Aloha! Paul here, checking in one last time from Hawaii (my plane departs later today), because there’s some breaking MLB news: The Phillies have announced that their City Connect uniform will be unveiled this Friday, April 5. That confirms an earlier report that the design would debut “in April.”
The announcement doesn’t say anything about the design. But it was reported back in December that the CC uniform would feature the colors of the Philadelphia city flag, which are blue and yellow. That report was followed in January by an eBay listing for what was purported to be the new CC jersey. That jersey is shown at the top of this page; here are some additional photos of it from the original eBay listing:
So we’ll find out on Friday if that is indeed the CC jersey. (To date, there have been no leaks of the cap or the pants.)
Although the CC uni will be unveiled this Friday, it will not make its on-field debut until the following Friday, April 12, when the Phils host the Pirates. After that, the CC uni will be worn for all Friday home games for the rest of the season.
This will be the first of the nine CC uniforms to be unveiled in 2024. Here’s a graphic showing all nine teams that are getting new CC designs this season:
Of those nine teams, eight will be joining the CC program for the first time, while the Dodgers will be replacing their previous CC uni with a new design.
By the close of this season, all but two MLB teams will have joined the CC program. The two exceptions are the Yankees (who reportedly have no interest) and the A’s (who are a poor fit for a city-based program because they don’t even know where they’ll be playing for the next several seasons).
I can’t believe the brain trust at Nike can’t come up with a City Disconnect uniform for the A’s! It could have elements of Philly/KC/Oakland/San Jose/Vegas and maybe a few others thrown it.
Don’t forget Denver (an almost location for them in the 1970s)!
All players in a Connie Mack style suit!
I am on board with all of these suggestions!
I can already picture a passport or bumper sticker-themed “city” connect uniform with all the A’s previous destinations.
I add your suggestion to the best ideas!
Would be the first Country Connect uniform.
Oh my God but those Philly uniforms are for crap.
the Yankees (who reportedly have no interest)
If only they would have expressed a similar disinterest in the 2019 Players Weekend…
link
Even so, between accurately predicting that their regular uniform *was* their Turn Ahead The Clock uni, and sitting out the City Connect nonsense, the Yanks are rising up my list of favorite teams. They did put an ad on their jerseys, though, so that’s a strike against them.
Feels like in this case Nike ran out of all city inspired design elements making countless alternates for the Sixers the last several years.
The Phillies have quickly sunk to the same uniform nonsense as most MLB teams in recent years. I really miss the days when they were reliably white at home, gray on the road, and cream alternates for home day games. Say nothing for the chain stitching, sleeves numbers, and the bell-inside-diamond logo that have all fallen by the wayside.
As a Phillies fan I’m disgusted. We are a red team so it’s not even going to feel like the Phillies on Friday’s now. This leak looks extremely legit unfortunately though.
Adidas to block people.from custom orders of this “kit”
link
Seems more of “and no one noticed”?
Good. But they could probably have avoided this issue entirely if they’d just use, I donno…normal number fonts instead of all this bespoke shit.
Yes, but it is especially alarming because adidas is a German company and this is a uniform for their national team. Nike makes crap for USMNT/USWNT but adidas had to sign off on that font with that 5, and nobody thought it was a problem? Remarkably tone-deaf in a country that is acutely and persistently aware of 1933-45.
I’m not as down on the City Connect unis as others. Some of them are actually pretty great. I love Houston’s, Cincinnati’s Washington’s, Seattle’s (though not with those pants) to name a few.
These, on the other hand, are truly hot garbage. Literally look like an MiLB “alternate identity,” uniform that is made with the intent of being “so ugly its good.”
“I love Houston’s, Cincinnati’s Washington’s, Seattle’s (though not with those pants) to name a few.”
That’s funny — and I think it really does show how great a disparity in tastes we all have.
I thought Houston’s was the WORST CC of 2022, and Cincy was the WORST of 2023. Yet I love both Washington and Seattle (especially with the pants, although I’d love to see them with gold pants instead of black).
So of the four you love, I agree with you wholeheartedly on two, but feel the other two you love, I HATE — like to the point that those two were each the WORST CC introduced in that particular season.
YVVM of course.
Just to throw my two cents in: I LOVE Cincy’s, and Arizona’s should be their daily uniform. Cubbies’ are great. With a few tweaks others could be great: Texas: switch the “rope” trim for a simple stripe, find someone who can draw to redesign the cat/bird, ditch the stirrup/map logo. Houston: cut out the graph paper pattern. Seattle: ditch the black as a major color, make the hat all blue with a yellow squatchee, and the pants blue or white. Colorado simplify the mountains and bold the wordmark, and keep the green pants. Miami: figure out the pinstripes. They are too far apart and only on the body of the uniform. Put pinstripes on the sleeves as well and make them all much more narrowly spaced, then consider matching the pants to the top.
