The Boston Red Sox, known for their traditional white uniforms with red lettering and the iconic “B”, unveil their first jersey without red.
As part of Major League Baseball’s first major jersey collaboration with Nike – which became the sport’s uniform supplier in 2019 – the Red Sox unveiled the yellow-and-powder blue uniforms on Tuesday.
Inspired by the Patriots’ Day holiday and the Boston Marathon, the jerseys have a marathon label with 617, the Fenway Park area code, on the left sleeve.
The radical design for MLB is part of Nike’s first venture in designing alternatives to baseball, known as the City Connect series, intended to push the boundaries of unified design.
“It was central and that’s why we made this deal. You take two iconic brands and you put them together and you have one and one makes three of them,” said Noah Garden, Chief Revenue Officer at MLB. “This is what we expected, and this is what we wanted. This is the plan we have always been looking for.”
The City Connect series kicks off with seven teams with scattered reveal dates: the Red Sox, Miami Marlins (May 21), Chicago White Sox (June 5), Chicago Cubs (June 12), Arizona Diamondbacks (June 18), San Francisco Giants ( July 9) and Los Angeles Dodgers (late August).
Every MLB team is expected to have a City Connect series by the end of the 2023 season, where teams work individually with Nike to create a uniform that is connected to each city’s personality and community.
Ever since Nike took over as the uniform supplier for the NFL and NBA, Nike has pushed for similar radical uniform design changes in baseball, with the City Edition uniforms in the NFL and NBA creating a wide variety of looks. Nike showcased Boston in early 2019 with 10 different concepts, with Adam Grossman, Red Sox’s chief marketing officer and executive vice president Troup Parkinson, landing on the Patriots’ Day concept.
Grossman said that when the Red Sox learned of the sport’s partnership with Nike two years ago, they reached out to tell them they wanted to push the boundaries with regard to their uniform design.
“We wanted to be at the front of the queue. We told them we would like to work together in any way you see fit,” said Grossman. “That was two years ago, and at that point they said they were going to do the City Connect program, that if we’re going to do this we’re all in, and while we’re a traditional historic franchise, we want something very do differently.
“We want to push the envelope and be bold in this.”
Although Grossman was initially hesitant to reveal a Red Sox jersey without the color in the team’s name, he felt the connection to Patriots’ Day and the marathon presented a unique story that justified the decision to move forward with a bold design. The Red Sox will wear the yellow and blue uniforms for the first time on April 17 and 18 against the White Sox before wearing their traditional Patriots’ Day uniform with the Boston Strong patch first revealed after the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.
“This was the shirt that we felt it was right from the start, but it was also like, ‘This is a Red Sox jersey with no red or anything on it,’” said Grossman. “We wondered if we could do this and it felt like the time to do this. There’s never been a better time than now. thought it would allow us to get into different neighborhoods of Boston that stimulate the culture in Boston, because that’s part of what this reflects. ”
Nike senior designer Wil Green said Nike took inspiration from the marathon finish line while designing the uniforms, which feature a stencil-like font on the front of the jersey.
Grossman acknowledged that while many baseball traditionalists may not like the big difference from the team’s traditional jerseys, they are not intended for the “ traditionalists ” either.
“We understand that for traditionalists this might not work for them and we’re fine with that,” said Grossman. “We get it. This isn’t meant to replace our fresh whites. That’s not the point, but it’s about connecting and making other people look at us differently, especially younger, more diverse groups. We’re embracing that, and it’s is important to recognize and celebrate that, and that’s what this represents. “
The unveiling of the City Connect series is part of MLB’s strategy of recent years to expand baseball logos into trendy streetwear. Garden said the City Connect series is an attempt by MLB and Nike to push baseball uniforms into the fashion world.
Grossman said the City Connect series offers baseball an opportunity to grow its audience among casual fans and become a part of the everyday lifestyle culture.
“When you see this convergence, and for us and the sport, we want to be more part of the lifestyle,” Grossman said. “We’re doing it like a game, but getting outside the white lines of the diamond, having merchandise and hats part of everyday culture, is essential for the game to grow just like the game itself.”
As baseball enters the third season of a 10-year deal with Nike as a uniform supplier, Grossman expects the City Connect series to be the start of a series of design changes to the baseball uniform.
“We will see more experimentation, not just with colorways, but I think if we enter this relationship as an industry, the creativity around the design itself will be something that will be interesting to see,” Grossman said.