Miami Marlins uniforms pay tribute to Cuban Triple-A team the Sugar Kings

The Miami Marlins found a striking way to honor Cuban Triple-A team the Havana Sugar Kings with their “City Connect” uniforms.

The Miami Marlins set out to honor their Cuban heritage with their new “City Connect” uniforms.

The new threads do that and more.

The red jerseys with white pinstripes and blue accents look like a home run.

Nike is partnering with teams like the Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants for these “City Connect Series” jerseys. Honestly, it will be tough to outdo these ones.

The background on the Miami uniforms links to the Havana Sugar Kings, a Triple-A International League team from Cuba. They won the Junior World Series in 1959 on an epic walk-off home run and captured the imagination of their community.

However, international politics got in the way of their continued on-field success. The team was beloved but dissolved after relocating to New Jersey because of the deteriorating relationship between Fidel Castro and the US in 1960.

The Marlins are making sure the Havana Sugar Kings are remembered

The Marlins will wear the new uniforms for the first time on Friday to mark Cuban Independence Day, which is on Thursday. They will be finishing out their series in Philadelphia on that day before coming home.

They’ll continue to wear them through the three-game series against the New York Mets this weekend. That won’t be the last time you’ll see them either. They also plan to wear them for five other weekend series this season, though those dates are not yet set.

With any luck, the jerseys will serve Miami well. They’re 18-22 this season and fourth in the NL East. The Mets top the division, but the last time they played, the Marlins came away with a 1-1-1 series.