The Philadelphia Phillies revealed their new City Connect uniforms on Friday April 5, bringing to light a style that is “unapologetically” Philly.
The Phillies’ new City Connect jersey’s, which have been in the works since 2021, have officially debuted to harsh reviews and criticism from fans.
Ryan Polcak, 21, said “It looks like they took the Philadelphia Union team jersey and put a metal band font on it. It’s okay, but not a fan of it.”
Raymundo Varela-Urizar, 26, a Journalism student at Bucks said “I’m gonna be honest with you, I hate the connection uniforms. The wording font just isn’t giving the ‘Philly Vibe” especially with the colors. I feel with the colors they are slightly taking the blue away from the Philadelphia Union but failing to make it look good for the Phillies. I just think they are ugly. I can’t get myself to like them let alone the hats but that’s just my opinion at the end of the day”.
Even though some Phillies fans find the new uniforms to be a drastic departure from what the team usually wears, the meaning behind these new uniforms is incredible.
The uniforms have a striking color scheme of light blue and yellow, paying homage to the City of Philadelphia’s flag, something that has never been used on a Phillies jersey before. The bold white of the “Philly” text written across the chest is in a font similar to the one used in The Declaration of Independence which was written in Philadelphia’s own Independence Hall.
The gradient of midnight blue transitioning to light blue on the uniforms also shows how deep seeded blue collar workers are in the cities’ history. The left sleeve of the jersey features a patch that reads “Philadelphia, City of Brotherly Love” with the Philadelphia part being on the top of the patch, the city of brotherly part being on the bottom, and the love part being in the middle. The “love” in the design is shaped like the famous love statue in love park, however the O is replaced with an image of the liberty bell, crack and all. It all culminates in a baseball shaped background, tying together the whole design.
The caps and helmets are also midnight blue and feature a liberty bell logo which contains the skyline in the midnight blue color with a light blue sky. The bell itself is flanked by two gold stars, which are featured in the regular Phillies logo as well.
The new uniforms will be worn for every Friday home game for the rest of the 2024 season, fans have already witnessed the new uniforms in action starting with the games on April 12 and April 19. They will next be worn on April 26 when the Phillies take on the Padres at Citizens Bank Park at 9:40 p.m.