MJD7

St. Louis Cardinals City Connect

I really like the Cards' City uniform, I'm glad they kept things traditional, but I wanted to try a few different things: I added the Arch to the front, & instead of wavy pinstripes, I used the St. Louis flag stripes as the sleeve stripe.

On 5/15/2024 at 7:24 PM, Axe said:

 

 Yeah, exactly. The white and gold. More specifically, the early 2010's scheme that they had was close to perfect.

I don't think the Guardians really need metallic gold personally, the Twins already tried that, although I suppose it could work in this case.

On 5/14/2024 at 3:22 PM, CLEstones said:

Those jersey concepts somehow make the wordmark and font less terrible.  The block font is just so bad, but oddly enough, it's like the only thing that would match the script wordmark... which has grown on me over the last couple years.

I honestly really like the Guardians’ script and wordmark, I think their rebrand went about as smoothly as it possibly could have. I would love to see them use the City Connect as a “soft” redesign with the darker red & these stripes, though.

On 5/14/2024 at 6:29 PM, Axe said:

I really dig the stripes for Cleveland. I do like the idea of a deeper red, too, although not with navy. Maybe if they shared the same color pallet as the Cavaliers...?

I actually really like the darker red (for synchronicity with the Cavs, I’ll call it “wine”), something about it really seems to work for Cleveland, at least to me. Are you referring to the Cavs’ current scheme of wine & metallic gold? Because they have used wine & navy in the past, too, albeit with athletic gold as an accent.

9 hours ago, tsizer said:

Purple never gets used enough in sports, and I think it paired with red is an underrated combo. 

Agreed! The Raptors should’ve never gone away from that scheme.

This is so  much better than either City Connect concept the Dodgers have come up with so far. The pastels of the Dodger Stadium seats paired with the cream base is a perfect blend of the Dodgers' classic brand and LA beach aesthetic. Wonderful work!

Imagine if the Guardians came out of the gate with a set like this:

As for my review of the Guardians' City Connect, I really like them.

My least favorite part of the City Connect program so far has been the propensity of abbreviations, but everything else is really great and fitting for Cleveland. I love the darker red, almost maroon color (for synchronicity with the Cavs, I'll call it "wine"), as well as the art-deco-styled wordmarks. The return of racing stripes is awesome, that's something I've been waiting for in baseball, and incorporating the guardian statue patterning into it looks awesome. 

Like others, I would have loved to see the Guardians unveil something like this for their primary branding back in 2022. Their main logos and wordmarks are great, and their rebrand was handled about as seamlessly well as it could've been given the circumstances, but it does feel a bit like a quick cover-up of the previous era. This would be a great opportunity to begin a "soft" transition to that wine color and the new striping, elements that can be uniquely "Guardians." 

On 5/12/2024 at 3:53 PM, LEWJ said:

And that’s my TedTalk

 

joking aside, I can be relieved. Even if it had been just Boston that strayed from team colors, I can still be relieved.  Was that not enough of a “wtf?!”

On 5/12/2024 at 7:28 PM, tBBP said:

I think the Boston CC probably most hits at what Nike's intention was with this whole program...be something starkly (?) different while still emphasizing—that is, connecting—with some element of the city. (That's also probably why it was first to release.) 

Boston's City Connect was definitely shocking at first, but after visiting the city earlier this spring and seeing the City branding in the team store, it seemed to really "fit" and, from an outsider perspective, seems to be something that really "connects" to the city, no pun intended.

When I asked a native Bostonian what he thought about the City uniforms, he seemingly didn't even understand that I was speaking strictly aesthetically, because the Marathon and what it means is so deeply tied to the city Boston, that it almost wasn't even a question of whether it was worth it to have as part of their identity.

In my opinion, they did go a bit overboard with its use when they had that winning streak where they kept on wearing them, but I wouldn't mind it to be something they continue to wear around the time of the marathon and a few other times throughout the year.

On 5/12/2024 at 7:28 PM, tBBP said:

The only other one I've seen come close to that stark a contrast is San Diego's. (Unless you count the Nationals' cherry blossoms.) I could also say Tampa Bay, except the CC is highly inspired by their inaugural look, so that doesn't really count.

