Here is where the Braves' new City Connects rank against the rest of MLB

Ranking City Connect uniforms is always a tricky exercise because the line between meaningful tribute and forced branding can go sideways in a hurry. Some teams lean into history. Others chase style. A few try to do both and end up missing the point entirely. The best City Connects feel intentional, with a clear connection to the city, the franchise, or both. The weaker ones tend to look more like marketing concepts than uniforms with any real story behind them.

The Atlanta Braves absolutely made this conversation harder with their new set. Atlanta’s latest City Connects lean hard into the powder blue nostalgia lane, with an obvious nod to the club’s nineteen-eighties look. That part matters, because the best City Connect uniforms usually know exactly what they are trying to say.

Before getting to the top five, here is how the rest of the league shakes out.

Braves’ new City Connects force an interesting spot in MLB uniform rankings

Missed the mark: Giants, Rangers, Dodgers, Pirates, Rockies, Nationals

This is the tier for the uniforms that either tried too hard, said too little, or somehow pulled off both at once. Some of these are not complete disasters. That almost makes them even more frustrating.

The Dodgers landing here is still kind of wild considering how much visual history that franchise has to work with. The Pirates’ look feels a little too bright, while the Nationals had the nearly impossible task of topping those beautiful cherry blossom jerseys from their first version. The Rockies and Giants both run into a similar problem too: neither one managed to put a better uniform on the field than their original City Connects, and if we are being honest, those first versions were not exactly setting a high bar either. These are the looks that make you squint a little and wonder whether anybody in the room actually loved the final product.

Fine, but forgettable: Twins, Royals, Orioles, Cardinals, Brewers, Phillies, Mets, Guardians, Angels, Cubs

There is nothing really wrong with this tier except the part where you forget most of these uniforms exist. These are the City Connects that get polite nods instead of strong opinions. They are clean enough. Wearable even. They just don’t have much juice.

The Phillies probably stand out the most in this group, which is funny because they are not really forgettable in the literal sense. They are bold. They have edge. But they still land in that same weird category of “meh.” Kind of like Black Rifle Coffee. The branding is loud, the look is aggressive, and yet somehow you still do not feel all that drawn to what it’s selling.

Elite honorable mention: Padres, Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Reds, Marlins, Tigers, Astros

Now we are getting into the group that really understood the point of this whole exercise. The stories behind these uniforms are genuinely great, the design choices mostly land, and almost all of them have at least one detail that makes you stop and appreciate what the team was trying to do. They just fall a little short of the actual top five.

The Padres deserve their own little asterisk here. Their next City Connects may have leaked, but until they are officially out, they do not belong in this ranking as a new entry. Their retired colorful set, though, absolutely would have had a real case for the top five. So this is more of an elite honorable mention than a true fringe placement. That look had too much personality and too much San Diego flavor to ignore.

The rest of this tier is strong for similar reasons. Miami and Arizona both leaned into identity instead of playing it safe. Boston, Detroit, Houston, and Cincinnati all found ways to make their uniforms feel connected to something bigger than just a cool alternate jersey. These uniforms have a point of view. They may not be the very best of the bunch, but they absolutely belong in the part of the conversation that matters.

And that brings us to the actual top five.

The five best City Connects in MLB

5. Seattle Mariners

It is very easy to notice that the best City Connects tend to be drenched in nostalgia, and Seattle wears that better than almost anybody. The Mariners did not just make a cool jersey. They built a whole history lesson into it without making it feel dusty. The trident logo returning, the color palette pulling from the old Seattle Pilots roots, the “My Oh My” tribute to Dave Niehaus, the “Sodo Mojo” detail inside the collar, and the Pacific Northwest patch all work because none of it feels forced. It feels loved. 

That’s the trick. These are packed with details, but they still look clean. Some City Connects drown in their own cleverness. Seattle’s never do. They feel fresh at first glance and better the longer you stare at them, which is pretty much the sweet spot for this whole exercise.

4. Atlanta Braves

Powder blue Braves? Yeah, let’s go there. And sure, we can all politely ignore that not every chapter of the powder blue era was exactly glorious baseball. The point is that Atlanta delivered a City Connect that feels worthy of the franchise’s visual history.

This one works because it knows where to stop. The powder blue base, the red and white trim, the pullover style, and especially the TBS-inspired sleeve patch all land without turning the uniform into a costume. It’s nostalgic without feeling trapped in amber. Most importantly, it still feels like Atlanta. They didn’t recycle an old look here either. They remixed a part of their identity that still means something to fans. 

3. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays went with a full “Night Mode” identity, and to their credit, they did not chicken out halfway through it. That deep blue palette, the skyline nods, the Toronto-specific typography, the city-hall-inspired cap logo — all of it gives this uniform an actual personality. 

It feels urban, modern, and specific to Toronto instead of trying to be all things to all people. A lot of teams say they want to capture a city’s energy. The Blue Jays actually did.

2. Chicago White Sox

The White Sox understood something most teams still do not: City Connect is allowed to be loud in the right way. Their Bulls-inspired redesign is one of the boldest swings any team has taken in this series, and it absolutely works. The black-and-red look, the crossover with another iconic Chicago brand, and the whole South Side edge of it all make this feel less like a jersey and more like a statement. 

It’s wildly aggressive. But it’s filled with so much swagger. Some traditionalists will hate that, which honestly kind of proves the point. A City Connect worth remembering should make somebody uncomfortable.

1. Tampa Bay Rays

This is still the gold standard. Tampa Bay’s “Grit x Glow” City Connects could have easily gone off the rails, because skate culture, streetwear, bright accents, and a skateboarding manta ray is the kind of pitch that sounds absurd until you actually see it. Then it clicks. The Rays found something authentic, weird, local, and visually sharp all at once. 

These uniforms have a heartbeat. They feel specific to Tampa Bay’s culture instead of just borrowing a few safe symbols and calling it identity. They took a risk, and it paid off. 

Atlanta did not top the list, but it absolutely joined the part of the conversation that matters. The new City Connects have charm, history, and just enough style to avoid feeling like a museum piece. In a series full of misses, that is a win.