About the best thing I can say about MLB’s City Connect uniform program is that the team I root for hasn’t been affected by it yet. But that will be changing soon.
A source I trust tells me that the Mets’ CC uniform will make its on-field debut on April 26, when the team hosts the Cardinals. It will be officially announced and unveiled about a week prior to that date. My source doesn’t know anything about the actual CC design, unfortunately.
The interesting thing about that April 26 on-field debut date — well, aside from it being much earlier in the season than I had hoped — is that April 26 is a Friday, which is when the Mets usually wear their black alternate uniforms (which, in case you missed it yesterday, have a new design this season). It’s not clear if the Friday debut means that the CC uni will also be black, or if it’s just a one-time thing for the CC rollout. Indeed, a quick check of the calendar reveals that four of the six CC designs introduced last year debuted on a Friday.
Of course, this could be a “both and” situation, instead of an “either/or.” We’ll find out soon enough.
The Mets are among 10 teams that do not yet have a CC uniform. The other nine are the A’s (whose nomadic status would seem to make them a poor fit for the CC program), Blue Jays, Cardinals, Guardians, Phillies, Rays, Tigers, Twins, and Yankees (who may have opted out of the CC program).
If anyone knows more about the any new CC designs, including the Mets’, I’m all ears. Anonymity assured, of course.
Also: For all the Mets blogs and websites that will be tweeting about this, it would be nice if you could please link to this page instead of just saying “per @UniWatch.” Thanks!
Paul, can you clarify something with the 4+1 rule?
Does this also apply to spring training? I was talking with a Phillies fan about their uniforms and they were aware that a Shitty Connect design was coming out this year which meant the Phillies red alternates were gone (thankfully). They were saying how that meant the red tops would no longer show up for spring training and they’d wear their standard home pinstripes for the first time in a long time. I was under the impression that 1) the 4+1 rule applied to the regular season, and 2) often BP tops are used as spring training uniforms, so that loophole would still work here since the Phils red top started as a BP thing (if I recall correctly).
My understanding is that it applies to spring training. But a couple of teams “violated” the “rule” last season, so who the fuck knows.
It was a matter of time…
It’s petrifying and a little exciting to see what the Mets come up with here. There are a lot of cool little aesthetic elements in Mets history that could be built out. Who knows if Nike cares enough to do some research on them. A lot of fan concepts (and my own thoughts, too) center on the skyline and/or neon (the neon being a callback to the exterior of Shea, of course). But there is a part of me that kind of feels like it’ll say “GOTHAM” on the front and be some weird Batman-themed thing
I guess we’ll find out in a matter of months.
There are a lot of cool little aesthetic elements in Mets history that could be built out.
Most CC uniforms designs have not been about the *team’s* history. In fact, the entire point of the CC program is to sell jerseys to people who aren’t big fans.
Fair (and disheartening) point.
I thought the point was to sell jerseys to people who are such huge fans they want to drape themselves in EVERYTHING that’s repped on the field of play. A casual fan wouldn’t know what the hell they’re looking at.
No. The point of CC (and many NBA City Editions) is to promote the CITY and thus get non-fans to buy/wear the jersey out of civic pride or some bullshit like that. In other words, the point is to expand the retail market beyond the existing fan base.
This program is usually misses but I’d love to see a Unisphere themed uni for the Mets
What about the Rays? When do they come out
If/when I have anything solid to report, I’ll report it.
The worst is yet to come (in the words of the 60s Batman series). CC and City Editions are targeted at young consumers who think they will look cool in a jersey without supporting the actual team, as they think team sports are so uncool. Except for that NFL team from Kel-Sey (right?) that Taylor roots for.
I’d like to see some kind of jersey based on the marketing campaigns of the 1960s — “Step Right Up And Meet the Mets!”
A running Mr. Met would be cool.
Yes, that would be nice. But as I’ve mentioned in another comment thread, most CC uniform designs are not about the team’s history.
Just a concept: why not base the new design on what New York City subway cars looked like in the early 60s, with the lighter blue and silver with a touch of orange? These were the R33 -WF cars (about 430 made) for the New York World’s Fair of 1964.
*Greet the Mets ;)
The Mariners City Connect uniforms are a nice nod to team history and teams in the city history. The Braves, too, but not as dramatic as the Mariners.
I like the City Connect idea. Probably in the minority here. But I think some of them were fantastic. I really like the Marlins, Rockies, White Sox, Cubs, Pirates (sans the DYI batting helmets) and Brewers. I don’t like the Giants, Padres, and Dodgers and the rest are kind of in the middle.
I’m hoping the Mets do something with Queens — not Flushing — and the Unisphere. Maybe work in the orange and blue panels from Shea.
As some other commenters have said, I hope it is a reference to the world’s fair or the Unisphere. I think this is a great tie into the borough and a major event. They could have a lot of great design & architectural influences to work with from the event & the era in general.
But I am neither a New Yorker nor a fan of the team, so I could be wrong about locals feel about it. Very possible my strong feelings on mid-century modern may be influencing my judgement.
Kind of hope they just use the “NY Apple” logo from one of The 7 Line caps:
link
…but that makes too much sense.
Even bringing the “Los Mets” back would be better than what I think this will end up looking like – a graffiti-esque version of the White Sox Southside jersey, probably with this kind of Queens font treatment/logo:
link
Why did they touch the black unis? Dropping the white backdrop on the lettering makes the thing loom like a piss-poor Mike Piazza replica I got handed from Nathan’s back in 2003 BLECH! C’mon Paul, you root for the team, you have any pull?!?
If it doesnt say the word “Queens” on it, has the unisphere, an apple or the 7 train, it’ll all be fraud
I have no faith either after seeing the early version of the hospital ad patch
I think I have given up caring any more about what my teams wear and I will live in the past. For example, I wear a t-shirt I found with the original Met logo, not the incorrect one they use now. I wear a Mets jacket from 1986, which remarkably I have kept like new mainly by not wearing it much..
You need to keep that jacket in storage until we win another WS. If you continue to “not wear(…) it much” it’ll wear out before then ;)
Let’s just hope they don’t bring back the two-tone helmets……..
Can’t wait to another disappointing cash grab, ugh.
One day teams will learn winning will move merch and tickets better than pandering.