Good Friday Morning, Uni Watchers! Hope everyone is doing well as we get ready for the weekend. It’s been quite a whirlwind first week for me at the helm of this fine ship, and I want to thank each and every one of you for your kind words and support! This is going to be a fun ride, and thanks for joining me.
Now then.
Last evening, the Toronto Blue Jays unveiled their City Connect (CC) uniforms, confirming the earlier leak. Depending upon your perspective, it’s either worse or better than first imagined.
As with every CC, the uniform must be considered within the parameters of the storytelling, and there is plenty of it here. We’ll start with the obligatory hype video…
The skyline.
The neighbourhoods.
The people.
The heartbeat of the city. @SimuLiu knows what our City Connects mean to Toronto! #TOTHECORE pic.twitter.com/0tvrltdZMB— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) May 30, 2024
The tagline for that video is:
“The skyline.
The neighbourhoods.
The people.
The heartbeat of the city.”
There were a few glimpses of the uniform in the video, and we’ll get to pictures and some screen grabs momentarily.
The Blue Jays have given their CC a title: “Night Mode,” which as you’ll see is probably pretty apt (it’s a “tribute to the city’s nightlife”). They also provided some handy-dandy storytelling to accompany it. I’ll post those now without additional comment.
If you can get past the almost embarrassing (some might even say “vomit-inducing”) storytelling/corporate-speak, those four graphics actually do a pretty good job describing the various elements of the uniform.
Another video has been produced which also provides the “back story” — and it too does a nice job in highlighting the different facets of the uniform, though the vapid monologue is more storytelling nonsense. It’s got captions, so you may want to turn the volume down.
Here’s an explainer of all the details on the Blue Jays City Connect uniform 👀 pic.twitter.com/UD7TDHuqf1
— MLB (@MLB) May 30, 2024
So, let’s toss out all that storytelling and look at this solely as a uniform.
What we have here is a mono-dark uniform — the team is calling it “Pitch Blue” although it’s so dark it almost appears to be black.
CAP
It’s a pretty nice cap (as least as far as CC caps go), and it features a “split” T, with the top bar in red, and lower bar and base in royal blue. A red maple leaf bisects the T. That is supposed to evoke the “Pillars of City Hall.” YMMV.
JERSEY
As we saw in the leak, the front of the jersey has “TORONTO” across the chest, atop an image of the Toronto skyline, designed to show a reflection on Lake Ontario. The CN Tower is a prominent feature of that skyline, and that is reflected in this sublimated graphic (although the top of the tower doesn’t seem to be reflected below the horizon, which is an interesting design decision, and aesthetically, it’s probably for the best). The TORONTO wordmark is both a harkback to the old script, and to the TORONTO sign, an illuminated three-dimensional sign in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. Rendered in red and Pitch blue and outlined in royal blue, it sits horizontally across the jersey. Jersey numbers are on the lower left side, in the same font style as “TORONTO.”
Jersey sleeves are red and royal blue, with the blue opening at the midpoint to form a partial “T” — which matches the split “T” on the cap. On one sleeve will be an ad, while the opposing sleeve features a new birdhead logo.
The back of the jersey shows a radially arched NOB in royal blue, while numbers are in the same font/style as on the front.
As we had seen in the leak, the inside of the collar features the words “DIVERSITY OUR STRENGTH” which is Toronto’s motto.
PANTS/SOCKS
Unfortunately there are only fleeting glimpses of the pants, but they will also be the same dark shade as the jersey and cap, and will have two royal blue stripes running down either side. If you jump back up to the photo of the sleeve, the pants stripes align with the break in the lower blue vertical stripe where the image of the “T” is formed (although it’s a bit difficult to note the alignment in the photo below).
For those who choose to go high-cuffed, the CC socks are red, with alternate stripes of Pitch blue and royal blue. At the base of the sock is another split T graphic.
