Catching baseballs while catching waves, the Los Angeles Angels this afternoon unveiled their brand new 2022 MLB City Connect uniform courtesy the team at Nike.
The Angels new City Connect uniform focuses on the region’s heavy surfing-inspired history, dating back to the 1950s and 1960s with vintage surf style lettering, striping, and number decoration in red on a cream-coloured uniform.
“In Southern California, there are few things more synonymous with summer than days at the beach and nights at the ballpark,” said Los Angeles Angels President, John Carpino in the press release. “Our City Connect uniforms look to celebrate those traditions by bringing the local beach culture to the Big A.”
Across the front of the jersey is “Angels” scripted out in red with a large silver halo around the top of the “A” and a red tail. The scripted “Angels” is done so in a lettering “inspired by vintage surf brands”, the end of the tail reflects the end of a “fish tail” surfboard (appropriate as the club of Mike Trout and Tim Salmon, the Angels proudly note).
SHOP: Los Angeles Angels new City Connect jerseys, caps available now!
Below the scripted lettering is the player number in a Pacific Ocean-inspired navy blue and trimmed in silver. This number is designed to resemble the font used on the sides of local lifeguard towers. A red diamond houses the number, another nod to vintage surfing brands.
Moving to the sleeves, we see two red stripes wrapped around the player’s left arm, one thick, one thin – this is again a throwback to old surfboard designs. On the right arm is a red and blue roundel patch with “LOS ANGELES ANGELS” arched around it in white, a navy blue palm frond in the background with the club’s familiar red “A” with halo logo in the forefront. I believe this is the first time the Angels have worn “Los Angeles” on their jerseys aside from a few throwback uniforms since they changed their name from Los Angeles to California back in 1965. The overall design of the right sleeve patch is a nod to the old railroad signs that first connected Southern California.
The jock tag, which will not actually be seen during games as it gets hidden away when tucked into the pants, is “a reminder to keep paddling”, showing a red surfboard with fins and the Angels’ halo above.
SHOP: Los Angeles Angels new City Connect jerseys, caps available now!
The ballcap developed with New Era is red with a cream front panel “akin to a summer sunset” and a larger-than-usual Angels halo-A logo on the front. The team says the cap was inspired by the style of caps “commonly seen on skaters who carve by the Southern California shores.” The Angels will wear a batting helmet that matches their cap.
Nike and the Angels first met nearly two years ago to the day to discuss the development of this uniform, the Angels are the fifth team in 2022 and the twelfth team overall to unveil their new Nike MLB City Connect series uniforms.
“Developed in partnership with MLB Clubs, the Nike MLB City Connect series celebrates the bond between each team and its city,” read the jointly-released statement which accompanied the announcement of the program in the spring of 2021. “The uniform series explores the personality, values and customs that make each community and their residents unique. Building on the rich heritage of each Club, the City Connect series pushes the boundaries of baseball uniform design to create new traditions and help grow the game of baseball.”
Last season the Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers made up the charter class of the City Connect club. So far this season, we’ve seen the Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, and now the Los Angeles Angels. Just two left on the calendar here in 2022, the Milwaukee Brewers are next who will be followed by the San Diego Padres who will wrap things up this season.
No set schedule has yet been released of when the new Angels City Connect uniform will be worn throughout the 2022 season, but we do know they will make their on-field début at home this weekend, on Saturday, June 11, vs the New York Mets.
Fans can purchase the Angels City Connect jersey, as well as hats, hoodies, tees, and more online right now at MLBShop.com.
Here, before we wrap things up, a look at all the teams to have unveiled thus far:
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