On a similar note to what I was saying above, I visited San Diego & LA about a month after Boston.

In San Diego, the City branding was absolutely everywhere, around the city and throughout Petco Park. People of all ages, men and women were wearing them. I personally didn't like their City uniform much at all before I visited, I thought it was way too bright & garish on TV, but after seeing it in-person, it really just feels right  for San Diego. The only reason I don't like it is because every game they wear the City Connect is a game they don't wear the brown & gold, which immediately vaulted them to one of the best identities in all of baseball. 

Contrarily, in LA, their first attempt at a City Connect was nowhere to be seen, not even in the Dodger Stadium team store. I saw a lot of black fashion jerseys, but I don't think I saw one City jersey. They are clearly ready to move on from their first go around as quickly as possible. Based on the leak, I'm not sure it'll be received any better, but we'll see. 

On 5/12/2024 at 7:47 PM, BBTV said:

I really hate that the legacy teams bought into this.  By "legacy", I'm referring to teams that have not only been in existence for >100 years, but have also had an iconic-stable identity for the overwhelming majority of that duration.  Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and maybe one or two that I'm forgetting (I do not consider the Reds or Phillies in this category, partially due to having drastically changing looks a few times (or, once, in the PHilies case) but also moving from traditional parks into the new-fangles astroturf multi-purpose domes.  That counts against you.  They've also each gone through phases of irrelevancy, whereas the other bona fide legacy tams are relevant regardless of record. I'd probalby count the Cubs as 'legacy'.  Maybe Tigers, though the irrelevancy factor gets to them.  Maybe Cardinals.

I get this. "Legacy" teams absolutely have a more difficult time creating a design that resonates with the city as much as the primary design does, compared to newer teams such as the Rays, Rockies, & Diamondbacks.

Some traditional teams have done a better job at sticking to their primary brand, such as the Braves and Cubs, and others strayed too far or simply didn't work, such as the Phillies and Dodgers.

The Red Sox are in a unique situation where they diverted from the main brand about as much as possible, but since the Marathon is so important to the city and tied with the Red Sox I think it works.

57 minutes ago, Silent Wind of Doom said:

I've been thinking more about this.  The Braves went with a throwback that they love.  The Dodgers went with essentially an alternate steeped in their own identity.  The Yankees have thus far sat everything out.

 

The Tigers have been similarly conservative to the last two teams with their identity, but they've also seen limited success.  They've had a few very bright spots in the last 20 years and also some very lean years, so I can see them going gimmicky.

 

The Cardinals have been conservative with their uniforms, have a large history they're proud of, and have had sustained success over the last 20 years.  I'm unsure if they have anything in local culture they could go with like Boston (the other one to fit this profile) did.  The arch is a tough thing to base an entire uniform on.  Their identity as a franchise feels like it fits for them to go conservative here as well.  It may not turn out this way... but they feel like the perfect team for it.

 

Cleveland also went this route for the most part, but that's just because it's Cleveland.  They have rock and everyone's been yawning at the idea of an identity based on that for years.  They can't really dip into their past.  They could only lean on the statues and their colorset.

The Cardinals are the one team where their City design feels like it should be enitrely obvious what they should do: go with the St. Louis flag inspiration and use the "wavy" stripes. The flag is so close to the Cardinals' brand already, that they might as well run with it if they want to stick close to tradition (which for an historic team like them, they should). It seems like they may unfortunately not be going in that direction, though.

23 hours ago, LMU said:

Ok, definitely needing to wade through the Nike speak on the Dodgers’ leak because as a life-long Angeleno, at first glance I have no idea where they were going with this. Then again, I still don’t get where the black trim on version 1 came from.

It's interesting that as someone native to LA, you don't get the inspiration, because I definitely don't, either. It seems like it's gonna be one of those designs where the explanation makes or breaks it. The only thing I like about it personally are the "sprinkles." Like @TrueYankee26 mentioned, the rest of it does give me space travel vibes. Maybe they'll be inspired by the Griffith Observatory.

