Uniform changes can be polarizing. Some sports fans like tradition. Others welcome innovation. One thing is certain: They get us talking.
Major League Baseball’s City Connect uniforms, which launched in 2021, have done exactly that. Nike has worked with MLB teams to create a uniform that reflects each baseball city’s culture and community, similar to the NBA’s city jersey series that began in 2017.
Here’s our breakdown of the uniforms that have dropped to date, including grades for each design by ESPN MLB writer David Schoenfield. We’ll continue to update the list as new City Connect unis are unveiled.
2024
Debut: May 3, 2024
Design inspiration: The Rays use elements that highlight the unconventional nature of their organization, leaning into the skateboarding culture in Tampa Bay with one of the more notable decals of the City Connect series: a Ray executing a “stalefish” skateboard trick on the inside neck and pant hip.
Schoenfield’s grade: A-. Another black/gray base is a little cliché by this time for the City Connect line, but these are pretty cool, as the neon really pops and I love the cap with the purple bill. The numbers might be a bit hard to see on TV, but definitely a jersey you can see Rays fans wearing.
Design inspiration: The Mets wanted to create a uniform that not only related to fans of the team but captured the connection to New York City as a whole, leaning heavily on the “NYC” across the chest to represent “a city like no other.” They 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. There’s also the Queensboro Bridge, which connects Manhattan and Queens, across the cap.
Schoenfield’s grade: F. This feels like a big swing and miss for the obvious reason that it gives off a Yankees vibe rather than a Mets one, and you can’t screw up worse than that. Why not go with “Queens” on the chest rather than the predictable “NYC”? And the Queensboro Bridge cap just doesn’t work.
Design inspiration: The Phillies’ style goal was to be “unapologetically Philly.” The blue and yellow colors are inspired by the city’s flag and the blue collar of the jersey is meant to represent what the Phillies say is Philadelphia at its core: “a blue-collar big city with a small-town feel.”
Schoenfield’s grade: C. I’m not sure why the city flag is supposed to be an inspiration, as many Phillies fans wanted a dark maroon throwback style. The biggest problem the Phillies faced, though, was the fact they were never going to top their regular jerseys, the best overall set of uniforms in the majors.
Design inspiration: Pittsburgh’s black-and-yellow combination is a nod to the city’s bridges and its shift from the steel industry to medicine and technology. Each letter in “PGH” includes a texture from the Roberto Clemente Bridge, which connects downtown Pittsburgh to PNC Park.
Schoenfield’s grade: C+. The Pirates played it pretty safe here with the traditional black-and-yellow scheme, although there are some nice subtle design patterns (which are not really visible on television).
Design inspiration: The all-black look includes “Baltimore” across the chest, written in a font inspired by the Globe Collection and Press at Maryland Institute College of Art. It also has the “You Can’t Clip These Wings” slogan, a melody created by Baltimore-based poet and author Kondwani Fidel intended to embody the city’s perseverance.
Schoenfield’s grade: C-. An all-black uniform is usually a love it or hate it look, and this one isn’t helped by the boring block Baltimore lettering or that the minimal coloring requires the players to uncuff their sleeves or pants. The stylized “B” on the cap is a nice touch, even if it’s in white instead of orange.
Design inspiration: Cincinnati focused on the growth of its city in recent years. The Reds included multiple modern takes on traditional aspects of their uniforms — a revamped “C” logo and all-black look with red accents, different from their typical red and white.
Schoenfield’s grade: C. I do like the “C” on the cap with the five lines, but this is one of those jerseys that looks better hanging in a team store than it does watching a game in person or on TV.
Design inspiration: Throwbacks. The “Seattle” font across the chest is similar to that of the Seattle Pilots, the original MLB team in the city, while the black pants are a nod to the Steelheads, a Negro League team. The trident logo has been used in the past by the Mariners, notably in the 1980s and late 2010s.
Schoenfield’s grade: B+. They almost nailed it, as the blue tops with the yellow trim and the blue cap with the black bill and old-school trident logo were instant classics, but the black pants make the overall effect resemble a 1983 men’s softball league look.
Design inspiration: This is a design packed with Texas tributes, from its “TX” logo to numerous references to Lone Star State history. There’s even a “peagle” patch, which combines the mascots of the minor league Fort Worth Panthers and Dallas Eagles.
Schoenfield’s grade: D. Just too much going on here, from the mythical peagle to the gothic lettering (nothing says “Texas” like a font from the Middle Ages) to the too-large logo on the cap.
