It’s time to ring that bell; the Philadelphia Phillies have a new uniform!
Unveiled this morning by the club, the Phillies’ new Nike MLB City Connect uniform — the first of the nine we’ll see across the league in 2024 — is a bold step outside the norms and traditions of what we’ve come to expect from a Philadelphia Phillies uniform.
Instead of red, white, and royal blue, we’ve got a gradient of blues with yellow trim. Instead of a scripted “Phillies” wordmark across the chest, you have a jagged “PHILLY” across the chest. There’s no curly “P” on the cap, replaced with the Liberty Bell and the city skyline.
“The City Connect Series is probably one of the most impactful initiatives that Major League Baseball and Nike have done to attract a new audience,” said Phillies Vice President of Business Affairs Howard Smith in the press release. “We are excited and honoured to be the first team this season to officially unveil our City Connect uniform, which features a new modern design that represents being ‘unapologetically Philly’ and celebrates our city’s rich history.”
The Phillies will debut the new uniform on the field one week from today, on Friday, April 12, against the Pirates. They will then wear the uniform for every single Friday night “Lights Up // Friday Nights at the Bank” home game for the remainder of the 2024 regular season (and beyond). The new merch is available in-person exclusively at the Phillies team shop at Citizens Bank Park through the 12th, but if you can’t get to the ballpark, you can still get your Phillies City Connect gear online right now.
Let’s break down the new look, starting with the caps and working our way down.
The base of the ballcap is entirely midnight blue — crown, button, and visor. On the crown is the city’s iconic Liberty Bell, which has been featured on various Phillies logos since 1992. It is presented here in light blue with white trim. Within the bell in a darker blue is a silhouette of the City of Philadelphia’s skyline. On either side of the bell, we have a yellow star, a nod to the two stars that dot the “i” within the Phillies’ usual jersey wordmark. The New Era logo is on the left side in yellow.
No space is left untouched on this cap as the undervisor and interior sweatband get their designs. Both feature filigree inspired by etchings on the Liberty Bell. The team says placing this design element in these specific locations “reinforces that revolutions happen underground.”
The jersey is blue and yellow — a nod to the colours of the City of Philadelphia flag. It starts off with a lighter blue at the shoulders before transitioning to a dark blue at the waist — “from light to dark” because “Philly has always been a place unafraid to revolutionize, start anew, and work hard to make change.”
Across the chest in white lettering is the abbreviated city nickname “PHILLY.” This text is reminiscent of those found in the historical documents throughout the city. Within the lettering is a subtle, white pattern based on the shape of the crack on the Liberty Bell. The same style and pattern carry on to the player numbers on the back of the jersey.
On the sleeve is a blue roundel patch trimmed in yellow. Inside this patch, arched above and below in white, are the words “PHILADELPHIA” up top and “CITY OF BROTHERLY” below. The center of the patch finishes that thought with the word “LOVE” in the same typeface as the front lettering, with the “O” replaced with the Liberty Bell. The “LOVE” bit appears to be presented similarly to Philadelphia’s LOVE art installation, though the club did not mention this in their release. In the background, we have the subtle stitching of a baseball, representing (here we go) “how deeply the Phillies are stitched into Philly’s DNA.” I imagine it also represents baseball.
The pants are a darker midnight blue, matching the colour of the bottom of the jersey, with a single yellow stripe down the side. This single shade of blue between the jersey and pants is briefly broken at the waist by a lighter blue belt.
In a phone call with Phillies’ VP of Business Affairs Howard Smith, SportsLogos.Net learned that the process for the Phillies City Connect uniform started way back in 2020, following the return of team owner John Middleton from an owner’s meeting in which Nike was present.
“They had a presentation about City Connect, and it was approved, so when Middleton returned and shared the idea with us, it was pretty exciting!” Smith recalled. “We knew if we were going to do it, we would do it the right way. It’s got to be organizationally driven. It couldn’t be driven out of the clubhouse or just a pure merchandise decision. It had to be totally organizationally driven. It was interesting for some of the folks who aren’t as involved in the merchandising and uniform process.”
The Phillies and Nike embarked on a year-and-a-half-long process to develop these uniforms. Every step was meticulously planned, with numerous meetings, brainstorming sessions, and feedback loops ensuring that the final product would resonate deeply with the city of Philadelphia.
“I had spent many years working with Nike, so I knew the script. They’re very methodical, and everything was very planned out over a long period of time, an 18-month cycle. But it was very thoughtful and structured. We’d have a call, it would last an hour, there would be an objective, there’d be homework, and that went on for a number of months.”
The Phillies knew they wanted to do something different from the start. The City Connect program allowed clubs to step outside their comfort zones and explore colours and designs that would have otherwise been unusual for a traditionally-minded franchise.
“Middleton was clear that the objective is to support what baseball is doing, about trying to get younger, and we bought into that process. So, it wasn’t about creating just another red, white, and blue uniform. It wasn’t necessarily about selling merchandise. It was really about making a statement on the field and appealing to that younger demographic.”
This change in visual direction caught the players off guard; when presented with the design, they needed a second to truly take in what they saw.
“From our player’s perspective, they were pleasantly surprised. We are a traditional organization, and when they first saw the first design, they looked at it and were speechless. It freaked me out because I thought it meant they didn’t like it. But it was quite the opposite. They were blown away. I asked, ‘What took you so long to say something?’ And the answer was, ‘I didn’t expect this!’, ‘So, does that mean you like it?’, ‘Yeah, it does!'”
The Phillies are the 20th Major League Baseball team to introduce a City Connect uniform, now in its fourth season. The program was launched in 2021 to celebrate the “deep-rooted history, culture and spirit of each city that continues to bring the clubs and their communities together.”
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 2024 CITY CONNECT SCHEDULE
April 12 vs Pittsburgh Pirates
April 19 vs Chicago White Sox
May 3 vs San Francisco Giants
May 17 vs Washington Nationals
May 31 vs St Louis Cardinals
June 21 vs Arizona Diamondbacks
June 28 vs Miami Marlins
July 12 vs Oakland Athletics
July 26 vs Cleveland Guardians
August 16 vs Washington Nationals
August 30 vs Atlanta Braves
September 13 vs New York Mets
Following the Phillies, eight more clubs will unveil their City Connect uniforms this year: the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers (May 6), the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays (May 30). By the end of the 2024 season, the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics will be the only Major League Baseball clubs without City Connect uniforms.
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2024 MLB City Connect Teams + Nike’s New Uniform Details Revealed 
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