Nike Launches New MLB City Connect Uniform Series

[BBTV]

The Yankees simply aren't The Yankees when they don't look like the Yankees.  

 

Can't wait till the day MLB becomes like the NBA and the Cubs are wearing their "home" pinstripes in Yankees Stadium against the Yankees who are wearing their black and volt "gotham nights" costume.

[washingtonspride]

2 minutes ago, QCS said:

Hi, young and relatively new fan here. I prefer home/road/1 alt, even if I'm ok with the road jersey being a color. When I watch a game, I want the teams to look like themselves! I want to be able to turn on the TV and instantly be able to tell what team is playing. The Red Sox in blue and yellow is the opposite of this. All these jerseys do is give Nike more crap to sell.

I'd prefer more like home/road(at least with a lighter grey than what most teams use currently)/alt1/alt2, and maybe a one-off here and there. I agree that they did not do Boston well but I think that it's better than some of the other one-off jerseys (maybe even some current roads and alts imo).

[washingtonspride]

 

2 minutes ago, BBTV said:

The Yankees simply aren't The Yankees when they don't look like the Yankees.  

 

Can't wait till the day MLB becomes like the NBA and the Cubs are wearing their "home" pinstripes in Yankees Stadium against the Yankees who are wearing their black and volt "gotham nights" costume.

I agree, do they have a set date for that game yet?

[andrewharrington]

Honestly, this is better than any of the old holiday uniforms.

 

The approach has always been to use the same one-size-fits-all idea across every team, and said idea has always been the lowest-hanging fruit, having the exact same significance (or lack thereof) to every team and market.

 

If there’s one thing you can expect from Nike, it’s going to be more individual content tailored to the teams and the local markets. This is no different than covering a Red Sox jersey in flags or pink/blue, except for the fact that it’s local to Boston.

 

I’m not liking the cap, though. I wish they would have gone all the way with a B in a circle or something inspired by the T.

[DCarp1231]

As an example, personally I think the Orioles are doing just fine with this set

 

plus their now traditional Maryland Day alts that are only worn for one game a year

 

Whenever Baltimore gets their City Connect Uniform, I highly doubt it will remotely affect the overall set. Much like the Maryland Day Alts.

 

Plus, most teams don’t even go above four uniforms. Which is a perfect amount for a rather large 162 game season.
 

Saying that a one-off uniform ruins the look of MLB is a huge reach. The City Connect Uniform Series is meant to celebrate the city through the team. Not the team itself.

 

 

[CaliforniaGlowin]

46 minutes ago, washingtonspride said:

It's not one-off uniforms I'm talking about. If you have a white home, a grey away, and a random alt on fridays or whatever, they don't attract fans. I know plenty of casual (and hardcore) fans who just like the team because they liked the colors (keyword: colors) on the jersey.

Case in point: me.  It's all eye candy.

[ptay]

Difference is, the O's still used their usual script and logos even if the colors were different. I think that goes a long way in keeping their identity/branding. When I watch these NBA highlights, their colors, logos, everything are all over the place and rarely connect to the team's identity at all. 

[dont care]

20 minutes ago, CaliforniaGlowin said:

Case in point: me.  It's all eye candy.

That isn’t saying much with your tastes or lack there of.

[AnPheitseog]

40 minutes ago, DNAsports said:

As an example, personally I think the Orioles are doing just fine with this set

 

plus their now traditional Maryland Day alts that are only worn for one game a year

 

Whenever Baltimore gets their City Connect Uniform, I highly doubt it will remotely affect the overall set. Much like the Maryland Day Alts.

 

Plus, most teams don’t even go above four uniforms. Which is a perfect amount for a rather large 162 game season.
 

Saying that a one-off uniform ruins the look of MLB is a huge reach. The City Connect Uniform Series is meant to celebrate the city through the team. Not the team itself.

 

 

Orioles also use a fixed schedule. Home white/road grey Sunday-Thursday, Black Friday, Orange Sunday. That's a pretty good balance.