Design inspiration: Hank Aaron. The look is an update of the Braves’ uniform from 1974, the year Hammerin’ Hank passed Babe Ruth as baseball’s all-time home run king, and features other Aaron-inspired touches throughout.
Schoenfield’s grade: A-. It’s not exactly reinventing anything here since it’s similar to the uniform the Braves wore in the early 1970s. But it’s one sweet-looking uniform, with great eye appeal on TV, in photos or on baseball cards.
Design inspiration: According to the Padres, the bold departure from their regular uniforms “mixes iconic California imagery with the vibrant colors of the Baja peninsula.”
Schoenfield’s grade: A. I get that this might not be for everybody, but it’s distinct and colorful, seems to represent the city well and is a nice change of pace from the Padres’ brown-and-gold scheme.
Design inspiration: The Brewers took their nickname — “The Brew Crew” — and etched it across their chest, while the inclusion of a baseball grill patch on the sleeve is a unique nod to Milwaukee’s fans.
Schoenfield’s grade: A. You have to love this one: That patch of a grill on the uniform sleeve? More teams should have had a little more fun with this like the Brewers did.
Design inspiration: The beach. The Angels’ lettering across the chest, with a fishtail flourish, is inspired by surfboards.
Schoenfield’s grade: A-. Some have called it bland, but in general you can’t go wrong with a cream-colored look and the Angels nailed the chest script and number on the front (inspired by California lifeguard tower numbers).
Design inspiration: The DMV. The Rockies turned their uniforms into a baseball jersey adaptation of Colorado’s license plates.
Schoenfield’s grade: B. This look definitely screams “Colorado” more than the unexciting purple-trimmed jerseys the Rockies wear. But too much of the design was stolen from those state license plates, so they lose points for lack of creativity.
Design inspiration: The most notable element of the jersey — the logo — takes cues from Kansas City’s official flag.
Schoenfield’s grade: C. Some nice design elements here, like the fountain-inspired “KC” lettering on the front, but the choice to go with navy over, you know, royal blue is kind of odd. In the end, it just feels like a lesser version of their regular jerseys.
Design inspiration: Outer space. The Astros lean into Houston’s most well-known explorers — NASA — with many elements, most prominently the “SPACE CITY” name stenciled across the chest in what the team called a “space-inspired” font.
Schoenfield’s grade: B-. I love the cap and the NASA-inspired font for the team name (and names on the back) plus the colorful socks when the pants are worn high, but I wonder if orange pants — bring out some of that colorful Astros history! — instead of another monochrome look would have been the way to go.
Debut: April 9, 2022
Design inspiration: Cherry blossoms. Among other symbols of the nation’s capital, the Nats decorated their jerseys to celebrate D.C.’s iconic cherry trees, though they’ll be retiring the look after the 2024 season.
Schoenfield’s grade: B. I kind of liked this one, but obviously the Nationals themselves weren’t big fans with the early retirement of the jersey after 2024. Plus, the subtle flower pattern on the jersey is invisible when actually watching a game.
Design inspiration: The “Los Dodgers” lettering on both the hat and jersey is not only a shout-out to the team’s Latin fan base, but was also a specific callback to “Fernandomania,” when Mexican left-hander Fernando Valenzuela burst onto the scene 40 years earlier, winning the National League Cy Young Award, Rookie of the Year Award and, oh yeah, the World Series in 1981.
Schoenfield’s grade: F. The Dodgers seemed to give this no effort, and they’ve already twice modified the original all-blue 2021 version. They will have a completely new look coming out in 2024.
Design inspiration: Fog. San Francisco’s offering in the City Connect series has graphics that are emerging from the city’s famous fog, including its most well-known landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge.
Schoenfield’s grade: C. They could have done something cool here with the Golden Gate Bridge and the fog, but there’s too much white and not enough color.
Design inspiration: The Diamondbacks become the “Serpientes” on their City Connect jerseys, a nod to Hispanic culture, and their choice of gold is straight out of the Arizona desert.
Schoenfield’s grade: B. The design itself, with the Spanish spelling of snakes, isn’t anything unique or special, but the desert-sand jersey color does stand out and improves the grade.
Design inspiration: With colors that evoke their city’s flag, the Cubs’ look prominently features the “Wrigleyville” neighborhood that surrounds their iconic ballpark, in a font similar to Wrigley Field’s famous marquee.