However, from what we have been able to see (and to try to assess it without the storytelling), there are some good and some bad features. I don’t mind MLB uniforms where jerseys and pants are the same color, so I don’t mind the mono-dark. The cap is respectable enough, and I like the jersey/pants striping. I’ll definitely need to see it on the field, but I like the way the team has handled the striping, in particular the way the horizontal split “T” of the royal blue stripe aligns with the vertical royal blue pants stripes. The new birdhead logo is fine.
Unfortunately, the wordmark atop the skyline graphic seems excessive and too busy. TORONTO doesn’t stand out enough, and the graphic itself seems to dominate overall. I get what they’re going for (and of course the essence of a CC uniform is to tie in elements of the city), but this seems to be an instance where something that looked fine on a monitor didn’t quite translate to a physical jersey.
It appears that those players who wear long sleeves will be wearing red, and that will help contrast issues. Couple this with (mostly) red socks for those who go high-cuffed, and it will nicely break up the mono-dark of the jersey, pants and cap. For those who do not cuff, or who may choose dark compression sleeves, that effect will be muted. Again, this is something we’ll need to see in action.
You can read more in this press release (be forewarned: it’s a lot of storytelling/corporate-speak).
These CC uniforms will make their on-field debut tonight, and our new Weekend Editor, Jim Vilk, should have additional coverage of them tomorrow.
The Jays are one of nine MLB teams getting new City Connect uniforms this season. Here’s the rundown on the other eight teams:
- Phillies: Already debuted.
- Mets: Already debuted.
- Rays: Already debuted.
- Tigers: Already debuted.
- Guardians: Already debuted.
- Cardinals: Already unveiled; made on-field debut May 25.
- Twins: Scheduled to unveil on June 10 and debut on June 14; the design will apparently be loon-themed.
- Dodgers: Unveiling date uncertain; on-field debut scheduled for June 21. The jersey has apparently leaked, twice.
However, obtaining a New York Giants cap in the mid-1950s would have been as simple as sending a clubhouse boy over to the Polo Grounds to pick one up. So I cannot understand why the Yankee cap is being used as a means of standing in for the Giants cap.
Google tells me that the 1954 Yankee Old Timers Game was on August 14. Baseball Reference tells me that on that day, the Giants were not at home, so the Polo Grounds was probably locked up. They were playing the Dodgers in Brooklyn, so it wasn’t like the Giants were completely unable to lend a cap.
The Toronto uniform suffers from lack of white outlines to make the graphics pop. The details are not bad (the split T, the Jays head on the sleeve, even the gimmicky skyline) but it becomes one dark muddle. Then again, this is not meant for me but for tourists who do not care for baseball at all but want a nice (if expensive) souvenir from Toronto or for teenagers wanting to rep their town in the streets without ever admitting to liking something as boomer as boring baseball.
Agree, reminds me of the changes to the Mets’ black top. Once they got rid of the white it made a significant difference.
This seems to be Nike’s latest fad with the CCs – sacrifice visibility and good graphic design to be kewl and catch the eye of non-baseball fans. They did the same thing with the Rays. You cannot readily identify that this is the Blue Jays to start with because it is not the usual look or colors. Making the city name and player number illegible and muddled only makes it worse.
Call me an old guy, but the only way I don’t mind a baseball uniform being monochrome is when it’s home whites (or creams, as a Giants fan.) and road greys. When a team goes colored top, I alway prefer that the pants are a contrasting color.
I don’t hate this uniform as separate elements. The cap is pretty good. I actually like the jersey. I think it would look better with white pants. At least the socks will break up the dark blue for the 2 or 3 guys who go high cuffed.
Methinks that eventually, the top will be paired with white pants, a la the CCs for Colorado, Baltimore, and the Dodgers 1.0
I hope so. I really do.
