Good morning, everyone. We got a few things to cover today, so let’s hit the ground running with the American League section of Jim’s City Connect Playlist. Actually, before we begin, I made a change to the Pirates in last weekend’s Part One. The song I originally had in mind for them totally escaped my memory until I heard it again a few nights ago. I think this one works better, but of course, Your Music May Vary.
The idea behind the playlist is this: I look at MLB’s City Connect unis, then I pair them up with 21st Century songs that come to mind. Some of these are pretty straightforward, others need a little explaining why a certain uniform reminds me of a certain song. Hopefully they all make sense after just a bit of “storytelling.” And hopefully you’ll give the songs a try. I know very few of you will like them all, but I think everyone can find at least one song that’s enjoyable. Now then, let’s set the American League to music.
AL East
Baltimore
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When I first saw these, my immediate reaction was “No, no, no…wait… it’s readable, it has *some* orange, it’s…well, it’s pretty good.” When I first heard Olivia Rodrigo’s “Get Him Back” my immediate reaction was “No, no, no, not my type of…wait… it’s catchy, it’s clever, it’s…well, it’s pretty good.” By the end of the song I was bopping my head while working.
Boston
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The Red Sox wearing yellow socks? Gnarls Barkley said it best: that’s “Crazy.”
New York
DNP: Owner’s Decision. Fear not, Yankees fans. I’m going to do a similar playlist for all 30 teams’ regular uniforms, using older music.
Tampa Bay
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Since this uni taps into the skateboarding culture of the area, I looked up what skateboarders listen to in general. One of the bands that came up was Less Than Jake, and their song “The Science Of Selling Yourself Short” seemed perfect for a jersey that sells itself short by being illegible from a distance.
Toronto
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Talk about illegible! “Night Mode” is a nightmare unless you’re two feet away from it. The skyline looks as if a major blackout occurred downtown, so I thought of the NEW song by Billy Joel, “Turn The Lights Back On.”
AL Central
Chicago
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Spoiler alert for when I do the playlist for the traditional unis: The regular Sox remind me of Led Zeppelin. Why? They’re considered classics. And their refusal to wear white socks grates on my eyes the way Robert Plant’s screaming grates on my ears. Their CCs remind me of Zeppelin’s modern-day clones, Greta Van Fleet. The person who’s in charge of the music at work has a massive crush on them, because they get played about every 40 minutes. Again, the refusal to wear white socks on an otherwise good uni gets to me as much as Josh Kiszka’s wailing. At least the rest of “Highway Tune” is easy on my ears.
Cleveland
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An Art Deco feel, yet thoroughly modern. It’s a hit with me, and so is Postmodern Jukebox. They have an Art Deco look, and they take thoroughly modern songs and give them an old-timey vibe. Here’s their version of the Fountains of Wayne song “Stacy’s Mom.”
Detroit
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Eminem probably was the obvious choice, but I couldn’t get through any of his stuff. So I went with fellow Detroit rapper Kid Rock, who wears lots of black and rocks out to “All Summer Long” in a Tigers cap.
Kansas City
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I love love LOVE these. I really hope they’ll keep them as permanent alts, so I can see them later. I also love love LOVE The Band CAMINO’s “See You Later,” which I heard for the first time during Middle Child’s drum recital. It’s one of my favorite songs from this century.
Minnesota
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The “Ripple Effect” with its salute to the state’s 10,000 lakes makes me think of cold water. That gives me the “Shivers,” but in a good way. Ed Sheeran’s tune matched perfectly for me.
AL West
Houston
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Well…they have hip numbers. And “Hips Don’t Lie.” Shakira! Shakira!
“Los Angeles”
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The Angels look good in their surf-inspired uni. Too bad Anaheim isn’t on the coast, so I’m going to focus on the name instead of the look. Did you know Rick Astley put out an album last decade? One of the singles was the very appropriate “Angels On My Side.”
Oakland
(see New York)
Seattle
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My head says blue tops and black pants shouldn’t work. But my heart goes bum bum bum da bum bum, bum bum bum da bum…just like in Joel Corry and MNEK’s “Head & Heart.”
