Good Thursday morning, Uni Watchers! I hope everyone had a pleasant Wednesday.
Yesterday, the Houston Astros unveiled their second generation “City Connect” uniform, confirming the earlier leaks. The Astros are the first team to unveil a new CC for 2025 (there will be seven additional CCs to follow this year), and also will be the first to debut them.
The new CC uniform is similar to their first-generation “Space City” City Connect in one way: they are both space-themed uniforms. Whether other teams who will adopt a second CC this season keep the same theme as their original CC remains to be seen. The only other team to have introduced a second CC (the Dodgers), went in a different direction entirely with their new CC. The Nationals are expected to unveil their second CC this Sunday (I’ll have full coverage on Monday), and it’s expected their new CC will also be cherry blossom-themed.
Per MLB and the Astros, the team will wear their new City Connect uniforms for the first time on Monday, March 31, 2025 against the San Francisco Giants. After that first wear, they will be worn on “Space City Monday” home games throughout the season, as in years past. In addition, the team will play a “City Connect Weekend,” April 11-13, where the Astros will wear the new uniform all weekend long.
As with all City Connect uniforms, there is a ton of “storytelling” involved, and unfortunately, the corporate-speak is turned up to 11 with these (we’ll get to that momentarily). And perhaps unsurprisingly, the team unveiled not one, but two, hype videos (one for the uniform itself, and a second for the players modeling the new uniforms). They’re calling these uniforms “The Next Frontier.”
Welcome to The Next Frontier. pic.twitter.com/dCpACgnUTP
— Houston Astros (@astros) March 19, 2025
Come to Mars with admin. #TheNextFrontier pic.twitter.com/K6FwzIbTqZ
— Houston Astros (@astros) March 19, 2025
Phew. That’s a lot to process! Let’s break everything down strictly as a uniform (I’ll include the storytelling beneath my description).
The cap features a white front panel, with a navy blue crown and brim. The new “A” logo, as I previously noted, reminds me of the original tequila sunrise cap, which was never worn on-field. The team notes that it’s “a new, futuristic take on [their] traditional star.”
The team’s storytelling:
Hat Logo – Our hat logo combines several elements together to form a new, futuristic take on our traditional star. At the core sits the broken star painted in rainbow gradient, propelling forward into the future. The star is wrapped in a modified “A” which replaces the traditional “H.” The “A” is inspired by concept art utilized throughout the team’s history. Combined, this new hat logo is the nexus of the new age uniform design. The inside of the hat features the pattern of Mars, along with the words, “The Next Frontier.” It is a nod to the next step in space exploration, which is Mars, and showcases our organization’s forward-looking eye, always looking to the future.
The jersey is white, and features the shortened “STROS” wordmark across the chest, aligned slightly to the right side of the jersey. That’s done in order to fit an orange gradient star logo, with the classic Astros “open” left lower portion of the star. STROS is in a bespoke font. Beneath the wordmark/logo is the player’s uniform number, also located on the right side of the jersey. Interestingly, the front number height is quite large — bigger than “STROS.” The front number is bordered with a slight orange block shadow.
The sleeves each contain a patch: depending upon the player’s handedness, the patches will be on different sleeves to provide maximum TV exposure for the ad. The opposite sleeve has a “mission patch” which was inspired by the Union Station logo. The collar has navy blue trim. Each sleeve contains two stripes, the lower of which is orange, while the slightly thicker stripe above is what I’d call a “marbled” blue pattern. (The team calls it “a lunar surface texture.”)
The jock tag (which will usually be unseen since it’s tucked into the pants) contains an awesome quote from President John F. Kennedy, in his famous “we choose to go to the moon” speech.
The inside of the collar features “SPACE CITY.” Like the jock tag, this feature won’t be seen, but it’s there.
The rear of the jersey features orange NOB, and the player number in the same font style (including orange block shadow) as the front numbers.
