For the last few years, the MLB has partnered with Nike to create a uniform that reflects each baseball city’s culture and community. This year, the Phillies hosted a free block party to celebrate the release of their City Connect jerseys.
“I love them, I really do,” said John Middleton, owner of the Phillies. “It’s been a great process to go through with Nike and the fanatics. So has watching the conceptualization of our uniform and it’s been really great. I love the end result.”
This is the Phillies first City Connect Uniform with 8 other MLB teams debuting in 2024. At the block party, fans were able to purchase the jerseys modeled by the Phanatic, meet alumni like Shane Victorino, enjoy Philly food trucks, and watch the game against the Washington Nationals on a big screen.
“This was a celebration with the Phillies and Fanatics, just to kind of kick off this initiative and get our fans out here to have a good time,” said Kristin Zeller, Director of Retail Marketing.
The City Connect jerseys are meant to represent Philadelphia and are a love letter from the team. The Nike MLB City Connect jerseys are blue and yellow to represent the Philadelphia flag, removing their typical Philly red. The pattern of “Philly” across the chest represents the text on historical documents written in the city and the cracks in the Liberty Bell.
Philadelphia’s skyline is on the inside of the jersey’s collar in bright blue to represent Philadelphia’s blue-collar core. Players and fans can also wear their hearts on their sleeves with a sleeve patch that says “Love” to represent the “City of Brotherly Love.”
The team calls these jerseys “Unapologetically Philly,” but fans have mixed reviews.
“We like the old school jerseys the best,” said Mike Holleran. His son, Kylen, agreed.
“To be honest, I saw the leak on it,” said Nick Chambers, a fan from New Jersey. “I was a little apprehensive, at first, but the more and more I saw it, I was like actually it’s pretty decent. I really like that.”
The City Connect jerseys will make their debut tomorrow night and fans can catch the uniforms at every Friday home game for the rest of the 2024 season.
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