Cleveland Guardians City Connect

The main thing I haven't liked about the City Connects so far is the tendency to use abbreviations, so instead I went with "the Land." Otherwise I really like Cleveland's City design, so not much changes beyond adding the new logo to the sleeve.

18 hours ago, ptay said:

Wow is this a City Connect with actual team colors?

1 hour ago, LEWJ said:

Nicely done, but I’m sure I’m just overly-relieved to see team colors

I’m really not sure where the idea that the City Connects haven’t used team colors comes from.

Of the 24 City Connects that have been released so far, and including Cleveland, 16 of them use team colors of either the primary set or a throwback. That’s nearly 2/3.
 

Of the ones I didn’t include, many of them use at least some of one of the team’s main colors (Colorado, Kansas City, Texas).

The only designs that don’t really have any semblance of a regular team color are Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, & the Mets. That accounts for less than 1/5 of the designs we’ve seen so far.

The City Connects have done a better job at sticking to the primary brand than people seem willing to give them credit for, especially compared to the NBA. 

That Phillies script looks great! It'd be a pretty seamless transition from their current script. I recognize it as being essentially the same font as that "White Sox" script that they only ever wore on their Players' Weekend uniforms, but since they never fully committed to it, I'd say it works great for the Phils. 

I've gone back & forth on red & blue or maroon & powder for the Phillies myself as well, but I think maroon & powder is just too good of a color scheme to pass up on, especially in the blue & red heavy league that is Major League Baseball. 

Great work as always!

On 5/9/2024 at 1:15 PM, aawagner011 said:

Of these, I would say only half look somewhat or even vaguely like the club they are supposed to represent. And I think that’s the problem with the City Connect program. While it allows teams to explore alternate identities, too many of them stray too far from the norm and have zero relation to the team. I think a better approach would be to run a heritage program, as we have seen a bit in the NHL. It allows teams to offer variety without going too far outside their normal color palette. Heck, you could even tie it into the Cooperstown angle, as we have seen Majestic and Nike do the last decade or so with the merchandise they’ve offered.

11 hours ago, coco1997 said:

Twins City Connects coming June 10th:

8 hours ago, Silent Wind of Doom said:

If Tampa Bay taught us anything, it's that we can't even try to glean anything from these previews of future City Connects.

 

Watch the Twins go with a representation of their home field.  Full Kasota Gold!!! 

I didn't read anything into Tampa's teasers, but these hints feel at least a bit  more deliberate and intentional. The waterfall-type sound, along with the "drip" word choice, make me think they'll go with some kind of water-inspired theme, either the Land of 10,000 Lakes or the Mississippi River. After all, the Mississippi does "connect" the Twin Cities...

This fits well with my prediction that their uniform will end up mostly baby blue, to make up for the loss of the throwback with the rebrand.

I never got around to giving my thoughts about the Tigers City Connect, but since they debuted tonight, I suppose there's no better time than the present:

I honestly don't mind them. As others have said, I'm not sure I'd want to look like I got ran over, but I like the Mustang-inspired stripe becoming Detroit's "thing." The cap leaves a bit to be desired, but I don't hate wordmarks on the caps as much as others seem to. It obviously has nothing on their regular Old English "D," though.

I like the all-navy for them, and incorporating royal blue is a surprisingly nice touch, but I still think just the slightest  bit of orange (as I concepted) would've really done wonders.

Overall,  I'd say it's probably right around the middle of the pack when it comes to the City Connect designs. It definitely didn't make nearly the same splash that Tampa's did, but I find it to be relatively harmless. It doesn't look half bad in action, either.

As for the Tigers actual City Connect, adding just the slightest  bit of orange would have done wonders for it, I think.

Detroit Tigers City Connect

I don't mind the Tigers' City uniform they released yesterday, but I wanted to try something more directly tied to the Tigers' brand and history, while still incorporating the Detroit inspiration.

On 5/6/2024 at 9:08 PM, Axe said:

Here's hoping they will. I do miss their original look. This is a gorgeous set!

Thanks!