The team’s storytelling:
Chest Plate – The wordmark is an expression of the sleek and futuristic design of this uniform. The phrase “Stros” has always been integrated in our fan culture. With “Stros” prominently featured on the chest, it’s the first time the organization has formally adopted the fan-driven nickname, keeping it close to our hearts.
Neckline – With Space City at the root of Houston’s foundation and this design, we kept the moniker within the core of City Connect 2.0. The phrase “Space City” sits in the neckline on a lunar surface texture, intermeshing the past with the future.
Mission Patch – Each space mission requires a unique mission patch and City Connect 2.0 is no different. Our mission patch takes its inspiration from the long-time Union Station logo that adorns the historical building next to Daikin Park. This design was specifically customized to include the Astros “H” alongside an additional nod to our home, Space City.
Trim and Pinstriping – The trim and pinstriping for the City Connect 2.0 design showcases a lunar pattern that pays tribute to the history of the moon landing and the pursuit to return to the moon in the coming years. The rainbow gradient is a notable carryover from City Connect version 1.0 and is designed as a modern version of the famous “Tequila Sunrise” pattern. [Apparently, what the club calls “pinstriping” is the stripes on the pants.]
Jock Tag – Our jock tag captures a moment in history for Space City. John F. Kennedy delivered his historic space travel speech on September 12, 1962 at Rice University, in the heart of Houston. This speech codifies our city as Mission Control, our people as resilient, and our organization that pursues betterment through hard work and the relentless pursuit of excellence.
The pants are white, like the jersey. There is a “HTX” stitched on the right front belt loop, and the team will wear orange belts with this uniform.
Blue stripes in the same style and width as those on the jersey sleeve run down the sides of the pants. Orange and yellow Stance socks will be worn with the uniform.
The team’s storytelling:
Belt Loop – HTX is stitched along the beltline to pay homage to the city we play for. The use of “HTX” is a more youthful and innovative abbreviation for Houston, which translates to the cutting edge and futuristic design of the uniform.
Afterburner Socks by Stance – The Afterburner socks feature a fiery mixture of orange and yellow that symbolize the afterburners of a rocket ship. These socks illustrate the organization’s desire to blaze a path into the next frontier.
I could go on — but as I did with some of the 2024 City Connect unveilings — I will be seeking out the opinion of a resident or fan of the team — to provide his/her own take. It just so happens our own Susan Freeman not only is a Houston resident, but also an Astros fan, so I’ve asked her to provide her take on the new uniform. Here’s what she had to say:
Astros CC Review
by Susan Freeman
I started this review having not read any of the storytelling. Knowing NASA and the Astros, and Houston, I walked through each element and did actually get to the same place they were trying to lead me. So bear with me as I walk through it – a bit of a different approach just for fun.
First, let me say I work at NASA and am thrilled my Astros continue to feed the space connection. Not that the uniform at first glance says ANYTHING about space (other than the marketing terminology)… okay, maybe the font is kind of spacey (if it weren’t italicized). It’s a nice looking uniform – but at first look, it is a jumbled mess, pulling from the different eras and ideas. Is it retro or is it space? All the teasers were space related.
Okay, we are not called the STROS – we are called the ‘Stros or ‘stros. The lack of the apostrophe is killing me. Hey – maybe they just wanted to make sure they avoided an apostrophe catastrophe!
Do I like the chest wordmark? Sure. Nothing wrong with it. As a graphic designer, I like when things fit nicely inside a design element. And the italicized space font is indeed uniquely its own. Everyone loves the star from our blue and golds of the ’90s. In fact, I still hand-draw that star when annotating an Astros-related calendar entry in my planner… yeah, I said what I said. I was never crazy about the blue and golds, but they were good – unlike the sand and brick crap.