It is a low bar, but in the context of these nonsense CC uniforms, this one is probably one of the better ones, still not a good baseball uniform, but as costumes go, it could be a lot worse:
– Uses actual city name rather than a 3 letter abbreviation or silly nickname
– Mostly team colors
– Nice cap design
Negatives:
– mono as usual for CC
– lack of contrast
– Swoosh is given high visibility over team graphics
I haven’t liked pretty much any of the City Connects, and I still hate that it’s mono-dark, but I think I really enjoy this Blue Jays uni. The font is instantly identifiable — unlike most other CCs, it feels like a true alternate of that team rather than a forgettable one-off. The light blue and red accents go well together. Love the cap logo. Gotta give them credit.
Funny how, no matter how muddy or vomit-stained a design they use, the Nike swoosh always shines like a beacon in the darkness.
If that’s a reflection at the bottom, all the lines are upside down. Look at the dome in the middle. Hilariously bad.
It’s not a reflection. The part below the TORONTO isn’t supposed to be mirroring the top, it’s set up like that because it’s trying to emulate the appearance of a graphic equalizer display, or at least that’s how I interpret it based on the whole of their “storytelling”.
I’m thinking that it’s done to give the city “depth”, like your GPS map on 3D mode
The storytelling literally uses the phrase (in bold), “REFLECTING OFF THE PITCH BLUE OF LAKE ONTARIO.” To be fair, it does say that there is a dynamic and rhythmic feel inspired by Toronto’s nightlife.
And once again, the bank paying for the ad patch is so inflexible with regards to their logo’s colours that it becomes the turd in the punch bowl. A number of other advertisers have been willing to let the teams adapt their logo to better fit the teams’ aesthetics, but not this one! F*** Toronto Dominion.
As for the uniform itself… there’s another team with a “night mode” type of theme for an alternate uniform, the Dallas Stars, and I think they’re comparable. Arguably, the Stars’ unis might work slightly better because the neon shade of green they use does pop on the black, and while the red outlines on the numbers here help a bit, I think I’ll need to see the uni in action before I make a judgment call. I don’t really have a full ranking of the CCs (as I just can’t be bothered), but if I did, I would likely slot these above Tampa Bay’s and Detroit’s.
(Speaking of, thankfully the Tigers were back in their road grays last night! Yay! The CC streak is done!)
Has anyone seen the new Premier Lacrosse League Uniforms?
Jared Buccola’s 2024 preview was literally just posted!
Here’s the link: link
Ah, yes. Nightlife in Toronto – see how unique it is? Only Toronto has nightlife!
Also, neighborhoods. Nowhere else can you find neighborhoods.
Pretty weak criticism if that’s all you guys have. Nowhere does it say that Toronto is the only one with neighbourhoods, or that they make the city unique. It literally says “our diversity – in neighbourhoods, traditions, ethnicities, social backgrounds, and more – is what makes Toronto thrive”.
But still, let’s pretend there’s merit to the critique. The city proper has Greektown, Little Italy, two Chinatowns, Little India, Portugal Village, Roncesvalles (Polish), Little Tibet, and Little Tokyo, as well as other significant cultural enclaves home to people of Persian, Caribbean, and Latin American descent. How many other MLB cities have even a fraction of those?
If you watch the hype video, it describes Toronto as “a city for dreamers achievers and trend setters where you can seize the day and light up the night. Neighborhoods dotting the grid defining our voice, where diversity is our strength. People coming together unlike anywhere else. . . . Energy, rhythm, culture – all coming alive at night.” – which basically describes every major city on the planet – and mentions several time that these are things that “make the city TRULY one-of-a-kind.”
So we are just having fun ragging on the hype. No need to take it personally. Toronto is a great city.
Understood, Joe! Thanks for responding cordially and not mistaking my fierce pride for aggression.
I guess I should have watched the hype video, but I generally can’t stand such things (and would have watched it on mute anyway).
As CC unis go, this one is not too bad. At least the color scheme is relatively similar to what the Jays usually wear, and I really like the chest logo/graphic. I think the lines in the “TORONTO” mesh well with the lines in the skyline graphic. The whole thing gives sort of a finely detailed, shimmery effect.
I’m generally not a huge fan of the CC program, mainly because I don’t like it when teams randomly shoehorn completely different color schemes into their repertoire. But this one is pretty good!
