Last season, Nike and MLB announced a new series of jerseys called City Connect. This was a Jersey that each team had specialized towards their cities history and personality of it. Unlike the normal home and away jerseys for each team these uniforms are more special and radical, with the MLB not seeing jerseys like this since they first announced alternate jerseys back in the 90's.
I won’t ever forget the retro red and black Mariners jersey that Ken Griffey Jr rocked back in the day.
Anyways here are my ranking of the 14 City connect jerseys that have been announced. My ranking is purely based on the looks and significance it has towards the city and a lot of personal opinion.
13. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers “Los Dodgers” uniforms were inspired by the presence of the Latin American community in the area, along with honoring Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela. This jersey however is very bland as the only special feature is the “Los Dodgers” script on the chest of the jersey. The basic blue coloring looks just like the all blue alternate jersey they have, which puts it at the bottom of my list.
City importance 6/10
Looks 4/10
12. San Francisco Giants
Man when I tell you I was excited when I heard the Giants announcement of their city connect jersey , that would be an understatement. The Jersey pays homage to the Golden Gate Bridge on the sleeves and the large G on the chest is taken over by the San Francisco fog. The bridge is cool don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t pay homage to much other than the bridge, which results in it being so low on my list. Simple clean looking jersey, but could have done so much more with it.
City Importance 3/10
Looks 7.5/10
11. Chicago Cubs
I do not like the cubs at all, like I really don’t like them, but the jersey is good looking. It’s on the boring side of things, similar to the Dodgers jerseys. The Cubs went with a navy blue design and the iconic Wrigleyville on the front. But, outside of that, and the patch on the sleeve paying respect to the river, it’s a boring but good looking jersey.
City Importance 3.5/10
Looks 7/10
10. Kansas City Royals
The Royals city connect jersey design was on the safe side, similar to the Cubs, with a navy blue jersey that honors the city’s fountains and rich history of baseball with a patch dedicated to teams like the Monarchs and Blue Sox. KC could have been bold with this jersey, but the Royals took the safe route, which puts them low on my list. However, they are better than the Cubs based on the looks.
City Importance 3.5/10
Looks 7.5/10
9. Los Angeles Angels
This is the turning point of where the jerseys start to get good. The Angels went with a crème jersey that pays respect to the strong SoCal beach presence and surf brands, which is where the idea of the Angels script came from. This jersey isn't extreme by any means, but it looks good to the eyes and has importance to the beach life that’s centered in Southern California.
City Importance 6/10
Looks 8/10
8. Milwaukee Brewers
Man I was not expecting the brewers to bust out the baby blue jerseys for their city connect. Instead of going for a beer theme, the brewers embraced the brew crew nickname and centered the jersey around that. The baby blues play into the summer skies of the city, along with the people's flag of Milwaukee which is where the yellow accents come from. This and the initials of the airport on the hat makes this a very good looking jersey.
City Importance 6/10
Looks 8.5/10
7. Boston Red Sox
While doing my research I realized that the Red Sox were the first team to fully embrace the craziness of what a city connect jersey can be by making the main colors yellow and blue. This jersey pays homage to the Boston marathon and Patriot day, which are 2 huge events that shaped the culture of Boston. This, along with the 617 patch, completed what is a bold jersey.
City Importance 6/10
Looks 9/10
6. Houston Astros
Another team that I almost hate more than the Cubs, the Astros knocked these jerseys out of the world by honoring the city’s space travel history. There is also a hint of the old 1970’s tequila sunrise jerseys, which they should bring back as an alternative jersey because they look SO good. Anyways, the Astros were spot on with a good looking jersey that pays good history to Houston. (They could have done a garbage can jersey in my opinion but that’s just me.)
City Importance 7/10
Looks 9/10
5. Arizona Diamondbacks
I find it hard to believe that the Diamondbacks used to be good back in the day. Regardless of that, this jersey references the Sonoran desert with the base color and paying homage to the state's Hispanic culture with Serpientes scripted across the front. They also added a patch of the state flag on the sleeve. This jersey looks way to good for a team that’s way too bad and I love it.
City Importance 7.5/10
Looks 9/10
4. Miami Marlins
Before I go into the Marlins jerseys, the Top 4 in my opinion can be interchangeable in spots because of how good they look and the city importance. But, the Marlins took a different route paying respect to an old Triple A team called the Sugar Kings who played in Cuba from 1946-1960. The hat logo and uniform patch are direct references to the jersey, but the red pine stripe look was the Marlins spin on it. This is such a good looking and different jersey that I will always imagine Jazz Chisholm in.
City Importance 8.5/10
Looks 9.5/10
3. Washington Nationals
The Nationals Capitalized on this opportunity with there jerseys key element being the iconic cherry blossoms alongside the lettering that shows respect to the architecture of our Nation's Capital. This jersey is so simple and sleek yet the importance of the cherry blossoms makes it pop.
City Importance 9/10
Looks 9.5/10
2. Chicago White Sox
I never thought I’d see a team go out on the field in black pinstripes uniforms that say Southside on the front. The font pays its homage to the Greystone architectural design of Chicago and the rest of the jersey is just unique. This is a jersey that if not for city connect, we’d never be able to see and it’s a fan favorite throughout the league. When you have guys from Tim Anderson to Tony LaRussa rock this jersey, then you really have seen it all.
City importance 9.5/10
Looks 10/10
1. Colorado Rockies
Wow. There’s so much that goes on in this jersey that I’m just speechless. Whether it’s the green mountains that represent the pine trees, or the new circle logo on the hat in red (for soil) and gold (for sunshine) it is just incredible. There is also the font that, similar to their unique license plate fonts. is what a jersey should look like. Nowhere else will you see this sort of creative jersey being able to be put on a field. As good looking as the White Sox jersey is, the Rockies have the best City Connect jersey.
City Importance 10/10
Looks 10/10
Looking back at this, I love what the MLB did with the city connect jerseys and I can’t wait to see what the other 17 teams get as their jersey.