[DCarp1231]

5 minutes ago, ptaylor said:

Difference is, the O's still used their usual script and logos even if the colors were different. I think that goes a long way in keeping their identity/branding. When I watch these NBA highlights, their colors, logos, everything are all over the place and rarely connect to the team's identity at all. 

The NBA City Edition uniforms are meant to highlight those cities, just like what the MLB City Connect Series is doing. Is it really that bad of an idea for a team to celebrate it’s city for a few games a season?

 

Plus, most NBA teams don’t really stray too far away from their core identity with their alternate uniforms.

[_DietDrPepper_]

I haven’t commented much, but honestly anyone defending this is just being ridiculous at this point. You said the same thing about the NBA, there’s no way this doesn’t end up there, you can’t tell me that isn’t Nike’s end goal. Before too long, the NFL might head down that route too. 

 

I think this is worse then the players weekend or holiday uniforms solely because it’s not templated. I agree this Boston uniform is better looking than some of those uniforms in a vacuum, but those at least forced every team to use their current identity as the basis for the design. This catered stuff throws any and sometimes all cores of a teams identity out the window. The only part of the actual Red Sox identity in that uniform is the cap logo. The colors, scripts, fonts, striping, are all gone. With a sport like baseball that has some of the most consistent identities in the sports world, to come out with a uniform that departed from the rest of the identity is extremely pathetic and unprofessional. I can’t wait to see the Yankees iconic uniforms be thrown aside for even a game for some red to blue gradient garbage.

[LakeShow24]

Me seeing those red sox uniforms

 

 

[El Scorcho]

I think there is great potential here but I also see the NBA city jerseys as a really positive thing overall, even if there are plenty of bad jerseys that get produced under that banner.

 

I know baseball is a MUCH more traditional sport, but I see this as a positive in that context as well. Teams with front offices who have bad rebrand ideas can now give those ideas a whirl in a low stakes one-season jersey and maintain their traditional look.

 

There will absolutely be a few teams who release uniforms under this banner that are better than their regular looks.

[63Bulldogs63]

Are all yall nike lovers/ apologists happy now? Nike really is the worst company. They ruin everything. This is what I feared when they received the contract. 

[IceCap]

19 hours ago, FroBroStudio said:

All Nike needs to do is have a definite end to this program and not overreach like they did with the NBA. I think...

Come on man

[andrewharrington]

1 hour ago, dont care said:

That isn’t saying much with your tastes or lack there of.

 

1 hour ago, _DietDrPepper_ said:

I haven’t commented much, but honestly anyone defending this is just being ridiculous at this point. You said the same thing about the NBA, there’s no way this doesn’t end up there, you can’t tell me that isn’t Nike’s end goal. Before too long, the NFL might head down that route too. 

 

I think this is worse then the players weekend or holiday uniforms solely because it’s not templated. I agree this Boston uniform is better looking than some of those uniforms in a vacuum, but those at least forced every team to use their current identity as the basis for the design. This catered stuff throws any and sometimes all cores of a teams identity out the window. The only part of the actual Red Sox identity in that uniform is the cap logo. The colors, scripts, fonts, striping, are all gone. With a sport like baseball that has some of the most consistent identities in the sports world, to come out with a uniform that departed from the rest of the identity is extremely pathetic and unprofessional. I can’t wait to see the Yankees iconic uniforms be thrown aside for even a game for some red to blue gradient garbage.

But couldn’t you also make the argument that changing the colors of a team’s actual lettering and shoehorning national or state flag patterns into it is more damaging to the brand than simply wearing a different jersey altogether? Like, how is the intentional defacement of the team indicia any better than an intentional departure from it?

[IceCap]

4 hours ago, washingtonspride said:

No, that's boring. You will never, and I mean NEVER, attract young and new fans with that mindset. If you keep thinking like that before you know it all baseball fans will be senile and in their 80's.

