Tired of seeing annoying ads (like this one!) on Uni Watch? There’s a simple solution: Join Uni Watch Plus. You’ll get an ad-free site experience, plus exclusive access to our UW+ discussion forums, push notifications whenever a new blog post has been published, a special UW+ badge accompanying all your comments on the blog, and a 20% discount on our Teespring merchandise.
As the clock ticks down toward the unveiling of the Phillies’ City Connect uniform, which is scheduled for this Friday, some new purported leaks are making the rounds.
A new photo began circulating last week (I’m not sure where it first appeared), showing the same design but with a paler shade of blue:
Now, it’s possible that the second leak is just a counterfeit knock-off based on the first leak, whose provenance remains unknown. In other words, it’s possible that neither of them is legit.
Speaking of which: Yesterday I was made aware of a new eBay listing for what’s purported to be a Bryce Harper jersey with this same CC design. Here are the eBay seller’s photos of that item:
As you can see, the sewing job on the sleeve patch was a complete amateur job — plus the patch has two typos! So this jersey is obviously a fake. But that doesn’t mean the original leaked design was a fake; it just means someone is trying to cash in on that leak, regardless of its legitimacy.
Man, what a fuss over such a putrid design!
A New Addition to the Uni Watch Family
From left to right, the photo above shows longtime Uni Watch team member Alex Hider, his lovely wife, Libby, and their new son, Henry, who was born on April 1 — no foolin’!
Here’s another photo of Alex and Henry:
It’s been a v-e-r-y busy period for the proud papa, but he found time to fill me in on a few details (and encouraged me to share them with the Uni Watch comm-uni-ty):
Henry arrived a few weeks ahead of schedule — 3.84 pounds, 16 inches long! He’ll be in the NICU for a while, but doctors tell us he’s in great shape and doing really well. Mom is feeling great too!
It breaks our hearts that he won’t be able to come home for a while, but we know he’s in great hands here. It’s a wonderful NICU with a great reputation, and the level of care both he and Libby have received has been phenomenal.
Such wonderful news! Please join me in wishing lots of health and happiness to Alex, Libby, and Henry. Huzzah!
After I got the news about Henry’s birth, I looked up when Alex started doing Tickers for the site. It was in the fall of 2013 — more than 10 years ago, when Alex was still a senior in college! In the decade-plus since then, Alex has become a trusted team member, a go-to pinch-hitter when we’re in a tight spot and need some additional content, and — most importantly — a good friend. I finally got to meet him in December of 2018, when I had a Uni Watch gathering in his home base of Cincinnati. Here’s a shot of the two of us from that day:
The following year, Alex and Libby took a vacation to NYC and came over to Uni Watch HQ for brunch:
The only downside to Henry’s birth is that Alex is saying good-bye to Uni Watch. I’ve known for a while now that he was expecting a new addition to his family and would therefore have to leave the site because of his new parental obligations. We initially thought that would happen sometime in May, but Henry’s early arrival means Alex is making an early departure. I’m happy for him but sad that I’ll no longer have the pleasure of working with him.
As I mentioned earlier, Alex has been on weekly Ticker duty for over a decade now. I should say here that Tickering can be a somewhat plodding task that doesn’t allow for much creativity and brings very little in the way of glory or remuneration. In other words, it’s a classic one- or two-year gig for a young go-getter who’s looking to jump-start a career in sports journalism and wants to get a good reference from the boss. The fact that Alex has stayed on for all of this time — and has maintained a great attitude and a good sense of humor along the way — is pretty remarkable. He’s a really terrific guy, and I wish nothing but the best to him and his family. You’ll be missed, buddy.
Membership Update
A bunch of new designs have been added to the membership card gallery, including one ordered by reader Frank Seitz, who recently asked us to do a card based on the Camden Yards scoreboard, with his surname replacing “The Sun.”
This one was a lot of work for card designer Scott M.X. Turner, but I think you’ll agree that he did a spectacular job (you can see a larger version here). Frank asked for the clock to be set for 1:35 because that’s when Orioles games start — a nice touch.
The membership program will end when I step away from Uni Watch at the end of May, so move fast, or at least fast-ish, if you want to get on board. As always, you can sign up for your own custom-designed card here (please, try to stick to rear-jersey designs, not scoreboards!), you can see all the cards we’ve designed so far here (now more than 3,400 of them!), and you can see how we produce the cards here.
ITEM! A New Raffle
Reader Kary Klismet has generously donated funds to cover a one-year subscription to my Substack, so we’re going to raffle that off today.
This will be a one-day raffle. No entry restrictions. To enter, since an email to the raffle in-box by 9pm Eastern tonight. One entry per person. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow. Big thanks to Kary for sponsoring this one!
