” City Connect uniform will remain in the regular rotation.[41]
Colorado Rockies (second design) revealed a new City Connect uniform on April 12, 2025, with a split between light blue and purple, paying homage to the transition between day and night over the Rocky Mountains. The jersey features bluebird skies and purple mountain majesty as the inspirations behind the color palette. Accents all over the uniform, cap, and branding use the red, yellow, and blue of the Colorado state flag. The Denver city flag is also featured on the lining inside the hat. It is the first pullover City Connect jersey by any team across MLB.[42]
Houston Astros (second design) revealed a new City Connect uniform on March 19, 2025, with a white base and blue lettering. The jersey features the team nickname "STROS" in blue lettering with an orange star logo, trim carrying over from their City Connect 1.0 with their "tequila sunrise" pattern, and a lunar pattern pinstriping on the pants paying tribute to the history of the moon landing. They also debuted a new hat logo, which is a futuristic design of their traditional star logo in the form of the Astros' "A". The sleeve features a mission patch inspired by the long-time Union Station logo. The belt loop has "HTX" stitched along the beltline to pay tribute to Houston, Texas. The afterburner socks feature a mixture of orange and yellow in the design of a fire, which symbolizes the afterburners on a rocket ship.[43]
Miami Marlins (second design) revealed a new City Connect uniform on April 30, 2025, with a black base, with teal and pink lettering. The jersey features "MIAMI" in teal, which represents the past with their inaugural season in 1993, using the same color and outline in pink, which represents the city's electric glow skyline. The jersey will also feature horizontal pinstripes in both teal and pink colors with white pants that have "Retrowave" piping down the sides. The cap features Miami's area code "305" with the original Marlin logo over the top of the city area code. This marks the first time in MLB history that a team will feature a hat that uses a city's area code. The brim is two-toned to represent the "Retrowave" theme, going from teal to pink. The team will have two sleeve patches, one sleeve will feature an "ADT" patch, which is a pillar sponsor of the Marlins and continue to use the "Retrowave" theme and the other will feature a patch with the original Marlin logo with the new Miami M logo. Finally, the jersey has a jock tag of the entire state of Florida with MIA on the side, which will represent the Sunshine State.[44]
San Francisco Giants (second design) revealed a new City Connect uniform on April 8, 2025, with a black base and white lettering. The jersey features the team name in white lettering with an image of a lava lamp and is meant to flow like sound, as the letting is shaded with orange and purple hues, paying tribute to the Fillmore's stage lights and the posters seen in the Haight-Ashbury district. The shading also pays tribute to the club's roots to "San Francisco's spirit of rebellion." The Giants' outfield glove appears as a sleeve patch reimagined as a 1960s concert poster. A San Francisco mark is included above the jersey's jock tag. The cap blends the SF logo with tie-dye tones and an orange and violet gradient. A similarly colored gradient appears on the jersey's end. A neat detail of the design is nine music genre tiles scattered throughout the socks, brim of the hat, and jersey below the tuck line, representing hip-hop, blues, hyphy, rock, country, electronic, pop, Latin, and jazz.[45]
Washington Nationals (second design), revealed a new City Connect uniform on March 23, 2025, with a light blue featuring a white outline of Washington, D.C.'s street grid and an interlocking "DC" on the chest which is meant to resemble the block "W" worn by the 1956 Washington Senators. The cap and shoulder patch features the block "W" with an outline of the United States Capitol dome, as well as two cherry blossoms.[46]
Additionally, the Chicago Cubs introduced a new alternate uniform to replace their City Connect design introduced in 2021, which neither the team nor Nike considers part of the City Connect uniform program.[47]
2026
San Diego Padres (second design), announced via social media that they would be retiring their "Pink & Mint" uniform following the 2025 season.[48]
No City Connect uniform
The following teams do not have a City Connect uniform:
New York Yankees, due to the team traditionally not wearing an alternate uniform.[49]
Summary table
This is a summary list of the teams that have worn City Connect uniforms, including their reveal dates, on-field debut dates, most recent use, total number of appearances, total appearances for the current season, and usage patterns during the 2025 MLB season.
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.[54] 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.[55]
A columnist for the San Francisco Examiner wrote in May 2022 that the Giants had a record of 12–2 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.[56]
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.[57] 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 uniform, in 2020, the team store sold $73,000 worth of merchandise on launch day.[58]
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.[59][60][61][62]
Baltimore's City Connect design drew positive reviews for the colorful interior patterns, and also criticism for its mostly black, unadorned exterior.[63] The Orioles' players liked the look of their City Connect uniforms.[64]
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.[65] 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.[66]
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