New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics Will Be Only Teams Without City Connect Uniforms
There are a handful of brand-new alternate jerseys coming to the big leagues this year, but not every club will have one in their rotation.
MLB announced Tuesday that nine teams would be getting new City Connect uniforms in 2024. As pointed out by FanGraphs' Jon Becker, there will have been 29 uniforms released in Nike's alternate line by the end of the season. The Los Angeles Dodgers will be getting their second, becoming the first club to have more than one.
Neither the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics have had a City Connect uniform since the style was first introduced in 2021, and they won't have them by the end of 2024, either.
While the reasoning behind each of the teams not having City Connect uniforms hasn't been explicitly explained, it isn't surprising that these are the last two clubs standing.
In the case of the Yankees, their pinstripes are inseparable from their brand. The Bronx Bombers have had very few stylistic overhauls in the past 100 years, and their midnight navy blue, white and gray color scheme has hung around through it all.
Adding a City Connect uniform wouldn't be impossible for the Yankees, but trying to integrate one into their simplistic brand may be easier said than done.
As for the Athletics, they have been mired in stadium and relocation drama for years. The franchise finally locked in a move to Las Vegas in 2023, ending their decades-long stint in the Bay Area.
The A's won't actually move to Vegas until 2028, giving them plenty of time to introduce an Oakland-inspired uniform. But the team's lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires at the end of 2024, and it remains to be seen where they will play from 2025 and 2027.
Even if they were to hang around in the region a little longer, trying to sell fans on uniforms based on a city they chose to abandon could come off poorly.
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Check out more New York Yankees coverage at Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Inside the Pinstripes.
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