The Cleveland Guardians City Connect uniforms have apparently leaked via a video released on Twitter/X earlier this evening.
Cleveland Guardians City Connect reveal
(H/T @QuincyWheeler1) pic.twitter.com/DdT92AXkNv
— CSR (@ValeraSZN) May 12, 2024
In case that video is taken down, you can also view it here.
The video is approximately 1:00 minute in length, and the views of the CC’s come at about the :29 second mark.
Let’s take a look at some screen grabs.
We were presented with some quick full views of the uniform. The jersey is navy blue with “CLE” in bold lettering across the chest. Closeups appear to show some heavy stitching, giving the wordmark a 3-D appearance.
A still from the video shows the design:
If anyone knows what that particular design is referencing, please note it in the comments.
The blue buttonfront jersey has red, white and blue shoulder piping, which seems to be a harkback to the “Major League” uniforms, although the pattern is different.
A closeup of the sleeve shows the pattern is red/white/blue/white/red:
That piping continues down the sides of the jersey, for a racing stripe motif:
That comports with the racing stripes of the Major League era.
The pants for this uniform are white, but no good views exist of the sides — however, I would venture to guess that the same striping pattern of red/white/blue/white/red will run down the legs (as you’ll see in a moment).
We got several good looks at the cap. It’s a tri-color, with a red brim, white face, and a blue back. The “C” logo is the same as the current cap logo.
There was a fleeting glimpse of what look like CC socks, an “EST. 1901” patch, and what looks like the white pants with the striping in the pattern described above.
The socks shown in the video appear to match up with an earlier leak, lending further legitimacy to this video.
We also got a very brief glimpse of the jersey back, which shows player NOB in a white, standard block font, with custom numbers using the same pattern as the “CLE” wordmark on the front of the jersey.
While I cannot say for certain that the leaked video is legitimate, all signs point to it being so. The Guardians are scheduled to reveal their new CC unis this Monday, so it’s possible someone in the Guardians organization inadvertently uploaded it to Twitter/X (as several of the videos circulating on Twitter have already been taken down).
Until we know for certain this is the actual CC, I don’t want to make too many comments on it, but all indications point to this being the reveal video. But from the quick views in the video, I like the cap (a lot!), but the giant “CLE” (no matter what storytelling accompanies it) on the chest follows a pattern with big, bold, abbreviations (as seen on the Nationals, Mets and Pirates). And while I’ve never been a big fan of racing stripes, these seem narrow enough to look OK (unlike say, overly thick racing stripes worn by the Mets and a couple other teams). If the pants striping matches the sleeve stripes and racing stripes (which it seems to be doing), that will give the uniform a cohesive look. Obviously there are still many details we don’t yet know (and we don’t yet have the accompanying cringeworthy storytelling), but at first glance, this may be one of the better CC’s.
Assuming the team doesn’t have any additional leaks, we should find out on Monday if this is, indeed, the Cleveland Guardians CC.
The CLE font design – like the team name – is a reference to the Guardians of Traffic statues on the Hope Memorial Bridge
Yes, this really wasn’t that hard to figure out. It’s a clear a tie to the actual Art Deco Guardians of the bridge as you could get.
If I had to guess I’d say the design in the letters is an homage to the Hope Memorial Bridge
Another design that works in 2D on some Swooshketeer’s computer screen, but in the real-life 3D world, that’s not Respecting The Placket.
Could be worse… could have (and should have) been a pullover jersey.
Definitely one of the better ones. The font is interesting in a way where I can see the vision. The shoulder racing stripes are well done as well. The buttons aren’t the best, but they don’t cut the front script in a super weird place, so I’m okay with it.
City Connect is a frustrating marketing tactic but I actually don’t mind these. I’ve been a Cleveland fan since I first saw Major League and I will absolutely buy the cap. I kind of like the stripes too and I think it’s a fun idea that they run across the white pants. I am imagining a subtle optical effect that makes me want to see if it tricks my eye (it probably won’t). Overall, I give these a pass for an alternate.
