Philadelphia Phillies celebrate the city’s rich heritage with City Connect uniforms
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Anthony Gharib, ESPN
The Philadelphia Phillies unveiled their City Connect uniforms Friday — a modern look that’s intended to celebrate the city’s rich history, while appealing to a younger audience.
The reveal is the first in a line of nine Major League Baseball teams that will have a new City Connect uniform this season. It will debut on the field on April 12.
“We are excited and honored to be the first team this season to officially unveil our City Connect uniform, which features a new modern design that represents being ‘unapologetically Philly’ and celebrates our city’s rich history, ” said Phillies vice president of business affairs Howard Smith in a news release.
The structured process of the Phillies’ design began in 2021 with an emphasis on a look that is tailored to younger fans. The choice of when the uniforms will be worn on-field this season — every Friday home game — is specifically meant for days/times when more younger fans will be able to attend, Smith told ESPN.
“It’s about getting younger as a sport,” Smith said. “We’ve got a lot of 20-somethings in that clubhouse. So it’s kind of part of the target we’re going after, they’re sitting down in the clubhouse. And to see their excitement through the process was gratifying.”
The uniform includes multiple nods to Philadelphia’s roots, a key component of each City Connect uniform. The blue and yellow colors are directly related to the colors of the city’s flag, the oldest and only one that’s gone unchanged in the United States.
Philadelphia’s skyline is depicted on the inside of the uniform’s collar in a bright blue shade, meant to represent what Philadelphia is at its core — “a blue-collar big city with a small-town feel,” according to the news release.
The pattern of “Philly” across the chest is similar to text found on historical documents written in the city and includes a nod to the cracks within the Liberty Bell.
It wouldn’t be a Philadelphia uniform without paying homage to the “City of Brotherly Love” moniker, which appears as a sleeve patch integrated with the word “Love.” There’s an etching pattern on the interior referencing the illustration from literature common around the time of the revolution. Baseball laces are also woven in this detail with the intention of representing the Phillies’ place in the city’s DNA.
According to Smith, John Middleton, the principal owner of the Phillies, was very direct that the process had to be organizationally driven and was important that everyone was on the same page with the design. First and foremost, the players — some of whom were involved in the process — had to like the direction.
“We started with the clubhouse and showed them the designs and [it was] very, very well received,” Smith said.
Smith described the look as “sort of like a mini history lesson.”
“Given the fact that we got to go in Year 3 [of the City Connect series] and see how some of the really successful clubs did it, both in the NBA and Major League Baseball, we knew that just rolling out another red, white and blue jersey wasn’t the answer,” he said. “It had to be distinctive, it had to be different and it had to stand for something and there had to be, like I said, there had to be that connectivity.”
LOS ANGELES — Orion Kerkering made a wild throw past home instead of tossing to first after mishandling Andy Pages‘ bases-loaded comebacker with two outs in the 11th inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 Thursday to win their NL Division Series 3-1.
Kerkering hung his head and put hands on knees after his throw sailed past catcher J.T. Realmuto as pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim crossed the plate, advancing the Dodgers to the NL Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs or Milwaukee.
Realmuto had pointed to first when the broken-bat, two-hopper hit off Kerkering’s glove and rolled just in front of the mound.
Kerkering picked up the ball and in one motion made a sidearm throw, 46 feet from the plate. The ball sailed up the third-base line, past Realmuto’s outstretched mitt, and fans in the crowd of 50,563 at Dodger Stadium erupted after spending the final three innings on their feet.
“It’s brutal,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s one of those things that it’s a PFP, a pitcher’s fielding practice. He’s done it a thousand times. And right there he was so focused, I’m sure, on just getting the hitter and just sort of forgot the outs and the situation.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson wrapped an arm around Kerkering when the distraught reliever reached the dugout.
“He just got caught up in the moment a little bit,” Thomson said. “I feel for him because he’s putting it all on his shoulders.”
This was the second postseason series to end on a walk-off error, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. A wild relay throw by Texas second baseman Rougned Odor on a potential double-play grounder allowed Josh Donaldson to score and give Toronto a 7-6, 10-inning win and a three-game sweep of their 2016 AL Division Series.
Los Angeles ended a postseason series with a walk-off win for the third time after Bill Russell’s single against the Phillies in Game 4 of the 1978 NLCS and Chris Taylor‘s homer in the 2021 NL wild card game.
Nick Castellanos‘ RBI double in the seventh off Emmet Sheehan had put the Phillies ahead but Jhoan Duran walked Mookie Betts with the bases loaded in the bottom half, forcing in the tying run.
Tommy Edman singled off Jesús Luzardo with one out in the 11th and took third on Max Muncy‘s two-out single that eluded diving shortstop Trea Turner.
Kerkering walked Enrique Hernández, loading the bases. Pages, in a 1-for-23 postseason slide, hit what appeared to be a routine grounder, the type every pitcher practices gloving from spring training on.
Philadelphia, wearing its powder blue throwback uniforms on the road for the second straight day, was knocked out in the Division Series for the third straight season while the defending World Series champion Dodgers reached the LCS for the eighth time in 13 years.
Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki, averaging 99.5 mph his his fastball, threw three innings of hitless relief, combining with Tyler Glasnow, Sheehan and winner Alex Vesia on a four-hitter.
Glasnow allowed two hits and three walks in six innings with eight of the 12 strikeouts by Dodgers pitchers.
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer was upgraded to probable Thursday on the SEC availability report, a signal he’s set to attempt to play against Texas on Saturday, just 17 days after surgery on a broken bone in his throwing hand.
Mateer’s push to return Saturday has continued this week, with sources telling ESPN that he has practiced and progressed enough to be in position to attempt to play. Sources told ESPN earlier Thursday that Mateer was on track to attempt to play Saturday.
The ambiguity over Mateer’s ability to play is expected to extend until kickoff, as sources told ESPN that Mateer’s pain level and ability to grip the ball will be watched closely.
A return to the field against Texas would be in line with the most aggressive timelines of a potential comeback.
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said Monday that he assumed Mateer wouldn’t be available. OU listed Mateer as questionable on the first SEC availability report Wednesday, and Venables has remained evasive on Mateer’s availability.
Mateer emerged as a Heisman favorite in the first month of the season. He injured the hand in the first quarter of a 24-17 win over Auburn on Sept. 20. He played the rest of the game and threw for 271 yards.
He has missed just one game since surgery Sept. 24, as OU had a bye and blew out Kent State 44-0. Michael Hawkins Jr. started in the Kent game and threw three touchdown passes.
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