Ranking the Top 10 City Connect Major League Baseball Uniforms
Grant White
Host · Writer
1. San Diego Padres
Four years into the City Connect uniforms, the San Diego Padres reign supreme as the crispest jerseys in the league.
The Friars introduced their signature mint and pink unis in July 2023, becoming an instant hit locally and across the continent. The bright colors pay homage to San Diego's world-class sunsets while keeping enough of the classic Padres' motifs that this still feels familiar.
Although they haven't had the same success on the field, the Padres knocked it out of the park with these classic threads.
10. Pittsburgh Pirates
There's only so much you can do with Pittsburgh's colors. The city has adopted black and gold as its official colors, and every professional sports team maintains that culture. But instead of toying with primary colors and failing miserably (that's right, Philadelphia Phillies fans, you didn't make the list), the Pittsburgh Pirates inverted the black and gold.
Of course, this isn't the first Pirates' uniform to rely on gold as the primary color, but the rest of the elements make these jerseys pop. It's easy to overlook the 'Y' pattern of these threads, representing the three rivers and Pirates' stomping grounds. But you can also catch bridge cutouts on the PGH across the front, with a special nod to Roberto Clemente.
It's all in the details. And that's what makes these jerseys stand out.
9. Baltimore Orioles
It's hard to capture the vibrancy that Baltimore has to offer, but the design team nailed it with these fits.
At first glance, these appear rigid and uninspired, but a closer look reveals a bold and fresh take. The quirky interior patterns represent the area's colorful neighborhoods, with Baltimore sprawled fearlessly across the front. With the script 'B' on the sleeves, these unis are unapologetically Baltimore.
Simple but bold, these City Connect jerseys are fire.
8. Los Angeles Angels
First, the Los Angeles Angels didn't reinvent the wheel with their City Connect uniforms, which rubbed many people the wrong way. Nevertheless, this proper amount of retro aesthetic helped them creep into our top ten.
Relying on signature SoCal motifs, the Angels font was almost psychedelic enough to throw us off but still good enough to elicit the right beachy vibes. The Angels re-imagined the 'A' on the hats, making it pop with cool undertones and a bolder script.
The Halos won us over with the player numbers on the front in the middle of a baseball diamond. Fittingly, they left the bases empty.
7. Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies' take on their City Connect jerseys was one of the freshest and boldest, and it couldn't have gone better.
The Rockies took a literal and figurative approach to their re-design. Starting with the mountain silhouette on the background, Colorado complemented that look with a forest green color scheme. But they didn't abandon their roots altogether, using a purple stripe down the pants leg to ground the unis in familiarity.
The hat is what pushes this combination over the edge. CO is set on a colorful backdrop of mountains and enclosed by an earthy combination of red and brown circles, representing the soil. These jerseys are the Rockies' most notable win of the past few years.
6. Seattle Mariners
It's easy to forget about the Seattle Mariners. They rarely compete, and when they do, it always ends disastrously in the playoffs. Thankfully, they get to take the win for these history-laden threads.
The Mariners straddle a wide lane with their trident cap. The upside-down trident is easily recognized as an 'M' across Seattle Pilots' blue. That classic take is also reflected in 'Seattle' across the chest, using a fresh take on the Pilots' font from the 60s.
This wouldn't be Seattle without Dave Niehaus's tagline "My, oh my!", which you can find over the jock tag. Add it to the growing list of pop culture references that pay respect to the late broadcaster.
5. New York Mets
New York's stature as one of the most iconic cities in the world could have precipitated various jerseys. Still, the New York Mets incorporated all the right details in creating a jersey representing their city and borough.
The concrete base, Queensboro Bridge on that, the purple subway colors pinning everything down underneath -- everything about these unis screams New York. More importantly, it's all kept together with the NYC emblazoned across the chest and the 'NY' hat in classic font.
These threads work on so many levels. One of the few highlights of this year's drop.
4. Miami Marlins
Previously, the Miami Marlins tried a rebrand to incorporate a more familiar color scheme into their uniforms. Although they didn't land as well as the organization had hoped (trading away all your star players at the same time probably didn't help), the Marlins killed it with their City Connect opportunity.
As has been the case with several of these rebrands, the Marlins incorporate some of the design highlights from the Cuban Sugar Kings. Kudos to Miami's design team for masterfully mixing the two franchises.
Most notably, the Marlins kept the Sugar Kings' crown on their lids, embroidering the classic 'MM' in the center. The bright colors and history make these jerseys pop.
3. Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves did Hank Aaron proud with their City Connect outfits. Combining classic touches with retro flare resulted in one of the most harmonious mashups possible.
Atlanta threw back to their 1974 color scheme, keeping the traditional 'A' in Braves font on the hat. Similarly, the jerseys flaunt the classic insignia over the left chest, blending a more modern touch by adding 'The' in front of the 'A.'
The Braves could have pursued any number of avenues with Atlanta's culture. In the end, keeping it classic worked out best.
2. Tampa Bay Rays
Inarguably the best drop of the 2024 season, the Tampa Bay Rays skateboard-inspired uniforms set a new standard moving forward. While every other team got some shade of blue, the Central Florida-based team paid homage to its Devil Rays roots with green and purple.
The best feature of the fit is the hat. Tampa Bay's design team re-purposed the silhouette of the Sunshine Skywalk Bridge into a derivative of the original Devil Rays logo, using the green and purple colors synonymous with the club's early days.
Unlike the team ahead of them, the dozens of Rays fans lining up to grab their City Connect gear will not face a supply shortage.
1. San Diego Padres
Four years into the City Connect uniforms, the San Diego Padres reign supreme as the crispest jerseys in the league.
The Friars introduced their signature mint and pink unis in July 2023, becoming an instant hit locally and across the continent. The bright colors pay homage to San Diego's world-class sunsets while keeping enough of the classic Padres' motifs that this still feels familiar.
Although they haven't had the same success on the field, the Padres knocked it out of the park with these classic threads.
10. Pittsburgh Pirates
There's only so much you can do with Pittsburgh's colors. The city has adopted black and gold as its official colors, and every professional sports team maintains that culture. But instead of toying with primary colors and failing miserably (that's right, Philadelphia Phillies fans, you didn't make the list), the Pittsburgh Pirates inverted the black and gold.
Of course, this isn't the first Pirates' uniform to rely on gold as the primary color, but the rest of the elements make these jerseys pop. It's easy to overlook the 'Y' pattern of these threads, representing the three rivers and Pirates' stomping grounds. But you can also catch bridge cutouts on the PGH across the front, with a special nod to Roberto Clemente.
It's all in the details. And that's what makes these jerseys stand out.