I like these so far. The CLE follows a bit of a lame trend, but looking past that I like how most of the elements look. The hats look nice, and the helmets could look really nice. You never know how true the colors are in these photos, but that almost-maroon red looks good with the navy.
Bonus points for not being black/black/black with a color gradient on the inside of the cap.
Agree the front lettering and numerals are in reference to the Guardians of Traffic.
These actually aren’t all that bad.
These may be some of the best CCs yet. Simple, classic, not especially over-the-top, easily recognizable as the team and the city. This is what the program should be. Bonus points for white pants.
Really hope the Dodgers don’t just slap an LAX on their next city connect…..
Of course, they won’t. They’ll slap on an area code, too.
More like 4 area codes….
More like 11 area codes.
Don’t forget the black pants and gradient helmet
These are super nice and I think one of the best CCs this year. I definitely feel they are uninspired, like Cincinnati’s CC uni. Ohio really got the short end of the stick from Nike.
The art-deco-style font for CLE is super nice in my opinion, and it’s what really should’ve been on the 2022 Guards rebrand. The cap is a miss for me, but at least it’s not Detroit’s CC cap.
All these CC uniforms are a joke. Seems as the latest ones just slap a city abbreviation and call it good. A guardian in a head dress would have been nice to give an ode to the Indians days.
I think they’re clearly leaving all the native imagery in the past, but I really like how the stripes immediately trigger my nostalgia but also fit with the current team identity.
Sorry you don’t like them. The NY ones are extremely nice.
I’m a Cleveland fan and think these are great. CLE is fine for an alt, and better than “the land”, a lot of people have been hungry for some art deco nods and an actual representation of the guardian statue somewhere, and while I don’t love it the tricolor cap is pretty clean and the piping elements are great.
Honestly I’d be really interested to see this applied to our main set (the design elements and font, but with cleveland/guardians and maybe some contrast color in the letters where the stitching detail is) but with our existing hats. That could be the making of a really nice whole look
Regarding the legitimacy, before people posted it on Twitter it showed up in the film room section of mlb.com. As of 9:20 PM EST I know it was available through official channels, because I opened the MLB app to check the score of the Guardians game after I got off work and the video was there.
Regarding the unis themselves, I like these but it’s an odd choice to do something so similar to the existing blue alt. I think it demonstrates how little thought other than “don’t upset the people who are already mad about the name/logo change” went in to the current set to compare the absurdly bland current blue jersey to the nice details (love the stripes) and art deco theme happening with these. Swap out the “CLE” and these should just replace the blue alts, with a green Forest City themed city connect with that great old FC logo.
I agree…missed opportunity by not going with the Forrest Cities. This feels overly safe
That stripe pattern looks a lot like it is based on the Norwegian flag. Take away the CLE and this is what Norway’s national team should wear.
If they just said “Guardians” or “Cleveland” instead of “CLE” they’d be almost perfect.
That said, people in Cleveland _do_ use “CLE” a lot as shorthand.
They already have uniforms that say “Guardians” and “Cleveland” (2) across the front. I don’t have a problem going with something different. At least they didn’t overdo it, like the Philly or Tampa uniforms.
Also, the “points” in the wordmark reference the pointed tops of the, well, I guess you’d call them vertical plinths supporting the Guardians of Transportation statues on the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge.
Possibly also the city Skyline? It may be a reach but the KeyBank tower? (I don’t know what it’s called now)
Terminal tower?
Woof. Guess we should be thankful Nike didn’t use “The Land.”
Wow. That extra stitching on the CLE and numbers sure looks heavy. I sure hope it doesn’t slow the players down ;)
I admire Nike for using Cleveland’s Marathon Oil ad patch as motivation for this uniform. Also, does it appear that there is something sewn on the left side of the cap near the player’s ear?
The jerseys also look to have a marbled effect going on. Like a light blue to a darker hue, such as the ones used in the socks.