Every space mission has a patch. Calling the Union Station patch a mission patch is a stretch. The afterburner socks, lol – reminds me of the old Astroboy! And I don’t know how I feel about the patterned lunar trim. It says it is a notable carryover from version 1.0 – but I am just not following that. It is almost like they tried too hard to find space connections. But so far I can live with it all. It’s coming together nicely as I am processing it.
Surprise! The area above the jock tag includes some of my favorite space wording (JFK moon speech). I was excited at the possibility of the “Be Someone” graphic, but I am certainly good with the space related quote. And Be Someone, of course, doesn’t follow this developing space theme.
Now let’s talk about the cap – obviously a play on the prototype logo never used. The tequila sunrise gradient ’90s star set inside the blue A is consistent with the chest wordmark (albeit with some liberties taken by having it open at the bottom). But the blue A is not consistent with ANYTHING. Together I think it’s okay – but I am not so sure about the cap as a standalone. And it seems that anyone who doesn’t know the origins of the cap does not like the design.
I’m still digesting the whole uniform together and starting to really like what I see in the Altuve shot on “Mars” (we apparently transitioned from the moon). Ah ha, so there is the futuristic part – and that is where the italicized wordmark plays into the whole marketing spiel. There is also the tagline “The next frontier” in the video – that strap can be seen inside the 9FORTY merch cap. That image came from this really cool video that shows the presentation box for the cap. The top inside of the box is the inside roof of the Astrodome.
When the leaks came out lots of people were complaining about it being plain. They want the old ones back – but just as many hated the blue Space City CCs. I liked them. All-blue was a bit much and I hated the blueprint sleeves. But “Space City” on the chest in the NASA font won me over. The space city cap is one of the best ever made and I will always wear it. The first time I saw the new CC on a player, it did seem a little plain (pants stripe is kind of a dud for me – oh… it’s the lunar pattern). The reviews seem to be much more positive getting to see the real uniform, the whole uniform on players. Version 2.0 is fairly classic – which is a look I like. How about that – classic, but futuristic. I am starting to really like it.
So the uniform is indeed a little retro and a little futuristic. Welcome to the next frontier!
Readers? We’ve had our say — now it’s your turn. Fire away!
Why is there a blue strip of material above the back pocket? The Stros never explain it. I can’t decide if I like this uniform if they don’t give me a couple of paragraphs rationalizing that element.
It looks like the “A” in Astros is hiding in the player’s armpit.
Other than that, I like the design…
Yeah, that is a major design flaw here.
Whether you like them just using Stros (without the apostrophe) or not. The way it is laid out it looks like the A is cut off by mistake or lack of room, not like it was designed intentionally without the A.
If my baseball history is correct (and it might not be), the Astros were originally named to avoid a nickname.
After retiring the Colt .45s, the plan was to use ‘Astronauts,’ but the owner wanted to prevent a nickname from emerging. Instead, they chose ‘Astros,’ not anticipating that people naturally nickname everything.
Even my name, which is three letters and sounds like one, gets it’s own versions.
As a baseball uniform, leaving all the storytelling nonsense aside, these are an upgrade over the 1st version and overall a nice uni. Monochromatic uniforms in baseball only work for me in white and grey, so to see the Stros ditch the mono-navy is nice. I’m likely to add this cap to my collection.
As with several of these, the hat is cool. I’d buy the hat if I were an Astros fan. The uniform however, I could do without.
As a City Connect uniform, I don’t really understand these. They are very similar in colour to their normal sets, while also somehow not quite fitting in with their home/away/alt home/alt away scheme. With that being said, I think they are good when viewed in a vacuum.
Looks awful on Altuve though.
I think this is a testament to the shity connect program just being an excuse to come up with non traditional alternate designs in a sport that has historically rejected that.
If there are non team colors they want to use and can somehow associate to the city, they will, but sometimes they just use team colors if that matches whatever ideas they have. Like where is the yellow, red, and green Dodgers uniform? Why are the Padres sherbert colors? These are what used to be called fashion jerseys but the MLB is simply marketing them on field now.
