So long, cherry blossoms.
The Nationals unveiled their new “City Connect” uniforms on Sunday morning, replacing the fan-favorite grey and pink jerseys that debuted in 2022.
The new primarily blue digs emphasize the District’s grid lines and transportation infrastructure with a handful of pink and grey accents. Mosaic patterns around the sleeves and pants are intended to spotlight the city’s diversity, the team said.
“These uniforms are a great representation of how baseball has the power to bring us all together,” Mark Lerner, the Nationals’ managing principal owner, said in a statement. “We are continually honored to play for the people of Washington, D.C.”
The franchise, which is marking its 20th anniversary in the District, celebrated the occasion with the unveiling.
“These uniforms truly are for the people,” said Ryan Zimmerman, who spent his entire career with the Nationals. “They represent how baseball has become a part of the fabric of the city, how the city’s energy runs through our veins.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser joined Zimmerman as a featured speaker.
“The jerseys are a lot of fun,” she said before leaving the team’s store with a custom jersey. “It’s good to see the cherry blossoms and the map of the District. It’s a lot of fun.”
Dozens of fans lined up outside the center-field gate to become the first to get their hands on the new gear at the team store.
The fresh jerseys drew solid, if not ecstatic, reviews from the frigid fans.
The details, many of which require an eye for minutiae, elicited the warmest reception. The grid featured on the jerseys is accurate, including the District’s streets, traffic circles, parks and monuments. A curly W adorns an otherwise non-descript section on the back of the jersey where Nationals Park falls on the map.
“I think the grid is cool. I feel like if you buy one or when the guys wear it and you can kind of look at it closely and find different parts of the city, it’s so cool,” Zimmerman said. “They did a really good job of making it unique but not too out there.”
The jersey also features an interlocking “D.C.” on the front, replacing the questionable “WSH” that adorned the cherry blossom jerseys.
“I loved the cherry blossom one,” Nationals fan Sean Hamilton said while trying on a jersey in the team store. “Whenever you see something new, it’s like, ‘I’m not sure.’ It was the same thing with the cherry blossoms.“
The Nationals didn’t completely abandon the District’s signature pink buds in the redesign. Cherry blossoms flank a block “W” on the hats and batting helmets. The bottom of the letter also creates the silhouette of the Capitol building.
“I give it a thumbs up,” Hamilton said. “You still got the D.C. in it, so not bad.”
The Nationals open the season at home on Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies. They’ll don the new uniforms against Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday.
The franchise said it plans to roll out the jerseys for Friday and Saturday home games throughout the season.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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