On 5/6/2024 at 9:36 PM, Axe said:

Didn't the Cards used to have a red jersey? I'd say they need one.

Unless I'm mistaken, I believe they've only ever worn red for batting practice/Spring Training. The Cards' president has heavily hinted that their upcoming City Connect will be red, though (my guess is it'll be inspired by the St. Louis flag), so be on the lookout for that.

On 5/6/2024 at 9:59 PM, seasaltvanilla said:

What about filling the word marks in with the gradient instead of using it as a stroke?

I tried, but it made it look more like a direct throwback, when I was going for a bit of a modernization. It also prevents the ray from having the matching outline:

I like it, but I think I prefer the gradient as the outline.

4 hours ago, TheBigFiz21 said:

Not sure if it was discussed after we found out the cherry blossom CC was on its last breath this season, but is there any guy feeling they could re-color the jersey instead? I could see the Nats sticking with the cherry blossom theme, but maybe try a cream or off-white base & gray script for their 2025 version.

Since the uniform is referencing the cherry blossoms, they need to embrace pink more. Although I'd like to see them do something other than "WSH," even taking the current jersey and giving it a pink base would be an immediate upgrade.

4 hours ago, Brave-Bird 08 said:

So, Braves are at the Mariners tonight...

 

Atlanta is once again in their grey road uniforms, which they have worn in every road game so far this season (14 for 14). No sign of the "new" blue alternates that they wore for the duration of spring training. 

 

And the Ms might be showing why; they are in blue tops and there's a distinct difference between the blue in their caps and the shirts. 

 

Both the Braves shirts from ST and Mariners shirts I am looking at tonight are a lighter shade of navy and in certain lighting almost look purple. The difference between them and the blue of the New Era caps is annoying. 

 

I wonder if the Braves have resisted wearing theirs for that reason? 

 

UPDATE: I just looked at the Braves shop and they don't even have the blue jerseys to purchase unless it's a youth or women's. I wonder if they have officially canned them already?

The Mariners have had that problem long before the new Nike template, they've used the "dark" navy for their caps and the "light" navy for their jerseys.

Other teams that use navy, like the Rays, Brewers, Guardians, and Red Sox,  have always matched their caps and jersey to either the light or dark navy.

The Twins used to have the same problem as the Mariners, but they fixed it with their rebrand. 

I'm pretty sure the Braves had always used the darker navy, but for some reason went to the lighter navy for the jersey with the new Nike template.

It's a bit tough to compare to the hat since the Spring Training hat was red, but the new navy jersey does appear to be a bit lighter. Of course, lighting is always a factor, though. 

The Twins still have their darker navy jersey, though, on the new Nike template, so I'm not sure why Atlanta felt the need to change theirs.

The Rays City Connect (with dark purple instead of black) would make a wonderful basis for a rebrand.

15 hours ago, FiddySicks said:

I do agree that there are elements of these CityConnects that can/will be incorporated into the main sets for some of these teams. But most of those that would really work (your White Sox example is a good one. As are the color additions for some of the teams), and some of the ones that have elements that would work (Colorado, Astros gradient) seem more like alts or slight tweaks. But this is the first one that really feels like it has some legs for a full rebrand, IMO. I don’t agree with you about some teams (Seattle, Angels especially), but some of that is probably my personal tastes. The only other one of these I’ve seen that really hit me in a good way was the Royals. But even that I don’t think is enough to supplant what they’re already wearing. Parts of this Rays set absolutely do, for me anyway. 
 

The Rays are also a perfect candidate for a change, too. Their look is dreadfully boring IMO, and I’m hoping they brighten it up a bit with this new stadium they’re exploiting from the taxpayers building. 

Yeah, that makes sense. I see what you're saying now, that this is the first City Connect that could work as the basis for a complete rebrand, as opposed to an evolution of the current brand. Pretty much all of the examples I listed are evolutions of the team's primary brand, while the Rays' has nothing to do with the post-2008 brand, and everything to do with the throwbacks.

I love the navy, columbia, and yellow as a color scheme, but I do think it's about time for the Rays to rebrand and go back to the throwback colors. Their current logo set and uniforms are just way too uninspiring to carry an otherwise really pleasant color scheme.