I’m all for non-traditional alternates, especially in baseball. What I don’t understand is why they are presenting this as a CC uniform. They would have been better off keeping the Space City one and replacing the redundant navy alternate with this one.
These would be a top-5 CC if the chest wordmark had an A and if they kept the cap from the Space City CC. That cap was absolutely beautiful and this new one is a huge downgrade.
Agree, the orbit H logo and this wordmark, if it had an A, both look pretty good.
I feel like it is a testament to the failure of these programs and Nike in general that they throw way too many things at you, some of them good, some of them awful, some of them close to being good but trying too hard to be different. These aren’t necessarily meant to be good designs, just different designs, and they often abandon or downgrade good design elements as a result.
So often I see something new they come up with and think, “oh that’s interesting, why didn’t you just stop there, why did you have to do all this stuff too” and based on uni watch comments it seems like most people agree on what the good elements are, so their production group should also be able to differentiate the good innovative designs from the superfluous add ons.
I actually really like this design, but “STROS” is just stupid, stupid, stupid. It looks like the “A” either fell off or is tucked under the player’s armpit. Either way it’s going to wreak havoc on my OCD.
Definitely an upgrade over the previous version, and I like the hat a lot. Sort of a retrofuturism vibe that works a lot. It’s silly that it says Stros across the front, but that’s really my only gripe.
So looks like the “Trucker style cap” (in deference to our editorial overlord) will be the new polarizing trend. Either you’ll love them or see them as the next step in the fall of western civilization.
As far as the City Connect concept – these seem to be the first to get away from that concept. For all teams that use a city name – the last batch either referenced that city name directly (NYC, Miami, Baltimore etc.), its airport code (WSH, PGH, MKE), a nickname for said city (Motor City, Space City) or the name of the neighborhood/area in the city in which the team plays (Southside, Wrigleyville). These do not.
Jeebus; the “storytelling”….
“The ‘A’ is inspired by concept art utilized throughout the team’s history.”
If by “throughout the team’s history” they mean “that someone came up with that one time,” sure.
“The inside of the hat … showcases our organization’s forward-looking eye…”
“The inside of the hat,” which no one will ever see, doesn’t “showcase” anything.
“The phrase ‘Stros’ has always been integrated in our fan culture.”
“Stros” is not a phrase, it’s a word, and an abbreviation of another word.
“With Space City at the root of Houston’s foundation…”
What in Sam Hill does that mean? If “foundation” means the city’s physical/structural base, foundations don’t have roots. If it means the city’s origin, that happened in 1836, when no one was thinking about space.
Allright, I’ll stop.
I really hate the hat. The only teams to pull of a tri-colored hat were the Expos and the Padres. Law.
Did the Padres wear a three color crown at some point? What was the third color?
I do remember their brown and yellow (mustard) two color crowns. The Expos had the blue, red, and white clown caps.
But I don’t remember the Padres wearing a three colors crown. They did have a couple years with a white and orange “SD” on a Navy cap – but I don’t think that is what you are referencing.
The Padres have never worn a cap with three different color panels.
link
My bad. The only teams to pull off a two or three color hat are the Expos and the Padres.
As well as the 1970s Braves, the 1970s-’80s Orioles, the 1974 Red Sox, the mid 1980’s White Sox, multiple periods of Brewers, and 1970s-90s Blue Jays who used a two panel cap as a core uniform piece.
There are plenty of alterative caps as well, including the spectacular Rays faux back designed caps.
Multi-panel caps could be a uni-article all by its self.
The uniform is kinda meh for me. Not bad, but not good.
And, of course, we have the annoying shifting sleeve patch because of the stupid ad patch, which continues to make me think not of a petroleum company, but acne treatment products (even if that’s a different logo altogether). Talk about brand confusion!
I am actually pretty fond of these. But, they HAD to do the whole city abbreviation thing with the “HTX”. Why does Nike keep doing this???????