Schoenfield’s grade: D. Nothing wrong with “Wrigleyville” across the chest, although that’s a lot of lettering to squeeze in, but in a city with a rich history like Chicago, this was a missed opportunity to do something creative. The all-navy look is another miss.
Design inspiration: The first of the Chicago City Connects takes cues from the city’s Greystone architectural style as well as hip-hop and youth culture, highlighted by a Gothic “Southside” across the chest to represent the team’s long history of calling that part of town home.
Schoenfield’s grade: B+. Probably the most the predictable of the City Connect uniforms, given the White Sox’s already heavy emphasis on black (although these are officially dark gray), but it’s a nice look.
Debut: May 21, 2021
Design inspiration: Miami’s Cuban population is celebrated with a uniform inspired by the Sugar Kings, a Triple-A team that played out of Havana, Cuba, from 1954 to 1960. The sleeve patch uses the original Sugar Kings logo, with an “MM” added to the crown.
Schoenfield’s grade: A. I love the top because when you see these, you know you’re watching the Marlins. It certainly feels a lot more Miami than the Marlins’ uninspired regular uniforms.
Design inspiration: The Red Sox launched the City Connect series with a radical idea: No red. Instead, the team went with a yellow-and-blue jersey color combo that’s a nod to the Boston Marathon. There’s also a sleeve patch featuring Fenway Park’s “617” area code.
Schoenfield’s grade: B. It took guts to completely abandon red from the look, but think of the early history in Boston and the fun the team could have built in: a patch of a bag of tea or the U.S. Constitution or Paul Revere’s horse.
BOSTON — The 4 Nations Face-Off has emerged as a transformative moment for the NHL.
“Nothing’s done more for hockey in a decade than what this tournament’s done,” Team Canada coach Jon Cooper said.
What was supposed to be a midseason appetizer for the 2026 Winter Olympics has evolved into a transcendent event for hockey, which has lacked a best-on-best event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. That was never more apparent than the first U.S. vs Canada showdown in Montreal, which produced three fights in the first nine seconds of the game followed by an elite representation of the sport as played by two bitter rivals.
The audience was massive — with 9.3 million viewers, it was the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game ever in the United States. The hype was something the NHL hadn’t seen in recent memory. People who don’t usually talk about hockey were suddenly talking about hockey.
It’s just incredible how much of a home run 4 Nations has been for the NHL and hockey in general.
Friends who never watched a hockey game in their lives reaching out asking what the plan is for tonight’s game, what food we’re ordering, etc.
“The game is in a better place because that game existed,” Cooper said.
Now that the 4 Nations Face-Off was a game-changer, how will the NHL capitalize on it — and what comes next for its midseason events?
THE NHL HAS ANNOUNCED what is on the way in 2026. The All-Star Weekend, which took a hiatus in favor of 4 Nations this year, will return at the New York Islanders‘ UBS Arena next February. That will serve as a bon voyage event ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, which mark the return of NHL players for the first time since 2014.
The 2026 Olympics begin what the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association hope will be a regular cadence of international best-on-best events. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh announced last week the next World Cup of Hockey is scheduled for 2028. Then come the 2030 Winter Olympics, and then potentially another World Cup and so on.
“We couldn’t be more excited about making a reality: Olympics, World Cups, Olympics, World Cups on a regular schedule of the best hockey players in the world representing their countries,” Bettman said. “We know the full-blown World Cup is going to be sensational.”
Sources told ESPN that the future of the NHL All-Star Game beyond next season has yet to be determined.
The NHL All-Star Game isn’t going anywhere — sources said its status as a tentpole event and its history within the league make it an important part of the league’s slate of events. But All-Star Weekend’s cadence and format beyond next season hasn’t been determined. Logically, it could be held in years when there isn’t a best-on-best event. Perhaps the league continues to double up with the All-Star Game and the Olympics, like it is doing in 2026.
ALL-STAR GAMES are in a transient place in the sports world right now — that’s not just a function of the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
While the NHL’s midseason tournament was being widely praised, the NBA All-Star Weekend received criticism from fans and players. Draymond Green called the game’s format “absurd” and said it existed “because ratings are down and the game is bad.”
The effort of the NHL’s players in its best-on-best tournament was in stark contrast with basketball’s midseason classic.
“You can go on an NBA court and go through the motions. You can’t do that in hockey,” P.K. Subban said on “Get Up.” “The culture of our sport, you have to play it with passion. That’s what fans are investing in.”
While that’s true, the NHL All-Star Game isn’t exactly USA vs. Canada for the 4 Nations title, either.
