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Pop-Tarts Or Players? Dodgers Unveil New ‘City Connect’ Uniforms
The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled their new uniforms Monday to mixed reactions from baseball fans.
The cream-colored jerseys include a nod to Vin Scully, their legendary longtime announcer, and the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, the team’s original home in the city.
But some people say the “Dodgers 2024 MLB x Nike City Connect” line makes the players look more like the L.A. Pop-Tarts, and encouraged the Dodgers to go back to the drawing board for the design.
About the new uniforms
The team showed-off the City Connect uniforms with some of their players — Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith, but the Dodgers said it’s all in the details.
First look at the new unis. 👀 pic.twitter.com/Eap1sqGsUZ
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 17, 2024
The uniform fabric is meant to look like a galaxy of stars, with the dotted-pattern in the teal, orange, and yellow color palette of Dodger Stadium. The team said on X that it represents the “brilliance and diversity” of the city.
“Los Angeles” is displayed across the front of the uniforms in dark navy, and the typeface was inspired by the signage at the Coliseum in Exposition Park, according to the Dodgers. The text has an electric-blue design across some of the letters angling upwards, which is a nod to the “city’s pursuit of the beyond.”
A new “LAD mark” is featured on the right sleeve, which is a mash-up of the iconic “LA” interlocked logo and the swooping “D” from the team’s logo script.
The jerseys also include an homage to Scully with “#ITFDB” on the bottom left, which of course stands for “It’s Time For Dodger Baseball.”
The player numbers, prominently displayed on the back of the jersey, are mostly dark navy with an encroaching electric-blue color towards the bottom. The design was inspired by mid-century typefaces that were popular during the Dodgers move to L.A. ahead of the 1958 season and during construction of the stadium.
The new uniforms will debut at Dodger Stadium on Saturday for their game against the Angels, according to Dodger Insider, the team’s official blog.
You can also purchase some of the new line here, including Ohtani’s #17 player jersey for $175.
What fans think
Nick Right on X compared the design to a pastry pantry staple.
“It’s all in the details.” pic.twitter.com/oWpZNgtv0V
— Nick Right (@DodgerDougan) June 17, 2024
@TheErrantWolf wasn’t convinced by the detailed explanation for the City Connect line.
I may be in the minority here, but a city connect jersey should connect with the fans. We shouldn’t need these ridiculous over the top explanations for details. We should be able to see it & and think “Yes, I see how this connects with my city”
— The Errant Wolf (@TheErrantWolf) June 17, 2024
Kyle Corwin put it side-by-side with another recognizable brand.
Brought to you by: pic.twitter.com/mfbV33Axf7
— Kyle Corwin (@kylecorwintakes) June 17, 2024
@Dodgers Lyss employed a gif of the actor Matt Smith to share their thoughts.
— Dodgers Lyss (@notlyssa) June 17, 2024
But it wasn’t all bad — @El CapOhtani seems to be a fan of the new uniforms.
Getting a lot of hate but these are pretty sweet. Def better than a ton of city connect stuff, and the details explaining it are cool. https://t.co/Qg0wy9UyHF
— El CapOhtani (@CaptMorganDFS) June 17, 2024
Russ Kontos wrote that the design is reminiscent of another part of L.A. culture.
I love it. Graffiti/spray painting is a huge part of LA culture. The specks on the jersey resemble what your clothes could look like after spray painting.
— Russ Kontos (@RussKontos) June 17, 2024
And Ryan Mcdonald feels like the funfetti vibe isn’t too overpowering.
These look pretty fire now that I look at them u can hardly see the sprinkles
— Ryan Mcdonald (@Rhyno10524) June 17, 2024