I personally think that the pointed ends of the fonts resemble a sort of rendition of the Cleveland skyline. Think KeyBank tower and the BP tower. (Maybe a reach)
Also, in the video there is a circular patch with a wreath and a Guardian Statue holding a bat. I think those may be incorporated as well, but nobody showed the other side of the jerseys to be sure.
All in all I’m gonna say this is a swing and drive for Cleveland fans. Deep into the seats!
I’ll be copping one for sure!
Also, I think all Cleveland fans can be happy that there is no reference or images of any guitars!
#GoGuards
I like the Major League stripes. Now I just know the Cardinals will have a big generic STL on the front of there’s…ugh. (Long time reader, first comment. Love the site)
As a native Clevelander and lifelong fan of the team, I like what I see. Though all City Connect uniforms are generally a terrible Nike marketing ploy, at least I’ll recognize my home team on the field wearing these. Very glad these a) pay tribute to the city, b) aren’t BFBS, and c) have the white pants so at least it looks like a baseball uniform. Curious if they’ll have a white front on the batting helmet, as well.
The stripes do continue on the pants. You can see it on a Steven Kwan show
Bonus points for avoiding tired guitar imagery.
These almost look like baseball uniforms. What was Nike thinking?
Blind squirrels and nuts.
Like the cap (although I was hoping for a return of the Caveman C) but everything else is “meh” which still leaves the uniform as one of the better CC sets. I like the racing stripes as a nod to the 80’s era uniforms and while it’s hard to confirm in the video, the shade of navy resembles the mid 70’s jersey of the “caveman C” and “Bloody Mary” era. I hate the CC program and wish we’d get throwbacks, fauxbacks and Negro League uniforms instead.
I feel like CLE on the front of the jersey is a nod to terminal tower?
This is not good. The sleeve stripes with Marathon patch remind me of the little league jerseys we passed down year to year. I’m from here, know the background & hate the CLE. 216 or The Land would have been better & the hat is awful. If you’re going to put the Guardian statue on the socks why not tie it together in the hat which is totally out of place. It looks like they grabbed the wrong hat while running out of the locker room. All around very disappointing.
If these turn out to be legit, as I’m sure they are, these are already among the best of the CC unis just for having some contrast and at least sticking to the team colors.
I don’t understand why they’d want a player with a huge necklace to be one of the models. Is baseball the only major sport that allows players to wear jewelry?
The sigh of relief that Nike didn’t lazily go with a “home of rock n roll” theme. THANK GOD
These are pretty good. Not a fan of the oversized CLE, but could have been a lot worse. With so many red and blue MLB teams, it would have been cool to really lean into the Hope Memorial Bridge concept and maybe utilize a cream or sand color to give it that old school Art Deco look. Really wish they would have went that way with
Love how they put “Indians” type stripe down the jersey
The stitching pattern on the racing stripes seems to match the pattern of the “stripes” running down the front of the Guardians of Traffic statues, which is a fun detail!
I think the “CLE” is simply an Art Deco font. The Guardians of Traffic statues are also in the Art Deco style, and the Guardians tend to use that style thematically.
It boggles my mind why the Guardians haven’t done more with the head of the Guardian that appears on the bridge. Instead of Chief Wahoo, they could have put the Guardian on the cap or the left front of an alternate jersey.
Pretty much the only negative is the cap for me: The regular C logo looks out of place above the CLE lettering. Repeat the C from the jersey and this uni would rival the Nats CC uni as a near-masterpiece.
Agree!
I love reading your analysis every time and then completely disagreeing with your conclusion.
My initial takeaway is that this is likely a bottom 25% CC jersey (I love most of the jerseys). The story might move it up 25% but the CLE across the chest (I kinda like the font) is going to be hard to overcome. Washington overcame that major flaw, but I doubt this will
I dig the cap. Just maybe with a Caveman C its a notch above…but the white panel sets well with th CC
Looks like an average alt except for the random CLE
Could have been better (use the C of the jersey on the hat and skip the spotted fabric of the jersey) but could have been a lot worse. One of the better CC efforts, next to Miami and Colorado.