Baltimore Orioles unveil City Connect uniforms

The Baltimore Orioles released their City Connect uniforms, which are intended to pay tribute to the city’s many neighborhoods and their diverse stories.

The uniform features an all-black look with “Baltimore” written across the front in a block font inspired by the typeface of the Globe Collection and Press at Maryland Institute College of Art. In a first for MLB uniforms, the Orioles designed the inside of the jerseys, which features a colored mosaic design inspired by the city’s arts culture. The sleeve piping features a black and white mosaic design as well, which is also on the uniform’s socks.

“This’ll be the first time I’ve actually worn Baltimore on the front of my uniform — in Baltimore,” said Orioles outfielder Austin Hays in a press release. “It’s going to be special to put that jersey on for the first time and step out in front of the Camden Yards crowd. It’s an honor to be able to represent this city and its people like this.”

The hat features a script B pulled from the team’s road uniform font. The same B logo features on the uniform sleeve on top of the mosaic neighborhood black and gray pattern.

The uniform also features the slogan “You Can’t Clip These Wings” — a melody created by Baltimore-based poet and author Kondwani Fidel meant to embody the city’s perseverance. To coincide with the uniform reveal, Fidel wrote a poem with the uniform’s slogan.

Pictures of the Orioles City Connect uniform leaked in previous weeks, drawing significant negative blowback from the team’s fanbase, with many comparing it to the Great Britain uniforms from the World Baseball Classic which were panned due to their generic look.