I also love Arizona’s too.
Thought’s on Boston’s? I am a Red Sox fan and I absolutely hate the yellow and blues. Especially because, in a way, the Red Sox had the original City Connect uniform that they created after the Marathon Bombing and continue to wear on Marathon Monday/Patriot’s Day ever since.
That jersey serves the purpose of a City Connect better than any of them, but I guess they can’t build a whole additional merch line around it so it’ll stay on Marathon Monday only and we get the ugly yellows.
Boston’s is one of my favorites!
You can see how I ranked all the CC’s in
2021: link
2022: link
2023: link
Why punish the Phillies fans with this? Wear them on Mondays or Thursdays instead when there are off days and less games. Wear the powder blue throwbacks on Fridays instead.
They remind me of something a third grader would make for art class.
I’m a total moron with Phillies jerseys as I have far too many (and many with questionable names on the back…) but I won’t be touching these at all, ever. They’re terrible. And way too expensive.
I still maintain that the only good CC uniform is the Washington Nationals.
Wait-this was not an April Fools prank?
Ah Cheis…
A long time ago Paul and I planned an elaborate AF joke (which turned out NOT to be a joke): link
That was the day we announced the Seahawks would have a neon alternate jersey — and we did it AS a joke — but it turned out they wore one during the season anyway. I remember we had a reader (at the time) named Paul Soto who mocked up a logo slick…and the jersey was actually more like this: link
that what they ended up wearing: link
and I think we gave it white pants, instead of navy.
But the neon green was SPOT ON.
So … no more AF posts for us … ever again.
That was the article that introduced me to Uni Watch!
My apologies
I can’t wait to hear the story of the Phillies City Connect….bet its a real deep dive…
I don’t hate the Phillies’ CC jersey like some people do, but that collar is clearly wide enough to hold the MLB logo inside it.
The thing I can’t understand is how the Liberty Bell is somehow a letter “O”. If that shape is a letter, how can it be anything other than an “A”?
The rollout of these has been wayyyyy too slow. And then to have a Dodgers replacement before some teams even introduced their first offerings?
I was at the Reds/Phils game last night. Bryce Harper was breaking in neon yellow cleats and batting gloves. This is sadly legit.
I was already not buying anything new because Nike has ruined so many great uniforms by going New Coke on MLB, and I am not a fan of one-offs in general. As others have said, the Phillies have a fairly classic and consistent look and most of the unique quirks (chain-stitching, sleeve numbers) are gone. (I found a bunch of last year’s powder blues on sale last night, birthday gift for my son.) But the Phillies’ CC is especially heinous. You have a city rich in culture and history and you did… THIS?!?!
Interesting to note that “Philly” has never been on any of the major four teams’ jerseys. Correct me if I’m wrong please. As for the actual jersey, it’s awful. The only potential redeemer would be the hat – let’s see if that can make up for it a little bit. Not holding my breath on that though!
Will the NOB’s on all of the CC jerseys be the new standardized font or a smaller version of what was originally designed and produced?
It’s my understanding that teams will be getting CC’s in the same new template, which includes the NOB in smaller letters below the batterman logo. However, if this leak is legit, it appears “WHEELER” has larger lettering than we’ve seen on the new templates. But we’ll find out for sure on Friday.
This is desperate last hope on my part but could that maybe mean these are not legit?
Proofreading: “Aloha! Paul here, checking in on last time from Hawaii…” Should be “one last time”?
Got it.
I don’t particularly like the City Connect program (though a few individual designs are nice) and I don’t think teams should be forced to participate, but it drives me NUTS that the Yankees are allowed to opt out, but the Royals were forced into the smaller NOB lettering when they didn’t want it. If one team is allowed to maintain a higher level control over their aesthetic, then all teams should be allowed to do the same.
You’re mixing apples and oranges. For all we know, the Royals (and any other team) could have opted out of CC, just like the Yankees have chosen to do.
And if the Yankees had NOBs, they’d presumably be subject to same stupid rule that the Royals are subject to.
In short: There’s no evidence here of a double standard.
It’s fitting and smart that the Phillies will be out of town when those CC unis are revealed.
Let’s slow down on saying they’ll wear them for every Friday home game. Those CCs may last as long as the All Burgandies.
The Philadelphia Inquirer today has an article about how there are more ads than ever at the Phillies ballpark, which the team blames on higher player payrolls. The team also says that a sleeve ad on the uniforms is coming. link
Yes. We know all that.
And it’s all bullshit. They can blame the payroll (and of course, bitch about player salaries) all they want, but they’re just greedy bastards trying to squeeze as much $$$ as possible.
Want to lower costs? Don’t give out $330 million contracts (see: Harper, Bryce)
Horrible jersey: gradient, horror movie font, not a thread of red, completely out of ideas regarding the city other than to incorporate the flag and placing the bell as an O while it looks like an A, as stated above.