The 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) Season is underway and with it being underway that means new special edition Nike City Connect jerseys.
The teams receiving these new jerseys are the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Guardians, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins.
The Los Angeles Dodgers will be getting a City Connect jersey later in June and will be the first team with two City Connect jerseys while three other teams have yet to receive them, typical Dodgers.
Each jersey paid homage to a certain part of each city or something in the city.
But before I start ranking the jerseys the best one is the Houston Astros Space City Connect jerseys that were released last year, and nothing will top them.
I’ll rank each jersey one through eight and judge it on its look, detail and city homage.
Starting off with number eight and the worst jersey in my opinion would be the St. Louis Cardinals. The jersey features “The Lou” written across the chest which was made famous by Nelly. It is also all red and looks like their normal jersey which is why it is in dead last.
The jersey also features the Gateway Arch on the sleeve making it pretty basic.
Moving on to number seven which is almost identical to number six is the Philadelphia Phillies jersey. It is an all-blue jersey with yellow accents and “Philly” written across its chest. The blue and yellow colors are inspired by the city’s flag and the blue collar of the jersey is meant to represent what Philadelphia is at its core: “a blue-collar big city with a small-town feel.”
The hat that goes along with the jersey incorporates The Liberty Bell, which is probably the best part of the jersey, but I think they should have gone with red, white and blue or a classic Maroon.
Next on the list will be the Minnesota Twins jersey which is again all blue with yellow. It is supposed to represent the lakes and it has a ripple effect for them as well. Lastly the jersey changes from dark blue to light blue to incorporate the depth of the lakes.
I think the twins should have made the jerseys Prince themed but who am I to design jerseys. Philly and Minnesota could be interchangeable, but Philadelphia is a trash organization and a World Series loser so they’re a jersey loser as well.
Coming in at number five would be the Detroit Tigers, who feature an all-blue look with elements such as the tire treads, racing stripe and VIN which honor Detroit’s signature export.
The Tiger’s jersey is pretty cool, and I enjoy the tire tread but it is a little basic which is why it’s in the middle.
Number 4 is a tough one, but it has to go to the New York Mets. The Mets jersey features a black and grey look and reads “NYC” across the chest. These jerseys pay homage to New York’s subway stations with multiple design elements, most specifically purple flourishes representing the 7 line, which stops at Citi Field where the Mets play.
There’s also the Queensboro Bridge, which connects Manhattan and Queens across the cap. These are cool and any all-black jersey is top tier for me, but it does kind of look like the New York Yankees jerseys.
Moving on to my top three, number three would have to be the Cleveland Guardians jersey. These jerseys feature an all-blue look with a big “CLE” crème lettering across the chest. The jersey also has red, white and blue stripes down the sides paying homage to the 80s jerseys.
Any jersey with crème accents is top tier for me but the classic two-colored helmet looks amazing.
Coming in at number two would have to be the Tampa Bay Rays jerseys. These jerseys feature black, grey purple and neon green. The jerseys leaning into the skateboarding culture in Tampa with one of the more notable decals: a Ray executing a “stalefish” skateboard trick.
The purple brim of the batting helmet and hats with the neon green accents make this jersey top tier for me, but there can only be one number one jersey.
The last jersey coming in at number one would be our friends from the north the Toronto Blue Jays. These jerseys feature a dark blue background with Torontos city skyline. With “Toronto” written across the chest and its blue and red accents I think this jersey is top tier.
All the City Connect Jerseys are cool but some outweigh the rest with Toronto leading the pack but I will have to see the Dodgers at the end of the month.