“Different event, obviously. I don’t remember any fights in the All-Star Games,” Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said. “There’s definitely a place to have both. From what I’ve heard, that’s the plan in the future. And I think both can be exciting.”
play
1:34
USA, Canada fight 3 times in the first 9 seconds of game
Three players each from USA and Canada are penalized for three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.
THE ALL-STAR GAME brings some virtues that these international tournaments do not. The World Cup of Hockey will be awarded through a host city bidding process. The All-Star Game brings the world’s best players to markets that may never host a World Cup game. It doesn’t just spread the wealth among NHL cities — it does the same among players.
“The one thing about this tournament is ‘Where’s Leon Draisaitl?’ Or Nikita Kucherov?’ Go down the list of guys that aren’t here that you do get to see in an All-Star Game because those guys are special talents,” Cooper said. “Maybe there’s something down the road where everybody gets to play, and that would be super cool.”
The players at the 4 Nations Face-Off uniformly agreed that there’s room for both best-on-best battles and All-Star games in the NHL.
“Obviously this brings out real emotions when you get to play these meaningful games,” Sweden’s Jesper Bratt said. “The All-Star Game has its cool things to it, too, and I think fans appreciate that part of it: to see the best individual players from each division and each team to participate in a skill competition.”
Team USA’s Jack Hughes, Bratt’s teammate on the New Jersey Devils, said he’s made some great memories at the All-Star Game.
“That’s always fun for me personally, just because it’s not as extreme as this. Obviously, you get to spend more time with your family and your friends and get to enjoy that with them. I think that’s a great event,” he said. “But as a hockey player for sure, [4 Nations] is the elite of the elite. Getting to play against the best players and represent your country. It means something to everyone on the ice.”
Vincent Trocheck said the experience is different for every player at the All-Star Game.
“I’ve only played in two, and they’ve been extremely special to me. Every time I’ve been able to go, sharing that with my family is really cool. So those are … awesome weekends, but something like this is just different,” said the New York Rangers center, who played for Team USA. “It’s more meaningful. It’s more emotional. Stuff like this is what you dream of as a kid. So coming to a tournament like this is something that you’ll never forget. You can’t match it.”
THE NHL PLAYERS deserve credit, having pushed for more best-on-best opportunities since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
“Whether it’s Team Canada, the U.S., Sweden, Finland, the other nations in the future, if there’s more playing in these events when you put on your country’s uniform, it just means something special,” Morrissey said. “It’s a different feeling, and you can’t replicate that in any other way.”
After the success of 4 Nations, everything is on the table. Could the All-Star Game become something that hues a little closer to nation vs. nation? Could those years between the Olympics and World Cup produce more international events, be it a 4 Nations Face-Off or a “summit series” between the U.S. and Canada?
The 4 Nations Face-Off has broadened the possibilities.
“Look to soccer. They have so much international play that gets so much attention. We’re not soccer, as far as a global game, but we’re not that far behind,” Ron Hainsey of the NHLPA said. “That’s the long-term goal here … where fans look forward to these players representing their countries on a regular basis.”
Shutting down the regular season for international events isn’t without its risks or its critics. The 4 Nations Face-Off saw a handful of injuries, most notably to Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who was hospitalized Monday with an infection in his right shoulder and a significant injury to his AC joint.
“I don’t know how the NHL teams feel about it, because guys are going so hard out there and we still have a quarter of the season left,” New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes said. “But I think the guys inside the locker room have extreme care for this and are really, really enjoying this.”
Canada star Connor McDavid agreed less is more for international tournaments.
“I’m not sure you could do this every single year. It’s been pretty taxing. Obviously, we see guys going down and getting hurt.” McDavid said. “But it goes to show how much guys care about playing for the country, how much pride they play with while they’re wearing the jersey.
“I think with the Olympics and the World Cup, I think we’ll get enough.”
The World Cup of Hockey returns in 2028, although its final form has yet to be determined. There will be eight teams representing eight nations, without the “melded” teams from 2016 like Team North America and Team Europe. The NHL will not partner with the International Ice Hockey Federation for the World Cup, instead negotiating with other professional leagues themselves in order to populate teams like Germany and Switzerland with players.
There will be a bidding process for host cities, and that process will be open to European locations.
“The Olympics provides a good model for us in terms of how long the break will be for games in Europe,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.
