Yankees not receiving City Connect uniforms in 2024
MLB announced the nine teams that will receive new City Connect jerseys for the upcoming 2024 season, and the Yankees are not one of them.
The Yankees’ crosstown rivals, the Mets, will receive their first City Connect uniforms in April. They’ll be joined by the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers (their second), Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays.
When MLB partnered with Nike on the City Connect program in 2021, the league explicitly said all 30 teams would participate. However, the Yankees and the Oakland A’s -- who are in the process of relocating to Las Vegas -- remain the only teams to not receive the City Connect treatment.
Will the Yankees ever get City Connect uniforms?
It’s tough to say whether the Yankees will receive their very own City Connect jerseys. First, with only 10 teams not having a CC uniform in 2024, this upcoming season was likely going to be its last.
Neither MLB nor Nike have announced plans for the City Connects beyond 2024, but the Dodgers receiving their second could give hope that the program’s popularity has pushed MLB to commission a second wave of designs.
It's also possible the Dodgers could simply be replacing the Athletics, who can’t really “explore the personality, values and customs that make each community and their residents unique” when the owner and team are leaving the community.
Secondly, Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner is on record that he’s not very keen on the idea of his team changing up the pinstripes when they play at home.
“I’m not having any serious conversations about doing it,” Steinbrenner said in an interview with The Michael Kay Show last summer. “I think I understand the reason [behind the CC program] — and again, I think it appeals to a lot of fans, especially younger fans, and you know, merchandise and all that. But we have not had any serious conversations about doing it. It doesn’t mean I won’t [do it] someday, but I don’t even know how that would look, quite frankly. I don’t even know what the look would be.”
Now that the 2024 City Connect jerseys have been announced, Steinbrenner or someone on the Yankees could be asked about their status in the program and then we'll get confirmation. But until then, Yankees fans should not be expecting a Yankees City Connect uniform.
