In its never-ending quest to separate the hardball superfan from more of their hard-earned money, Major League Baseball, its apparel and merchandising partners and eight teams have rolled out a second generation of “City Connect” jerseys and hats.
Coming just three years after dropping alternate togs for the Braves, Brewers, Orioles, Padres, Pirates, Rangers, Reds and Royals, fans of that octet of teams will now have the right drop $200 on a new jersey, or $53 on a cap.
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Yet is it all worth it?
Whether these Connects 2.0 are an improvement on the OGs is of course a matter of taste. Yet the first pass through these eight mid-market clubs produced both iconic jerseys and also some mail-it-in efforts that made it an easier bar to clear.
Ranking the eight new City Connect jerseys – and whether they represent an improvement on the original:
Daunting and haunting, from font to cap. Pirates are supposed to be a little scary and this kit fills that bill, thanks to a heaping spoonful of what outfielder Jake Mangum calls “mustard gold” accenting the jersey and cap. The Jolly Roger on the sleeve is downright horrifying. While the league wants to siphon more cash out of the consumer, you might be in a plundering mood yourself when donning this gear.
An improvement?
Yes. Both the Pirates and Reds seemed to draw the short straw the first time around, with unimaginative “PGH” and “CIN” slapped across the jerseys. The Pirates, at least, got better treatment this time around.
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Just a gorgeous callback to their orange and blue color scheme of the 1990s. While the Padres have wisely and successfully leaned into Brown over the years, this color scheme is regionally evocative and recalls an era that was quietly successful, including a surprise 1998 World Series run.
An improvement?
No. You wanna talk retro regionally evocative? There’s just no improving upon the fluorescent aerobics-class gear of the original City Connects, an apparel set that makes you want to grab a Walkman and rollerblade through Mission Bay Park. This version’s La Catrina Dia de los Muertos patch, while a nice touch, seems to make the kit want to split the difference between “active lifestyle” and “cultural history.”
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3. Texas Rangers
The Rangers opened their airplane hangar of a ballpark with an accompanying everyday uniform set that was appropriately bland. Their ’23 City Connects were an improvement on that. Yet this version steers hard into the red that was a staple of their franchise for most of their first six decades. And the “TEJAS” script across the chest is “also in homage to the Tejano culture as we know it,” Daisy Rincón, the Rangers manager of multicultural marketing tells MLB.com. “There’s a large mix of Mexican-Americans here in Texas. It’s in the spirit of celebrating Texas culture.”
An improvement?
Yes. The originals that paid homage to the long history of baseball in Texas were pretty cool, even if they had a “Will I really wear this in public?” vibe. Acknowledging the multicultural makeup of the club’s fans is a nice touch, though it loses some steam when you take into account some, um, other actions of the franchise.
Aiming to connect the city’s “big stoop energy” with its jewel of a gathering place, Camden Yards, the Orioles’ new entry features accents of “Camden Green” (who knew?) and patches celebrating the Eutaw Street home-run plaques and the iconic clock tower. Hey, why be less when you can BMORE?
An improvement?
Yes. If only because the previous version’s special touches were so subtle they often escaped the naked eye. The green and orange does evoke a Miami Hurricanes intrasquad scrimmage, but it’s a pretty combo.
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5. Milwaukee Brewers
The “Wisco” in script letters across the chest immediately signal an aggressive rebrand: “Even though the official branding is City Connect, we call it ‘State Connect’ internally,” Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger tells MLB.com. So, shoutout Kewaunee County, we guess. It is a pretty color scheme, for sure, with its Base Blue intended to reflect the state’s endless shorelines and waterways.
An improvement?
No. Hey, the Great Lakes are freaking awesome, and the club is wise to tap into the state’s greatest natural resources. Yet the grill-out theme of the originals also captured the Milwaukee baseball experience and the winterlong pining for warmer times so wonderfully.
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The most powdery blue you’ve ever seen, the Braves have scrawled an audacious “Atlanta” across the chest with font choices aimed to evoke the team’s TBS glory days of the 1980s and ‘90s (the ATL sleeve patch is essentially the old TBS logo). Sartorially pleasing.
An improvement?
No. The 2023 originals were so clean, with “The A” scrawled in such gorgeous type. It provided a nice roadmap should the club ever want to move on from its nickname. Also, it was released “to honor the legacy of Hank Aaron,” which one would think might have a shelf life greater than three years.
7. Cincinnati Reds
They are the Reds, and the uniforms are very red – seven shades of it, according to the team. For the first time since that odd swath of franchise history when the club commuted from Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field to Great American Ball Park, the kits will feature pinstripes, though they’re less pronounced set against the, well, redness of it all.
An improvement?
Yes. Like the Pirates, the Reds’ first Connects seemed bereft of creativity, relative to their major league brethren. These pop a little more and feature more interesting design elements, though the “C” logo is, well, interesting.
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8. Kansas City Royals
They’ve gone from a fountain theme to a… fountain theme. At first glance, the scheme looks like way too much is going on, though the subtleties pop a little more once you slow everything down. Most notably: Two blue stripes on the armbands surrounding a swath of white, symbolizing the city’s position with one foot in Missouri and another in Kansas.
An improvement?
No, but it’s close. The Kauffman Stadium fountains have given way to a more regional look, appropriate given the club’s desire to join the Chiefs in greener pastures elsewhere in the surrounding area.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB City Connect 2026 new jerseys ranked, from Padres to Braves
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