Major League Baseball and NIKE are unveiling the second jersey in their City Connect Series Monday morning, and on-deck is one of the most-diverse and culturally affluent cities — the Miami Marlins.
We personally unveiled the first jersey in this series from the Boston Red Sox back in April.
We have entered a new era of baseball and the game-changers at NIKE are a huge part of the culture change that invigorating the sport at the grassroots level. From bat flips, walk-off celebrations and passionate play all across the country, this is not the same style of diamond-mining your grandad grew up watching.
In January of 2019 NIKE struck a $3 billion deal, their third with an American professional sports league, to be the uniform maker for Major League Baseball.
MLB and Nike have announced a 10-year deal that makes Nike the official uniform/footwear supplier of MLB beginning in 2020 pic.twitter.com/vCgz48bSJa
— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) January 25, 2019
This season, they unveiled a new City Connect Series. The jersey series celebrates the bond between each club and its city, exploring the personality, values and customs that make each community and their residents unique.
No city or team fits this more perfectly than the diverse paradise that is Miami and their hometown Marlins.
The Marlins will be the second team out of seven to have their City Connect jerseys released this year.
The Boston Red Sox were up first and came out big dripping in their yellow and blue Boston Marathon edition (Big thanks to the people at NIKE for sending me a customized version of the jersey). These were worn April 17, in a game vs. the Chicago White Sox.
Major shoutout to @nike and @mlb for the swag! Check out @_teammill’s unboxing of his City Connect Boston Jersey on https://t.co/d5pfLskQ03! pic.twitter.com/d4ljWG7b19
— MLBbro.com (@MLBbrodotcom) April 18, 2021
Miami will get their chance to dawn their uniforms this upcoming Friday night, and when you think of all the great uniforms that the city has seen, from the orange of the Dolphins to the new blue and pink Vice City edition Heat jerseys and even the green and orange worn by the Hurricane, I have high expectations for these.
This jersey will give an ode to Latin America’s contribution to baseball’s rich history. In 1959, the Cuban Sugar Kings’ won the Junior World Series Championship which opened doors for many future Latin American baseball players to get to the majors.
Fidel Castro nationalized all U.S.-owned enterprises in Cuba and on July 8th moved the team to Jersey City, New Jersey, were they became the Jersey City Jerseys. They lasted there one season before the franchise had to move again due to poor attendance.
The somewhat new normal of black and orange usually worn by the Marlins will be replaced by red for their City Connect jerseys. The jersey’s red color will pay tribute to the energetic vibe and culture of Latin American nations, blending the old school character with the bold swagger of Miami.
“Miami” will be across the chest of the jerseys in the hand-painted style of Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. On the right sleeve, there will be a redesigned Sugar Kings’ patch to connect Marlins baseball to the Latin American heritage and community in Miami.
One of our favorite, most flashy, stylish and swaggy MLB Bros, Jazz Chisholm, will get a chance to rock the new red uniforms as he returned to the club on Sunday after being sidelined with a hamstring injury since April 28.
Five other teams will wear their City Connects on the field this season while the rest of the league waits until next year. The White Sox on June 5, Cubs on June 12, Diamondbacks on June 18, Giants on July 9 and Dodgers on August 20.
The Marlins will debut their jerseys this coming Friday as they take on the New York Mets and their trio of MLB Bros Dominic Smith, Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker.