The Tampa Bay Rays have officially revealed their City Connect jerseys yesterday. Per MLB: “Unafraid of the unconventional, these unis celebrate Tampa Bay's deeply rooted counterculture.” There have been a lot of mixed feelings about the Rays City Connect jerseys. Many people like them a lot, but on the other hand, there’s a lot of people who don’t like them.
There’s a lot of cool features on the Rays City Connect uniforms. There is one that stands out to many people. There is a stingray on a skateboard. It is located on the pants of the uniforms.
Here is everything that you need to know about the Rays City Connect uniforms:
1. The “Tampa Bay” on the front of the jersey is on the chest for the first time since 2007. The style takes homage to the iconic skate media, street art, and the underground culture of Tampa Bay.
2. The pelican above the tag represents home field advantage in St. Petersburg and holds a special place in the city’s history.
3. The three palm trees are an ode to historic Perry Harvey senior park sign and represent the feeling of dropping into the bowl under the breezy Florida palms.
4. The skating stingray serves as a link between Tampa’s skate scene baseball, a tribute to the grit and work it takes to land a hard trick or square up a fastball.
5. The cap logo combines a ray with the sunshine skyway bridge, representing connections all across Tampa Bay.
(All facts can be found on the MLB’s instagram page.)
The Rays will debut their City Connect jerseys this year. Once the Rays play with the jerseys on the field, it’ll be interesting to see if they look even better. Or, if they look worse. It’s exciting when teams release new jerseys, especially City Connect jerseys.