Orioles unveil City Connect uniforms

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

The uniform features an all-black look with “Baltimore” written across the front in typeface inspired by the Globe Collection and Press font at the Maryland Institute College of Art. For the first time on MLB uniforms, the Orioles designed the interior of the jerseys, which features a colorful mosaic design inspired by the city’s art culture. The sleeve trim also features a black and white mosaic design, which is also found on the uniform socks.

“This will be my first time wearing Baltimore on the front of my uniform, in Baltimore,” Orioles outfielder Austin Hays said in a press release. “It will be special to put on that jersey for the first time and go out in front of the crowd at Camden Yards. It’s an honor to be able to represent this city and its people in this way.”

The helmet features a cursive B lettering taken from the team’s away uniform font. The same B logo appears on the uniform’s sleeve on top of the black and gray neighborhood mosaic pattern.

The uniform also features the slogan “You Can’t Clip These Wings,” a tune created by Baltimore poet and author Kondwani Fidel that is meant to embody the city’s perseverance. Coinciding with the uniform’s unveiling, Fidel wrote a poem with the uniform’s motto.

Images of the Orioles’ City Connect uniform leaked in previous weeks, prompting significant negative reaction from the team’s fan base, with many comparing it to Great Britain’s World Baseball Classic uniforms that were criticized due to their generic look.