Wow. That's just...wrong.

Grey road unis won't kill baseball, dude.

 

1 hour ago, _DietDrPepper_ said:

I haven’t commented much, but honestly anyone defending this is just being ridiculous at this point.

Exactly.

 

This is a site dedicated to people who care about sports uniform aesthetics. Stanning for Nike as they bring their City Jersey nonsense to Major League Baseball is the opposite of that.
 

 

10 minutes ago, andrewharrington said:

But couldn’t you also make the argument that changing the colors of a team’s actual lettering and shoehorning national or state flag patterns into it is more damaging to the brand than simply wearing a different jersey altogether? Like, how is the intentional defacement of the team indicia any better than an intentional departure from it?

They're both bad ideas.

Boom. Done.

[_DietDrPepper_]

27 minutes ago, andrewharrington said:

 

But couldn’t you also make the argument that changing the colors of a team’s actual lettering and shoehorning national or state flag patterns into it is more damaging to the brand than simply wearing a different jersey altogether? Like, how is the intentional defacement of the team indicia any better than an intentional departure from it?

Bad brand integrity is better than no brand integrity.

 

But IceCap is right, they’re both bad ideas. We shouldn’t be limited to this. MLB is the best looking league in the big 4, it’s the most traditional and most historic too. None of this is right, the Orioles Maryland Day, the holiday uniforms, the city connection crap. I say the bp uniforms are where you can be a bit more out there if you want, as long as it’s not too detrimental to the brand.

[SCalderwood]

4 hours ago, washingtonspride said:

 

I agree, do they have a set date for that game yet?

 

 

If Nike is allowed to work their "magic" with little or no pushback or restriction (like they've been allowed to do with the NBA), I don't think you'll have to wait that long.  2025 at the very latest, maybe?

 

But even if you miss that Cubs-Yankees matchup, don't worry - the following weekend, the Dodgers and Braves will be debuting their 2025 City Connect jerseys on Sunday Night Baseball.  The Braves will be sporting their "GEORGIA PRIDE" peach-themed jerseys, which feature a peach seamless pattern on peach fabric, along with a cool matching peach-colored cap, of course (because otherwise it would just look ridiculous).  The Dodgers will be sporting their "SOMOS LOS ANGELES" City Connect jersey, inspired by the L.A. flag.  It will be a primarily yellow jersey, but will feature one green sleeve and one red sleeve.  The cap feature a yellow crown and a bill that is half-green, half-red.  But of course, the cap will still feature the traditional LA logo so as to maintain strong team brand consistency, which is very important to Nike.  And even though the game is being played in Atlanta, the Dodgers will wear white pants and the Braves will wear gray pants, because Nike.

 

And even if you miss that game, don't worry, because both teams will wear those uniforms again at least 50 more times that season.  Even though there will be no logic as to when and where they wear them, Nike will graciously provide us with MLB Lockervision, so we can get a heads up on when we'll be able to see our favorite cool and flashy MLB jerseys being worn throughout the season.

 

I hope you enjoy it!

[andrewharrington]

2 hours ago, _DietDrPepper_ said:

Bad brand integrity is better than no brand integrity.

 

But IceCap is right, they’re both bad ideas. We shouldn’t be limited to this. MLB is the best looking league in the big 4, it’s the most traditional and most historic too. None of this is right, the Orioles Maryland Day, the holiday uniforms, the city connection crap. I say the bp uniforms are where you can be a bit more out there if you want, as long as it’s not too detrimental to the brand.

You’ll have to explain what you mean by bad brand integrity is better than no brand integrity. If I’m a Red Sox fan, I’d much rather buy a well done Boston Marathon cosplay jersey than any variation of this:

 

 

Regardless, everyone wants to put this on Nike, but Majestic did the same thing for 15-20 years under the direction of the league (and, arguably, did it in a much less compelling and messy way). This is intentional strategy from MLB as much as it is a licensee wanting to expand or change the design approach.