The city skyline just overwhelms the design. Get rid of that visual noise and respect the placket and this is a good looking uni. Alas, I grade it 6/10.
The “heartbeat” in the cap is a heart in A-Fib…..get to an emergency room ASAP!
Came here to say the same thing. “Rendered as a rhythmic heartbeat”? I think they meant “rendered as an arrhythmic heartbeat”.
For a CC, not bad from the waist up! Cap is decent. Jersey needs some white to make images pop. The skyline is a nice touch but if not for the story telling the reflection would have left me confused. I have never paid any attention to socks or stirrups, so for me the socks are insignificant. Like so many of the CCs the dark pants have turn a so-so uniform into a complete dumpster fire.
I’m going to try to be nice to one of these for a change:
The sleeve “T” and the red belt matching up with the pants stripes to create another “T” is neat. And I guess at least it’s very city-themed for a City Connect.
Good point about the belt! I was going to mention it, but since belts (as Paul has long lamented) are an “accessory” so we can only *hope* all players use a red one. Let’s see if they all (or mostly) do tonight.
Yeah, the belt inconsistency crossed my mind as well! I’m definitely going to be on belt watch for this one.
There are some decent design elements here that aren’t quite pulled together in the end. If there weren’t already like 17 other mono-dark CC uni’s I would like this better. At least there’s a “reason” these are dark (night time!). If players actually swag them out with the red accents, including socks, I think they will look pretty okay. Top half of the CC program to be sure.
Remember when the Marlins came out with their city connect and we were all thinking, “these are going to be fun”? *sigh*
Anyone who’s going to be listening to the game or watching it on TV, please let me know if the announcers say anything about how well they can/can’t read the numbers. You can tweet me @ JimVilk or email me at jimvilk @ gmail . com. Thanks!
I’ll be watching the game replay tomorrow on MLBTV. The Sportsnet Pittsburgh guys normally talk about CC Unis when they see them so I’ll let you know what they say!
Ron Ruelle is right about the reflection being wrong. Even if as a whole it is stylised, the bit in the center is definitely meant to be “the Rogers Centre reflecting off the pitch blue of lake Ontario”. It’s hard to believe that dozens of people saw this and didn’t notice!
As a whole I think it’s a good CC design if you are going for a dark mono base then adding bright team colours to that.
Another oddity is that this will be the third game in a row the Pirates have played a team wearing CC unis. And if the Jays wear them all weekend it will be five games – would that be a record?
Yeah, in short, if it was supposed to be a reflection, it’s not. Either they goofed on the intent of the design, or they goofed on the “storytelling” part.
Looks like the type of crap that would be sold in a tourist or novelty shop in Times Square for $20. It’s so muddled with Black (Midnight Blue), Red and Light Blue (I guess), that from a distance it might not be too clear. Didn’t these designers learn from the mess that the Marlins jersey was before? YOU NEED MORE WHITE (in this case) FOR CONTRAST! Sad.
For CC, I like this one! Compared to so much nonsense, I like the design of the skyline. It is subtle, so may wash, we’ll have to see how it looks on the field.
After seeing the official unveiling, the overall look is growing on me. I was never a fan of the black Jay’s jerseys from the 04-11 era but as someone who works the games and speaking with younger fans, there is some nostalgia love for those from them. I dont think it factored into the CC design since most CC unis are dark/black. I will be at the game tonight so I will be able to see up close how they look on the field. I am really enjoying the socks and how it gives the uni some pop amongst all that dark colouring. I hope most go high-cuffed to really show off the socks.
Let us know how well you can or can’t make out the details, please. Thanks, and enjoy the game!
I have to be honest: these CC designs have basically reached the point where they ad absolutely nothing. This design is bland, even the waterfront motif feels half assed and just sorta lazy.
I never thought I’d see the day when I said “enough” (I actually love the NBA city edition uniforms) but seriously, enough.