57 minutes ago, FiddySicks said:

Yeah, this is by far my favorite of the CityConnect project. It’s not perfect by any means, but it has something that basically none of these other goofy ass uniforms have, and that’s something they could potentially use in their regular set. It’s amazing that it took nearly 2/3 of the league unveiling these before we got that, but that bridge logo (and frankly, those colors) should be the cornerstones for a rebrand. 

I actually think a surprising amount of the City Connects so far have elements that would improve on the primary brand. Just to go through them one-by-one:

• I've long thought the Diamondbacks should have sand road uniforms, and the "Serpientes" set pulls that look off really well.
• The pinstripes on black look wonderful  for the White Sox, I'd be happy to see the Southside uniform become a permanent part of their set.
• I love the mountain on the front of  the jersey for Colorado, I think it works great as an alternate look. The forest green could afford to be included in their main set, too, it's definitely better than black.
• The Astros incorporating the warm gradient in the striping and using the "NASA" font would improve their safe but bland set, in my opinion. The cap logo is fantastic as well.
• The Royals' fountain-inspired logos aren't necessarily better than their main ones, but they'd be perfectly suitable logos if they were a brand new expansion team.
• Pretty much everything about the Angels' City uniform is an improvement on their main set, in my opinion.
• Miami using brighter colors is how they should handle their main set, although the new blue jersey is a step in the right direction.
• The Brewers having a powder blue jersey, and
• the Pirates having a gold jersey are both welcome additions to their sets.
• I think Seattle's wordmark and trident M would be a wonderful place to start a rebrand. 
• And with the Rays, I agree that the colors and logos would be a nice start for a rebrand, definitely at least better than their primary set.

I was not optimistic about the City Connect program at all  when it was announced, it seemed like a cheap NBA copy (which, as far as the original premise goes, it still sort of is). However, a large majority of the designs so far have been pleasantly surprising for me, not leaning too  far into the city aspect, still retaining some key components of each team's main identity. 

Tampa Bay Rays City Connect

These last couple City designs haven't really given me much worth changing! I just traded out the sunburst for the pelican logo.

1 minute ago, SFGiants58 said:

Now I want one of those!

 

The jerseys need to be more legible, but the whole graphics package is such a breath of fresh air compared to the current Rays set. It’s derivative of the ‘90s – but it’s still very good.

I've never been a fan of the Rays' original wordmarks (other than the gradient), but if they're going to double down on them like this, they might as well go back to that look full-time. It's at least better than the Times New Roman-esque font they have now. 

I honestly really like the Rays' City Connect! I was surprised to see from the sock leak that they appeared to be digging back into the well of the gradient and throwback font, but they integrated it in a way that makes this still feel distinct. The gradient looks great as always, it honestly might even look a bit better without yellow. 

The logo set is all-around phenomenal and really fun, which is especially fascinating because in my opinion, beyond the actual stingray itself, the Rays had never really had a good logo. The "SkyRay" logo is especially brilliant, and the pelican logo is nice, too.

Even living in Florida, I did not know about Tampa's prominent skating culture. Like @Chawls said, this design does a great job of educating the general public on Tampa's civic culture and pride. Although the "black shirt weathered in the Florida sun" Nikespeak sounds silly at first, from experience, it honestly does make sense.

My one concern, as others have expressed, is legibility, especially on the numbers. The outline is definitely a bit thin, as @Lights Out noted, but they also appear to have remedied that on the wordmark by having a "double gradient:"

If you look closely, the wordmark actually has two gradient outlines going in opposite directions, so that the brighter shades outline pretty much the entirety of the wordmark one way or another, making it more visible. However, the numbers don't appear to do the same, so the relatively darker purple of the outline causes the numbers to get lost towards the top. I guess we'll have to wait and see how they look in a game, although I can't say I'm optimistic.

Overall though, this is among the upper echelon of City Connect designs for me, right up there with the Angels, White Sox, and Mariners. After a rough start with Philly, things are on an upswing with the Mets and Rays, I'd say.