Texas
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Just like Philly, the letters and numbers remind me of tattoos. You know who has a lot of tattoos? Post Malone, who teams up with Morgan Wallen for the current Number-One Country song “I Had Some Help.”
And there you are…twenty-eight unis matched with twenty-eight new or new-ish songs. As I said last weekend, hearing new music has given me a better appreciation of the City Connect program. They’re still putting out *some* good stuff these days, both in the studios and on the fields. Not everything is a hit, but you never know what will be unless you keep creating. And not everything that’s old needs to be put out to pasture. In the coming weekends I’ll pair the more traditional unis with songs that have a lot of staying power. Keep it tuned right here!
The Saskatchewan Roughriders Rider Nation alternate. Like I talked about in the Uni Watch CFL Season Preview, it is daring. It does not look and feel like a Roughriders uniform. It was evident the numbers would be hard to read. However, this uniform does look better than prototypes they had during the design process.
link
When the new logo was being registered my hope at the time was that it would just be used for merch. I couldn’t imagine it would be used on a uniform but that was the plan. At least the uniform is not black. Will be worn only 2 times a season.
I think the Riders should have been concentrating on fixing their primary uniform rather than concentrating on a gimmicky 4th look, but I can live with it. That being said, I still want an obsidian Roughriders hat.
The debut of this uniform also marked the obliteration of the CFL one-shell helmet rule with the obsidian helmets hitting the field.
This entry reminds me of the college football subreddit when they do “What if every Big Ten coach was a sandwich” shitposts in the offseason
“Anaheim” isn’t big enough to encompass the beach, even though Angel Stadium is closer to the beach than Dodger Stadium, which is in a city that includes beaches. Why don’t you put in quotes other teams named after a city they aren’t physically in?
Maybe because literally all the other teams on this list actually play in the city they represent?
Maybe because I wasn’t limiting this to just this article, but when referencing other teams that play in different cities than their name. Like the “Dallas” Cowboys, or “New York” Jets and Giants.
I tend to stick with team nicknames for the NFL in articles. In the comments, I’ve used Arlington, New Jersey, East Rutherford, “New York,” and Inglewood quite frequently.
Kid Rock? C’mon, Jim. You’re better than this. Detroit has such a great musical history.
OTOH considering the jersey is a Pistons city connect ripoff, Kid Rock seems quick appropriate.
Yeah, considering he’s become a very divisive figure here. Some are still fans of his, while others have outright disowned him as a Michigander. Me, I’ve never cared for his music.
It’s time to…
Kick out the jams, mothervilkers!
Storytelling about the MLB city connects though belittling most every storytelling that accompanies a new uniform’s release. I see what you did there.
I “kinda” like the Rough Rider uniforms, but since I’m closer to Winnipeg than Saskatoon the Blue Bombers are my CFL team.
Enjoyed the music linking with CC’s….most of the post 2010 references are past my playlists but I’ve listened to some them now. Something I’ve done when I see CC’s in games on tv is imagine what Mariners would be if they used Cleveland or Astros or any other teams concept. A few look better and many look worse.
I guess the concept of a “Brand” doesn’t exist anymore. Or Brand Familiarity. I look at the City Connects, the Saskatchewan discussion, and all the new uniforms, above, and I can’t see a cohesive brand. I see a bunch of junk dreamed up by some designer at Nike who took one tab of acid too many.
And it seems that the opinion that not a lot of thought or market research goes into these designs is widespread among older folks who aren’t part of the target demographic. Sucks getting old I guess, cause that’s not the way it works.
I used to play softball. The uniforms we played in looked a lot like these city connect uniforms. That’s why us older folks call the city connects softball uniforms.
Creating a uniform to “sell merch” is not a design option. It’s a money grab.
Those Tulsa uniforms are a definite upgrade! It will be nice to see them on a random Saturday afternoon this fall. The A-State unis are kind of a push though. I don’t really want to see them going mono-red. Too bad we can’t see the NOB because I like the previous version. Perfectly sized and easy to read. And that red wolf logo reminds me of the Scorpions’ “Blackout” album cover…link
Here you go. Still very easy to read.
link
Mmm…my musical choices would have been totally different but I respect your taste in music. But Kid Rock? No way, even this lousy Tigers CC does not deserve that.