“Diversity Our Strength” is a weird line. I get that it’s the city’s coat of arms, and it’s absolutely reflective of the city’s ethnic makeup, but seriously… add an “Is” in there.
The city of Toronto itself claims the motto — on its official website — is actually “Diversity, Our Strength”. Which is different! Not sure why this ungrammatical shorthand is used.
Why? Because of the lame hip hop-ification of everything.
Basic garden variety docuhebaggery of the times
Not sure if this is any better, but it’s usually written as “Diversity, Our Strength”.
Woof. Sure, it uses team colors. Congratulations on passing the easiest test imaginable. Everything else just screams “bad graphic T”.
It’s too soon to judge the Jays CC duds as CC uniforms; time will tell whether Toronto fans connect with and embrace the cap and jersey in the way that Nats and Brewers fans have.
But as an alternate Jays uniform, it’s a very mixed bag for me. On the plus side, it avoids the worst pitfalls of so many other CC uniforms: No ghosted lettering/numbers, no softball ensembles of white pants below boldly colored jerseys. Heck, even the jersey’s skyline element works to anchor the TORONTO text, which would otherwise be yet another lesson in why horizontally aligned lettering doesn’t belong on a baseball jersey. (Looking at you, Dodgers.) So, to my eye, it’s not good, but it could be a whole lot worse. C-minus. If I were a Jays fan, would I be happy my team is wearing this uniform, and would I want to purchase merchandise associated with this uniform? No and no. But I’m not a Jays fan or a Torontonian, so maybe those who are will find connection with this uniform.
I keep seeing the Frasier intro when I see that Toronto CC jersey. I’m talking the original Frasier’s intro, with the outline of the Space Needle. link
Yep. That was my reaction when it first leaked!
I might be older than all of you, and I have NEVER heard any one mention Toronto’s nightlife.
Where are you from?
No imagination at all. Drastic colour changes for the sake of change to throw another uni version in their marketing line.
Another example of marketing over brand tradition – which is lost in the corporate world. Coke learned that lesson 30 years ago.
However, in all fairness the high frequency of all the uniform changes these days must mean it’s working for profit – just can’t see who would by these horrible jerseys.
I do like the cap/helmet logo………. I’ll just leave it at that LOL :)
Personally, if you ditch the skyline graphic completely, this is actually a serviceable to good Toronto Blue Jay uniform.
We occasionally talk about old-time players and their belts on this site. Gotta love how off-center Joltin’ Joe’s belt buckle is in the San Francisco Giants uniform picture.
At least the swoosh isn’t gold. Blends in a little better.
Heh. Yeah, I replied to a commenter in the “leak” post who remarked about the swoosh. I said then it was probably due to the camera phone and lighting/reflection that caused it to appear gold, and I speculated it wouldn’t be. Nike does want their mark to stand out, but I’ve yet to see them use a color for the swoosh that isn’t found anywhere else on the uni.
“Hyperized Birdhead” would be a great name for a band. Oh, and the cap is okay.
You beat me to this comment, so you own the band name. I’ll settle for calling my band The Assertive Ts.
Man, the more of these City Connect monstrosities I see, the more I realize how much the Cardinals dodged a bullet with theirs.
Dont worry about diversity; make grammar your strength.
Nike scum
I like this one better than I thought I would after seeing the initial leak. Hat is good and I am generally ok with dark tops and bottoms, but only if socks are visible. Considering most players will still go low cuffed, it’s going to look worse than it could have.
I think these definitely fit inline with an extension of their Blue Jays brand while being “City” centric. Where as some hit this mark as well (see Angels, Cards, Rays) some went in other directions that almost feel like 90’s rebrands (new colors, logos etc) such as NYM with black and purple, Boston in blue and yellow, etc).
If you didn’t know about the program and turned on a game, you’d have no idea what team they were just by the uniforms in many cases. That to me is the flaw in the City Connect program. They’re trying to “connect” to the city which may have different colors, branding, themes than that of the team. I would have rather seen more teams stick to their traditional colors, expanding on them (different shades) or in some cases reduce the number of colors, incorporate a new logo or element that plays a tie in to the city but also stays within the branding of the team.