Love the return of the shooting star logo. Wish it did say Astros though.
I give these uniforms a B, since apparently the team has no use for an A.
GTGFTU
Best guess is 13 April 2012
Matt Carpenter hits a triple to score Freese and Molina, but the damage was already done and Cubs ruin the Cards’ home opener 9-5.
GTGFTS
31 Aug 2012
Every Athletic scores at least once and the Red Sox pitchers have horror movies for lines.
In general I like these a lot. They are lot like Atlantas as they take classic Uni elements and modernize them while providing a temple for a future redesign. Also like the Braves they have an annoying design flaw with the wordmark. I would prefer the A or why don’t they reorient the star so it becomes the “A” in Astros.
All in all a big improvement over the prior ones. The Astros based on their nickname should have a modern look as they are spaced themed so this works.
Now that is a Trucker hat. The vibe of that corner display at the Union 76 and the smell of fried chicken from the diner. ahhh home.
If we say Trucker hat three times will he appear?
HAHAHAHAHA!!!! I’m not going to try it!
Not terrible, the retrofuturistic vibe is okay.
I actually really dig this. Better than a lot of other City Connects IMO.
The A on the cap looks like a similar design to the Diamondbacks A. I would like to see more orange in this uniform and less blue. The full name Astros should be spelled out on the jersey and the cap would look better in a solid orange. I think the whole Astros primary uniforms should be redone and start with changing from blue caps to primary orange. Then get rid of the headspoon and change the font to something similar to 1973-1974 and you will have a winner.
The chest would look better with an A. The design in the navy stripes will probably be unnoticeable from the stands. Never understood the point of a phrase on the inside collar or jock tag. I don’t care for the number font.
The hat is okay. I realize some don’t care for it but the Orioles, Blue Jays and Twins have worn white fronts in recent years and looked okay.
Compared to the CCs of the last few years, these are a huge improvement. Any baseball uniform with dark pants should immediately be set on fire! IMO these are the best CCs behind only Cleveland.
This makes, to my count, three new caps this year in the Trucker Hat motif:
1. Houston’s new CC.
2. Chicago Cubs’ new not-a-CC-or-maybe-it is-a CC.
3. Kansas City’s new home Saturday cap.
Am I missing any others?
Toot toot! Honk if you like trucker hats!
Just make them foam with a mesh back. Those kids will buy them up!!!!!!
Can we please stop putting parts of team names on jerseys? It looks like a typo.
That whole “PHG”, “CLE”, “WSH” “STL” and now “HXT” drives me nuts. I do love the White Sox CC unis followed by the Marlins’ CC unis. Of the two, I could see the Marlins’ being a good jersey for a them to use as a lot more often just with a different cap.
Taste is as they say, subjective.
I’m not as much a fan of the Marlins CC uniforms as they use too many colors in my opinion. Similar to the old Expos powder blues with the blue, white, and red hat. You may see something unique and different. And that is true.
I see this: link
The hat is OK but it would have looked better in solid white with a navy brim and squatchee plus orange portholes. The uniform is not bad at all (I like the marbled striping and the star on front) but STROS? Please. Make that Astros. HTX? Remove it. The afterburner socks are funny but creative.
All in all for a CC it is a B. Which is quite a good score. Of the previous CC I only liked the hat.
The uniform overall is fine, but it feels more like a prototype of a redesign than a City Connect. And the hat is bad. It’s just bad.
Astros fan here. Love the whole uniform, though it’s a tad behind the Space City uniforms, which I like a little better. Love the cap most of all. Really glad it wasn’t just navy and gold, or,even worse, red and black (I’m sorry, I’ll never utter the words “sand” and “brick” to describe those uniforms because their made-up colors to take away from the fact that the color scheme was adopted because the owner’s trucking company had the same colors).
*they’re, not their. My bad.
I like them. It doesn’t hurt that blue and orange look great together.