Can of the Day
Along with all the other design goodness, I like how the black panel is the shape of a TV screen.
“It was in the fall of 2023 — more than 10 years ago”
“would therefore have t0 leave the site”
Fixed.
Congrats to Alex and Libby!
Had a nice Uni Watch moment while watching last night’s Blue Jays win over the Astros:
The broadcast showed a graphic of Jose Berrios and I said, “Oh, that photo is from last year.” My girlfriend asked, “How do you know?”.
“Because the belt loops on the pants are different,” I responded, to which she promptly rolled her eyes about as hard as I’ve ever seen :)
Time to get a new girlfriend, Charlie.
;)
Congratulations, Alex and Libby!
Congratulations on the newborn and many thanks for all the Ticker services you provided!
Congratulations Alex and Libby! And here’s hoping Henry’s stay in the NICU is short and he comes out strong and healthy!
And great job on that card Scott! I’ll be sad when this program ends, but I think a lot of great ideas are coming out.
Welcome, Henry!
Congrats Alex and family.
As far as the Philly jersey goes I get it’s the colors of the city flag but at the same time that font and colors dont scream city of Philadelphia to me. They scream throw s**t on the wall and see what sticks.
But something Ben Franklin’s kite something something
Congrats to Alex and Libby.
RE: The Phillies CC, I was at the Phillies game on Monday night, at one point the stadium big screen cut to a girl holding up the CC jersey. Seemed odd they would show that on the screen if it was not the legitimate design.
You mean they showed a fan holding up the leaked jersey design?
Correct. She was already holding it when the screen cut to her, and it stayed on her for a bit. So I don’t think it was a case of them being surprised by her suddenly holding up the jersey, seemed intentional that they showed it.
Good intl, Greg. Thanks!
The sleeve patch actually has two typos!
City Gf BrothLrly love.
But that’s not the real reason I’m commenting. The real reason is, even with those two typos, I’m not convinced it’s a fake. I wouldn’t put something that egregious past Nike and Fanatics at this point!
Ha, I was so fixated on the first typo that I missed the second one! Text now updated.
The placket splits the ‘I’, so it must be legit!
And the patch might be celebrating the city’s many brothels.
Alright I just took another look and noticed how high up the MLB logo is on the back. So yeah, I guess it probably is a fake. But my original point still stands, dang it!
Congrats to the Hider family on your new addition! The days are long but the years fly by. Enjoy the ride.
“Man, what a fuss over such a putrid design” is spot on!
* Spot on referring to the Philly City Connects.
This one is Putrid with a capiatal P.
Make that capital…
This topic might be a little tired at this point but I noticed last night that Gavin Lux had pants with the old belt loops while the rest of the Dodgers did not. I wonder how many other players on other teams are wearing mismatched pants.
… something something talking the pants off …
A thousand thanks to Scott for even attempting my crazy idea. When I saw the Memorial Stadium font card I knew what my last card would be, although I was cool if it was a bridge too far as far as design goes. As a reader from way back in the ESPN Page 2 days I am thankful I found this community.
How mad would you be if I ordered my own membership card and just completely ganked your idea? As an O’s fan/Baltimore native myself, it’s one of the coolest design ideas I’ve ever seen, and I don’t mean just for a membership card.
Why would I be mad? It is a spectacular design that I wasn’t sure if they would attempt to pull off. If they still have the layout and agree you should totally do it.
Congrats to the Hider family. I was in your shoes 24 years ago with premie twins, who spent their first month in the NICU and in doll clothes because that was the only thing that fit. They are strong healthy college grads today. Hang in there, been there it will be okay! Just think of Henry as a go-getter and ready to hit the ground running! Godspeed to you and your family.
Congrats to Team Hider!
The little guy is in good hands but the NICU is a scary place for the uninitiated.
Congrats to Alex and Libby, and welcome Henry to the Uni-Watch family! May your stirrups ever be facing the right way.
Best wishes to the new parents! The adventure begins.
We need to get Henry a membership card…
Congrats Alex!!!
As the parent of two NICU graduates (2lb 6oz & 2lb 1oz) – there’s nothing scarier and also nothing that better prepares you for taking a child home.
Happy to talk through some of the tips/tricks I picked up during our time there – Paul has my contact info.
Congratulations, Alex and family! And thank you for all the great work over the years!
I love those three quarter sleeve Reds jerseys.
Happy Birthday, Henry…and congrats to Libby and Alex!
Why anyone would waste time/energy/resources crafting a knock-off of that Philly CC is beyond me. I can’t imagine there will be much of a market for that.
When is the last time a leak like this (with new logos/colors/typefaces/patches/slogans etc) has been wrong?