Of course, the biggest issue around the 2026 Olympics and 2028 World Cup is whether Russia will be included, as it remains banned from international play through 2026 by the IIHF because of its invasion of Ukraine.
“I’d love to see our Russian players playing in these tournaments. Again, they’re incredible hockey players,” Walsh said. “The issues are political and it is not political as far as the NHLPA, it’s the world politics that we have to get through and I’m hoping that as we get closer to the Olympics, as we get closer to the World Cup, we will start seeing the Russian athletes back in the competition.”
THE 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF showed best-on-best hockey can cross over to the mainstream. But the conditions might not be there to capture lightning in a bottle a second time.
The geopolitical undercurrents to the USA vs. Canada rivalry heightened its passions. The tournament featured the first opportunity for a generation of stars — McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, the Tkachuk brothers and Auston Matthews, among others — to represent their countries in a best-on-best event.
And what, exactly, do they do for an encore? Four fights in eight seconds next time?
“The expectations were high. I think the tournament’s done a good job of setting that bar and going beyond it,” Team USA’s Brock Nelson said.
The 4 Nations Face-Off was meant to be the appetizer for the Olympics. Based on its success, the NHL needs to capitalize on the moment.
College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.
The Nebraska–Tennessee football home-and-home football series scheduled for 2026 and 2027 will not be played after Nebraska opted out of the agreement.
Tennessee athletic director Danny White posted on X that Nebraska called off the series and added that Tennessee is “very disappointed” by the cancellation, especially so close to the initial game in 2026. The teams had been set to play in 2026 at Nebraska and at Tennessee the following year.
In a statement, Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen explained renovations to the team’s stadium, which will temporarily lower seating capacity, ultimately led to the decision.
“We are making plans to embark on major renovations of Memorial Stadium that may impact our seating capacity for the 2027 season,” Dannen said. “The best scenario for us is to have eight home games in 2027 to offset any potential revenue loss from a reduced capacity. The additional home games will also have a tremendous economic benefit on the Lincoln community.”
The Cornhuskers announced they will host Bowling Green in 2026 and Miami (Ohio) in 2027 on the dates when it was originally set to play Tennessee. Nebraska has never faced either school. The team will play eight homes in 2027 for the first time since 2013.
The cancellation ends a nearly two-decade process around a Nebraska-Tennessee series, which was originally agreed upon in 2006 and set for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In 2013, the two schools agreed to delay the games for a decade. Nebraska will pay $500,000 to get out of the scheduling agreement.
White told Volquest that the “buyout implications need to be much steeper” with an “old contract,” and the cancellation puts Tennessee in a bind. Tennessee, which opens the 2025 season against Syracuse in Atlanta, had its nonleague schedule set through the 2030 season. The school either must find an opponent who can fill the 2026 and 2027 dates for a home-and-home series, or explore neutral-site options.
“You really can’t pull an audible this late in the game,” White told Volquest.
Nebraska’s stadium renovation, the first phase of which had been set to begin after the 2024 season, has been delayed until after the 2025 season, at the earliest.
Tennessee and Nebraska have played only three times before, most recently in the 2016 Music City Bowl, won by the Vols. Nebraska beat Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl to secure a share of the national title that season.
Tennessee has been on the other side of a similar situation. The Vols in 2021 canceled a game against Army for the next season in 2022 and added Akron instead.
Information from ESPN’s Chris Low was used in this report.
ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees‘ facial hair and grooming policy, an infamous edict in place for nearly 50 years, was formally amended for the first time Friday.
In a statement, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said the organization will allow “well-groomed beards” effective immediately, changing a rule his father, George, established in 1976.
“In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees — spanning several eras — to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback,” Hal Steinbrenner said in the statement. “These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years.
“Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward. It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”
George Steinbrenner implemented the mandate before the 1976 season, leaving players with a choice of being clean-shaven or wearing a mustache. Hal Steinbrenner kept the policy in place after becoming chairman and controlling owner of the franchise in 2008.
Players overwhelmingly obliged with the order over the next five decades, from spring training through October, often before letting themselves go during the offseason, though a few have pushed the limits.
In the 1990s, for example, star first baseman Don Mattingly was fined and benched by manager Stump Merril for refusing to trim his mullet. Four years later, Mattingly wore a goatee for part of his final season in 1995.
This year, All-Star closer Devin Williams, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, reported for his spring training physical with a beard before shaving it down to a mustache for the team’s first workout the next day. On the other end, former Yankees Gleyber Torres and Clay Holmes reported to camp with their new teams sporting full beards.