However, I’d love to see the Astros do a Columbia blue & orange. This color blue would look great in MLB, and is appropriate for the city of Houston.
I never liked the Astros 90’s blue/gold uniforms because I felt that the team abandoned their orange/blue identity. These new City Connects are more like what the 90’s uniforms should have been.
While I like the look of the socks generally, ehhhh… afterburners are on jets, not rockets. Couldn’t they have asked someone to get their terminology right?
I think these are great. But more importantly, I like that Nike is starting to understand what makes a good City Connect baseball uniform. Keeping it as a logical derivative of a team’s current or past set is much, much better than stuff hokey ‘Space City’-type stuff.
If you need what seems like a five page memo of nothing but storytelling for every detail you have done something wrong. That said, it’s an improvement over their last CC.
The thing is, they really didn’t need all the storytelling. The uniform pretty much works on its own. This one feels like they had the storytelling done in advance of the uniform design, then made everything “fit.”
That said, it’s a HUGE improvement over the mono-navy Space City predecessor.
“I was never crazy about the blue and golds, but they were good – unlike the sand and brick crap.”
1000%. Hated those unis with a passion. Loved the move back to something resembling the team I grew up with (early 80s, Jose CCCCRRRRUUUUUZZZZZZZ days).
I don’t have strong feelings about the Stros part, but am overall pretty positive towards this CC.
This looks more like a Turn Ahead The Clock uni that would have been done about 25 years ago. I could actually see these as a regular uni if they’d just add the A to the Stros. This may be the best CC set ever.
The HTX looks like a maker’s mark from some unknown pants company, but I guess without it there’s no connection to the city with these. This is one of Nike’s better efforts, mainly because it almost looks like a normal uniform. Slap an ‘A’ on the chest wordmark and this could replace their primary.
These are mostly really good. They would look fine with the full name. Dropping the “A” from the main wordmark is tryhard and cringe. So I think these are really good if you can look past the main focal point, although that’s not a great conceit to be demanding.
The hat is good, although I could also see that design being a freebee trucker hat from a gas station. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
The socks would be good if it wasn’t for the navy details. I assume that’s Stance not being able to help themselves. Stop highlighting the stitching in the socks. Nobody cares, and it looks awful.
And finally, storytelling with belt loops: “HTX is a more youthful and innovative abbreviation for Houston, which translates to the cutting edge and futuristic design of the uniform.” Yep, those are words.
If you are going to do any tequila themed uniforms, you have to include all the original colors, especially red. just a pet peeve of mine.
Better than what they replaced.
Nitpicks:
1. It is weird that they put a monogram “A” on the cap (for Astros) then intentionally leave the A off the jersey wordmark.
2. Without the A or an apostrophe, it looks like the seamstress didn’t align the wordmark properly.
3. Don’t like nicknames for a cap monogram in place of city/state.
4. Don’t like italicized wordmark with upright numbers.
5. The lunar motif in the navy striping can’t be seen on TV or for more than 5 feet away.
6. The “open 4” strikes again – this is one of NIke’s weirder design fetishes.
This would have been a nice complement to the navy/gold Astros Era (Lima Time!) when they weren’t going tequila sunrise or brick and black, and it is a nice alternative, but I like what they have.
“HTX” sounds like a crypto company that advertises on umpires’ uniforms
Overall, the Astros City Connect uniform is okay but there are things about it that really annoy me. First, the hat reminds me of those cheap baseball caps from long ago with the different-coloured front panel to the rest of the cap. Yikes. A solid blue cap that looks like an MLB cap would be much better. Second, I really dislike the sleeve striping. Reminds me of the pyjama uniforms that were popular a long time ago. Awful. I know the Astros were trying to include many NASA things into this uniform, but it’s a bit too much for me.
These look like mediocre slow pitch softball uniforms had a love child with Mexican League advertising . Terrible back pocket details. Too much mixing orange and blue and too many logos … Less is more.