Example of this would be the Angels using sand instead of white and “updating the logos” but keeping their essence. I do think they missed the mark and could have done more with the surfboard logo that is found on the jock tag. Something where they positioned it vertically with a slight angle and putting the Halo around it, mimicking the old CA Angels state logo would have been way better than the roundel that we got.
I love this site but I don’t quite understand why our reviews need to go as overboard with critique (“vomit-inducing”) as the ad agencies go with overdoing backstory and jargon. Doesn’t that make us just as bad? Unless there’s something egregious or offensive, just ignore marketing fluff if it makes us so mad.
Great point! I try to ignore all the storytelling, but casting aspersions upon those who do said storytelling isn’t necessarily constructive. But when it’s *so* bad it’s hard to let slip the ridiculousness of it all.
Thanks for the feedback!
Completely understand, and appreciate the reply!
Great first week Phil. Nice to see this will continue to be the highlight of my mid day break
Thanks, Todd!
Since apparently black sells, let’s just give everyone a black alternate uniform where the swoosh is the only thing that stands out, then move on.
Test
I don’t have much to say about these other than too dark.
I’ll be watching the game on television and hoping they’ll have the SkyDome open with additional lighting because their recent renovations are dark enough.
I do like the cap and wonder if the helmet will have a 3-D logo. The numbers on the back look good but I guess they could have used a white outline to make them pop.
Now then, I’ve been wondering what went wrong with the CC program. When it first started we had bold colors and unique & fun designs like Boston, Miami and San Diego. However this year all we’ve had (save for St. Louis) have been dark, somber, muddled messes.
Actually, I neglected to mention the helmet (it’ll be matte with a raised/3D Logo). You can see it in the upper right hand corner of this graphic:
link
It’ll look good them. What’s Blue and white and loses. Argos Jays Leafs, take your pick!
I like this. The color scheme is very appealing to me. I think it might be the first city connect that I actually like.
I think I would like this uniforms more if Cincinnati’s and Detroit’s didn’t already exist. As it is, it just feels like a repeat
I’m not hating these
Watching the Jays/Pirates game, and the CC unis are barely legible on TV
I was just telling Jimmer that (as he’ll be reviewing their on-field debut in tomorrow’s lede).
Utter design failure — these (probably) looked great on a monitor, but without seeing them in the wild before production, they have failed to meet the most basic requirements of a uniform: identify the team (wordmark/script) and player (uni number).
That’s so bang on Phil, I even echoed your, “these (probably) looked great on a monitor,” to our viewing party.
Here are the highlights:
“Why are the BLUE Jays in black uniforms?”
“Hard to see what’s on the front of the jersey and what number is that…?
“Why is the coach in red and blue when the team is wearing all black??”
This one was my favourite “inside the Skydome is so dark now, why would they wear black uniforms?”
Can’t make this stuff up.
So,…not so good with my crowd.
So true. Those thin strokes just vanish on that black.
Mommmm … Billy threw up all over the front of my baseball jersey. #woahcanada
I can’t get past the inconsistency of the top red bar of the “T” being the same width of the horizontal blue bars on the cap but being clearly narrower than the blue bars on the sleeves and the socks.
I also question your entire choice of theme when the end product results in your cresting become an illegible smear at anything more than four feet away. Are you trying to design a cool shirt to be worn on the street in front of your friends or are you trying to allow fans in the stands 300 feet away to be able to identify which athlete just made that double play when you’re trying to keep score in the stadium?
I also DO NOT appreciate trying to type in this comment on my iphone and having this text box automatically repeatedly jump out of my view, which I assume was to load an ad, prior to the entire page going blank and eventually reloading, losing my entire finished comment before I was able to hit ‘post’. I invite the owners of this website to try to use it on your own phone and see how difficult, if not impossible it can be to try to interact with it and see if changes can be made to keep the page stable and usable on a mobile device.