MLB & Nike lead off Year Two of City Connect Uniform Program

By | March 29, 2022

Major League Baseball and Nike today unveiled the seven participating clubs in this year’s City Connect uniform program. The seven clubs announced today will join the inaugural seven clubs that participated in 2021, making a total of 14 clubs that will sport City Connect uniforms on field by season’s end.

Launched last season, the Nike MLB City Connect program was created to celebrate the bond between each Club and its city. This uniform series explores the personality, values and customs that make each community and their residents unique. Nike and MLB Clubs partnered to design jerseys inspired by their cities to celebrate new baseball traditions and invite more fans into the game of baseball.

Year two of the Nike MLB City Connect program will highlight seven additional clubs, including: Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals. Nike MLB City Connect Series uniforms will be unveiled now through July.

Leading the 2022 City Connect Series will be the Washington Nationals, whose jersey pays tribute to America’s majestic capital city and the proud, diverse, creative people of all backgrounds who call it home. Taking inspiration from the annual springtime blooms of cherry blossom trees that abound around the Potomac basin signifying the promise of new beginnings and possibilities of a new season, the jersey features an anthracite base color, cherry blossom print and pop of pink on the trims. The ‘WSH’ graphic on the front of the jersey reflects the power and strength of the neoclassical architecture found across the District. On the left sleeve, the District of Columbia patch is an homage not only to America’s first president, but to all former, current and future Washingtonians.

“There’s nothing quite like the bond between baseball fans, their home teams, and their hometowns — and the Nike MLB City Connect series is an ongoing celebration of that relationship,” said Sonja Henning, Nike VP of North America League Partnerships. “We are thrilled to honor the history of each club while pushing the bounds of what a baseball jersey can be. We hope this series will continue to energize longtime fans — and bring a generation of new ones to the game.”

“The excitement that our fans and players showed last year at each City Connect debut is exactly what these uniforms are all about,” said MLB Chief Revenue Officer Noah Garden. “When we initially partnered with Nike, the incredible energy that we see at each uniform launch is exactly what we envisioned. Nike continues to raise the bar working with our Clubs on developing these unique designs, bringing each community’s story to life. We can’t wait to see how these next seven uniforms connect with our fans and generate excitement on the field this season.”

The MLB City Connect Series continues the work of Nike uniform design to explore each organization’s connection to its city and its fanbase, each with distinct personalities, values, customs and traditions.

The Washington Nationals City Connect jersey from the Nike MLB City Connect series releases March 30 at Nationals Team Store, MLBShop.com and select retail locations.

City Connect On-Field Debut Schedule

To complete players’ uniform designs, long-time MLB Authentic Collection partners New Era & Stance have worked in collaboration with the Clubs, MLB and Nike to develop the official on-field City Connect caps and socks.

Nike is the Official Uniform and Footwear Supplier of MLB.This partnership provides Major League Baseball players with uniforms developed by Nike’s team of innovative designers and features the Nike Swoosh, along with baselayer, game-day outerwear and all training apparel for the 30 MLB Clubs. As an official MLB sponsor, Nike continues to support league initiatives, grassroots marketing and fan events.

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