MLB City Connect uniforms 2024: Tracking the jersey redesigns for Mets, Cardinals, Twins and more

Dan Treacy

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MLB City Connect uniforms 2024: Tracking the jersey redesigns for Mets, Cardinals, Twins and more image

2024 hasn't exactly been a banner year for MLB uniforms, with the new threads produced by the league's partnership with Nike and Fanatics drawing ire from both players and fans.

The bright spot for the league's on-field look remains Nike's City Connect uniforms, which have largely earned positive reviews since they first debuted in 2021. While results vary by team, the experiment seems to be a success -- and it's not done yet. Nine City Connect uniforms will be unveiled by the midway point of the 2024 season, including the first team to receive a second set.

Reviews are all across the board for the early-season reveals, but one thing is true about all of them: they're bold.

The Sporting News is tracking MLB's 2024 City Connect uniform releases, from the Phillies to the Dodgers. Follow along below with the latest reveals.

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MLB new City Connect uniforms 2024

Phillies

Nike went the Red Sox route with the Phillies' City Connect Uniform, removing all Phillies colors from the equation and giving the franchise a brand new alternate look. 

The uniforms, which have a "Philly" script across the front, feature a gradient that turns from light blue at the top to dark blue at the bottom. Yellow is featured as an accent color on the Nike logo and the sleeves. The navy cap features a Liberty Bell logo and a yellow star on each side. 

Why blue and yellow? That's a nod to the city's flag, while the "Philly" script pays tribute to the pattern of writing on some of the nation's historical documents in Philadelphia. Other intricacies of the uniform include tributes to Philadelphia's skyline. 

Mets

The Mets' City Connect uniform embraces everything New York City, even if they aren't the city's biggest baseball brand. 

The dark gray uniform features an "NYC" script in black lettering, with black pinstripes that run up and down. The cap is also a dark gray, with an even darker edition of the Mets' interlocking "NY" logo and the Queensboro Bridge featured prominently.

One thing Nike avoided with the Mets' City Connect uniform was actual Mets colors. While the same was true for the Phillies, Philadelphia's uniform popped because of bright colors. The Mets' uniform relies on dark gray, black, and a touch of purple.

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Rays

The Rays unveiled their City Connect uniform on April 29, and they bring fans back to a different era in franchise history. The Rays' uniform takes on the image of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from the late 1990s when the team debuted, but it adds a new twist: skateboarding. 

The uniforms don't focus much on skateboarding themselves, but a "skating ray" alternate logo introduced as part of the reveal "represents the intrinsic link between skateboarding and baseball."

Named "Grit and Glow," the Rays' uniforms stray away from the typical sunshine and beaches theme the franchise tends to lean into. Instead, it focuses on the culture of the Tampa Bay area.

The uniform, which is a dark shade of gray, features a "Tampa Bay" script with flames, while the caps and helmets feature a logo that combines the shape of a stingray with the design of a bridge. 

Tigers

The Tigers unveiled their City Connect uniform on May 6.

The uniform leans heavily on the Tigers' traditional navy blue, including a navy blue cap that simply reads, "Detroit," but the jersey also features a lighter blue gradient toward the center.

The jersey features a "Motor City" script, and the gradient is intended to resemble tire tracks. Detroit is known for its rich history in the automobile production industry, and that's the theme Nike settled on for the Tigers' new design. 

The Tigers' City Connect uniforms debuted on May 11 against the Astros.

Guardians

The Guardians revealed their City Connect uniform on May 13. 

The outfit is inspired by the "Guardians of Traffic" statues on the Hope Memorial Bridge in the city. According to the team, "the blue texture of the uniform is influenced by the berea sandstone material of the Guardians of Traffic statues and buildings."

The Guardians' City Connect uniforms debuted on May 17 against the Twins.

Cardinals

The Cardinals revealed their City Connect uniform on May 20.

St. Louis' uniform keeps the main logo of two cardinals perched atop a bat as its main insignia. That was a must, according to Cardinals executive Bill DeWitt.

"We see that in certain franchises, where they let (the uniforms) be a complete departure. I just didn't feel like this franchise, given its special place and kind of the hierarchy of uniforms, needed to do that," DeWitt told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "At the end of the day, I just held firm, saying: 'It's got to have the birds on the bat.'"

Still, there are notable changes to the uniform. Rather than the outfit saying "St. Louis" or "Cardinals," it simply says, "The Lou" — a reference to Nelly's iconic line, "I'm from The Lou and I'm proud," from his song "Country Grammar."

The uniform also has wavy pinstripes — an homage to the St. Louis River — and harkens back to the team's 1920 logo with the "STL" on its cap.

The Cardinals' City Connect uniforms debuted on May 25 against the Cubs.

Blue Jays

The Blue Jays revealed their City Connect uniform on May 30.

Toronto is calling the uniform, "Night Mode," per a press release. The main jersey color is black, with a blue background of the city's skyline and the city's name emblazoned in red across the front of the skyline. There is blue and red piping around the jersey sleeves and a number on the front of the jersey that is blue font with a red outline.

"The Blue Jays are at the core of the city and those who call Toronto home know how the city comes alive at night. Our new City Connect uniform aims to emulate that 'Night Mode' feeling in the vibrant colours, the rhythmic skyline reflecting off the lake, and all the distinct details that make our city so dynamic," Marnie Starkman, Executive Vice President, Business Operations, Toronto Blue Jays, said in the press release. "Toronto's City Connect uniform breaks from our beloved lineup of traditional uniforms and introduces a bold new fashion statement that captures the rhythm, culture, vibe, and spirit of the city."

Several Blue Jays standouts, including Jose Bautista, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Edwin Encarnacion, showed off the new City Connect uniforms.

The Blue Jays' City Connect uniforms will debut on May 31 against the Pirates.

Twins

The Twins went all-in on the lakes theme, debuting blue uniforms and hats that are meant to represent Minnesota's "Land of 10,000 Lakes" moniker.

The uniform heavily incorporates yellow as a secondary color, despite yellow not being part of the Twins' everyday color scheme. The hat features the outline of the state of Minnesota, with different shades of blue inside and a star over Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The jerseys say "MN" on the left side of the chest, with a star between the two letters. The uniforms also feature different tones of blue, mimicking water currents.

The Twins' City Connect uniforms are set to debut on June 14, leaving only the Dodgers still to come with a reveal next week. 

Dodgers

The Dodgers are the only team receiving a second City Connect jersey this season. The second was unveiled on June 17.

The jersey features only "Los Angeles" written across the middle. There is a patch on the sleeve that features a combination of the Dodger's swooping D logo and the LA interlock logo.

Additionally at the bottom of the jersey is a hashtag, "ITFDB," which is an homage to Vin Scully's call, "It's Time for Dodger Baseball." 

The jersey has stars sprinkled across the fabric of the jersey that represents the "brilliance and diversity of Los Angeles," per the Dodgers' announcement. The numbers on the back are inspired by the numbers used when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. 

Dan Treacy

Dan Treacy Photo

Dan Treacy is a content producer for Sporting News, joining in 2022 after graduating from Boston University. He founded @allsportsnews on Instagram in 2012 and has written for Lineups and Yardbarker.