MLB is aging their core demographic out with latest City Connect leaks

If you’re another member of the “there are too many alternate jerseys and uniforms” club, then please at least bring pizza to our next meeting celebrating the start of the 2026 MLB season, where we will bemoan the latest fashion possibly headed our way.

Leaked photos emerged on social media earlier this week allegedly depicting the Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers’ new City Connect jerseys. Baltimore's is cream-colored with black and orange sleeves, along with an Oriole sitting atop the “R” in “BMORE.”

We’d say that “Texas opted for,” but in this case, it’s more accurate to say “Tejas” opted for a red jersey with white piping and the word “TEJAS” on the front. No, that’s not a typo: “Tejas” is the Caddo word for “friends.” At least the Pirates kept it simple, going with a black jersey and “PIRATES” in gold lettering, which some social media users noted resembled a tattered pirate flag.

As of Thursday morning, none of those teams had confirmed whether the leaks are legitimate. Regardless, it’s yet another chapter in the “too many jerseys” book that Major League Baseball, along with other sports leagues, has been writing for years now.

If you’re tired of the City Connect jerseys, you’re not alone

I don’t want to imitate John Smoltz and spend the morning complaining about how things used to be so much better. For what it’s worth, I love the Pirates’ alleged City Connect jerseys, and I have no problem with the Orioles’ set. I especially like the little Oriole. As for the Rangers’ new jerseys, at least they’re not the since-retired cherry blossom uniforms the Nationals used to wear.

With that said, I’ve had enough of leagues going overboard with things like the City Connect jerseys or the NFL’s “rivalries” uniforms. Let’s call them what they are: New stuff designed primarily to make money. Leagues and teams can talk all they want about honoring a city’s history and culture, but the jerseys exist to be sold, usually at an overpriced rate, before we hit the reset button and a new set is unveiled in a couple of years.

I can’t stress enough that I don’t believe alternate uniforms themselves are the problem. I’m (unfortunately) a New York Jets fan who loved when the team would break out their AFL retro jerseys in the late 2000s. The Mets’ black jerseys are some of my favorites league-wide, as are the Braves’ blues.

The problem is that teams are going way too far in their attempt to chase the almighty dollar. Uniforms are at their best when they’re simple, whether they’re a traditional home or away set or an alternate jersey the team breaks out on Friday nights. Tell that to the White Sox, who introduced a City Connect jersey last year paying homage to the Bulls. Look: If the White Sox want to honor Jerry Reinsdorf's other team, then have a Bulls Night over the summer and invite someone like Joakim Noah or Derrick Rose to throw out the first pitch.

We tend to associate white, orange and black with the San Francisco Giants, right? Why, then, did they work purple into the mix last year? That’s not even factoring in the graffiti-like font for the team name. The Giants have existed since 1883, and that’s what they went with?

The alternate uniforms trend isn’t going away, and sports are worse off for it

When the NFL introduced its Color Rush uniforms over a decade ago, it seemingly reestablished the trend of leagues forcing alternate outfits down our throats. There once was a time where teams had their traditional home and road set, maybe an alternate or two for both and then possibly a throwback option.

Let’s use the Mets as an example. During the late 2000s, New York typically had four uniforms: the primary home and road sets, an alternate pinstriped home jersey and the black alternate road jersey. Then, the Mets changed their look ahead of the 2012 season, switching to pinstriped home uniforms and white and grey road jerseys, while still keeping the black alternate jerseys in the mix.

Good luck allowing a team to only have three regular uniforms now. The fact that Major League Baseball still hasn’t forced the Yankees to add a City Connect jersey is a miracle.

However, even the Yankees haven’t always been spared. Remember when MLB first held Players Weekend in 2017, when the league introduced pullover jerseys and allowed players to wear nicknames on the back of their uniforms? The Yankees were forced to wear the alternates and have names on the back of their jerseys for the first time in team history, a move that understandably drew widespread backlash. In fact, veteran Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner initially refused to wear a name on his jersey and opted for his surname only when the league mandated he pick something.

There is no reason for any of the major North American sports leagues to end the uniform trend, even if some are an eyesore and others are flat-out ridiculously bad. Fans are going to keep buying them, and even negative social media engagements are some form of engagement.

But, at least the Pirates haven’t gone for a bright all-yellow set like the Los Angeles Chargers did. Please, Pittsburgh, keep it that way.

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