Is the Traditional vs City Connect jersey debate over?
Some Cleveland Guardians players weighed in and told the Beacon Journal which their favorite jersey is.
First baseman Carlos Santana said he liked the red home jerseys because “rojo es mi color favorito” (red is my favorite color).
“But it’s hard to pick one because the City Connect is also nice with the dark blue but I’ma still go with the red one,” Santana said.
Pitcher Jakob Junis voted for the City Connect.
“I like the contrast of the blue with the white pants and the big CLE letters across the front, I think it’s a good look,” Junis said. “I don’t like all white on white, I like the contrast.”
Center fielder Angel Martínez couldn’t pick one because he liked both.
“What I like about the white jersey is that I like how you can wear it with different colors like any color with it and with the blue jersey I like it because it represents the city and the colors are very nice,” Martínez said.
All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan gave a definite yes on the City Connect.
“They do a really good job painting a picture of the city,” Kwan said. “I think the colors in general are really good. I know the whites are pretty iconic and super quality, but I don’t know something about the City Connect, they go crazy.”
All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase called the City Connects comfortable.
“It’s a very comfortable jersey,” he said. “The material is different. It’s more like an elastic material and it’s comfortable to throw in.”
Joing the other pitchers, reliever Hunter Gaddis picked the City Connects as well. “I’d rather wear the City Connects it’s really cool,” he said.
In a Beacon Journal poll 54.17% readers voted for the City Connect and 45.83% voted for the traditional red and white jerseys.
What are MLB’s City Connect jerseys?
In 2024, The Guardians and Nike unveiled designs for their Nike MLB City Connect Series, aimed at celebrating the history, culture and spirit of each participating MLB team’s city.
Cleveland’s City Connect uniform is inspired by the Guardians of Traffic statues that stand along the Hope Memorial Bridge just outside of Progressive Field. The designers aimed to blend the past and present of both the team and the city itself.
The Guardians’ red or white jerseys are their primary home jersey
The Guardians red and white Nike home jerseys are the typical jerseys you see all around the stadium on game days, a classic look for the team. It has the now familiar font the franchise adopted after becoming the Guardians ahead of the 2022 season.
For the 2025 season the script “Guardians” font shifted slightly from being on a slant to going horizontal on the white jersey and received new piping along the neckline and arms in a red-blue-red pattern.
The red jersey this season switched to club’s Bridge Print font with “Guardians” across the chest instead of the script “Guardians” from last season. The piping on the red jersey has a blue-white-blue pattern to complement the red jersey.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians players talk City Connect jerseys, pick favorite look