Congratulations to Alex and family!
Slight typos:
“It was in the fall of 2023 — more than 10 years ago”
“would therefore have t0 leave the site”
Fixed.
Congrats to Alex and Libby!
Had a nice Uni Watch moment while watching last night’s Blue Jays win over the Astros:
The broadcast showed a graphic of Jose Berrios and I said, “Oh, that photo is from last year.” My girlfriend asked, “How do you know?”.
“Because the belt loops on the pants are different,” I responded, to which she promptly rolled her eyes about as hard as I’ve ever seen :)
Time to get a new girlfriend, Charlie.
;)
Congratulations, Alex and Libby!
Congratulations on the newborn and many thanks for all the Ticker services you provided!
Congratulations Alex and Libby! And here’s hoping Henry’s stay in the NICU is short and he comes out strong and healthy!
And great job on that card Scott! I’ll be sad when this program ends, but I think a lot of great ideas are coming out.
Welcome, Henry!
Congrats Alex and family.
As far as the Philly jersey goes I get it’s the colors of the city flag but at the same time that font and colors dont scream city of Philadelphia to me. They scream throw s**t on the wall and see what sticks.
But something Ben Franklin’s kite something something
Congrats to Alex and Libby.
RE: The Phillies CC, I was at the Phillies game on Monday night, at one point the stadium big screen cut to a girl holding up the CC jersey. Seemed odd they would show that on the screen if it was not the legitimate design.
You mean they showed a fan holding up the leaked jersey design?
Correct. She was already holding it when the screen cut to her, and it stayed on her for a bit. So I don’t think it was a case of them being surprised by her suddenly holding up the jersey, seemed intentional that they showed it.
Good intl, Greg. Thanks!
The sleeve patch actually has two typos!
City Gf BrothLrly love.
But that’s not the real reason I’m commenting. The real reason is, even with those two typos, I’m not convinced it’s a fake. I wouldn’t put something that egregious past Nike and Fanatics at this point!
Ha, I was so fixated on the first typo that I missed the second one! Text now updated.
The placket splits the ‘I’, so it must be legit!
And the patch might be celebrating the city’s many brothels.
Alright I just took another look and noticed how high up the MLB logo is on the back. So yeah, I guess it probably is a fake. But my original point still stands, dang it!
Congrats to the Hider family on your new addition! The days are long but the years fly by. Enjoy the ride.
“Man, what a fuss over such a putrid design” is spot on!
* Spot on referring to the Philly City Connects.
This one is Putrid with a capiatal P.
Make that capital…
This topic might be a little tired at this point but I noticed last night that Gavin Lux had pants with the old belt loops while the rest of the Dodgers did not. I wonder how many other players on other teams are wearing mismatched pants.
… something something talking the pants off …
A thousand thanks to Scott for even attempting my crazy idea. When I saw the Memorial Stadium font card I knew what my last card would be, although I was cool if it was a bridge too far as far as design goes. As a reader from way back in the ESPN Page 2 days I am thankful I found this community.
How mad would you be if I ordered my own membership card and just completely ganked your idea? As an O’s fan/Baltimore native myself, it’s one of the coolest design ideas I’ve ever seen, and I don’t mean just for a membership card.
Why would I be mad? It is a spectacular design that I wasn’t sure if they would attempt to pull off. If they still have the layout and agree you should totally do it.
Congrats to the Hider family. I was in your shoes 24 years ago with premie twins, who spent their first month in the NICU and in doll clothes because that was the only thing that fit. They are strong healthy college grads today. Hang in there, been there it will be okay! Just think of Henry as a go-getter and ready to hit the ground running! Godspeed to you and your family.
Congrats to Team Hider!
The little guy is in good hands but the NICU is a scary place for the uninitiated.
Congrats to Alex and Libby, and welcome Henry to the Uni-Watch family! May your stirrups ever be facing the right way.
Best wishes to the new parents! The adventure begins.
We need to get Henry a membership card…
Congrats Alex!!!
As the parent of two NICU graduates (2lb 6oz & 2lb 1oz) – there’s nothing scarier and also nothing that better prepares you for taking a child home.
Happy to talk through some of the tips/tricks I picked up during our time there – Paul has my contact info.
link
Congratulations, Alex and family! And thank you for all the great work over the years!
I love those three quarter sleeve Reds jerseys.
Happy Birthday, Henry…and congrats to Libby and Alex!
Why anyone would waste time/energy/resources crafting a knock-off of that Philly CC is beyond me. I can’t imagine there will be much of a market for that.
When is the last time a leak like this (with new logos/colors/typefaces/patches/slogans etc) has been wrong?
Congrats Alex & Libby!