Twins Bring “Ripple Effect” With City Connect Uniforms

[Ted Schwerzler]

For years, the Minnesota Twins have been working on their City Connect uniform. With both Covid and the rebranding of their primary threads pushing the date back, it finally came to fruition on Monday. Target Field will be home to the Ripple Effect on specific dates this summer.

 

Image courtesy of Ted Schwerzler

For the past handful of years, Nike has been working with teams to create unique City Connect offerings that lend a nod to different features that make up what that franchise is. For the Minnesota Twins, as it turned out, that meant featuring the concepts of the state's bountiful waters, its gorgeous sunsets, and the convergence of water and sky.

Unveiled on Monday morning with a colorway that features shades of blue, a yellow secondary, and a slight fading pink accent, the palette is vastly different from what fans have come to know from the traditional uniform. In that reality, Nike has ultimately executed on the goal, which is to offer something different.

Deviating from the chest wordmark that the Twins feature on their traditional jerseys, a “One MN” chest logo rolled out. Described by the club, “One MN” symbolizes being “Connected by our waters and guided by our North Star, Minnesotans are more than any one city – we are one state. The curves of each letter flow together like waves, uniting the “MN” just as our lakes and rivers link communities across our state. At the top is a beacon for Minnesota and the Twins: The North Star.” The star, sure enough, is the same one that was a focal point of the team's recent rebranding, cast in yellow instead of red.

A sleeve patch highlights the state bird, and comes with the slogan “For the Love of the Loon.” “Upon the sunset waters of our 10,000 lakes flies Minnesota’s state bird – the loon. The body, a single raindrop – when it touches down, a ripple. The eyes, the stitches of a baseball – like our great game itself, a unifying thread. The beak, the North Star – a beacon that, like the loon itself, leads the way.”

The jersey as a whole features a ripple pattern throughout the blue hues. Designed with more of a sheen feel than your typical mesh hole pattern, the fabric itself is something along the lines of a soft flowing body of water. With offerings ranging from $199 to nearly $500 in price, the quality and weight of the jersey itself is noticeable--and had better be.

One of the new secondary logos, the cap patch, may be the highlight of the new threads. Featuring a state outline with a similar star to the current sleeve patch, it is a nice way to tie the jerseys all together. “The cap honors Minnesota, a place of unmistakable beauty and uncommon spirit. A yellow state silhouette frames the glowing northern lights that illuminate our skies, the depth of our waters and the North Star that guides us. “10,000 Lakes” is written on the cap’s right side, a simple but proud reflection of our home.”

On the underside of the cap’s bill is a “Nod to the Purple One,” with the topography of Lake Minnetonka, outlined in purple, and bringing the remembrance of Prince’s love for purifying waters. The top side of the bill is the most prominent area of yellow on the new uniforms.

While waiting for such a significant amount of time has caused fans to become cautious not knowing what to expect, it’s fair to say that Nike and the Twins will find something of a middle-ground regarding acceptance. The refrain of “softball jerseys” is one that should almost be seen as intentional, given the idea of the City Connect uniforms being to push boundaries and try something new.

Fans lined up outside of the Twins New Era Team Store on Monday morning, with season ticket holders being allowed entry at 9 am. An impressive display was erected front and center in the store, with plenty of other events planned throughout the day and week. The Twins will first don their new uniforms on Friday night against the Oakland Athletics, and Flo Rida will be in attendance to put a bow on the evening.

What are your thoughts on the Twins new City Connect jerseys? What do you like most? What would you change?

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[2wins87]

Wait, the star on the loon is supposed to be it's beak?

But the wings... and... did they at least look at pictures of loons?

[MMMordabito]

Looks like something the Mariners should be wearing.

[Aggies7]

[NotAboutWinning]

Falling in love with them! So many subtle nods to our state! Lots of thought put into the design elements!

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Meh. The navy on ivory Twin Cities uniform is connected enough. This "make everyone and no-one happy" *ahem* design *ahem* belongs in a dumpster somewhere along Lake Street...

[dberthia]

Not bad. Think they could've found a better logo for the front of the hats, and would've preferred a green accent instead of yellow. Overall, I was expecting much worse.

[DocBauer]

It's hard to see the Twins not in red/white/blue. And the blue and yellow remind me too much if the Brewers. 

But that being said, the colors themselves, and all the thought and little touches, really do seem to represent the state itself. And isn't that the point they're trying to make? Not just the Twins Cities and not just the Twins, but Minnesota.

It's going to take time seeing my favorite team on those colors. But I applaud the choice to go a very different direction than before, by doing something almost completely unrelated to their traditional looks.

Unto themselves, these uniforms are fresh, detailed, and unique. I love the originality. 

[SotaSports in NM]

These are the best city connect jerseys this year, by far. I really like them. It's not easy to put ripples on fabric, and I think they did it in a really cool way, not to mention the state outline on the cap with the aurora. Very cool.

Also love that they had Slug do the intro track.

 

[Ted Schwerzler]

I really like the design elements as a whole. The yellow does feel forced though. If it's really trying for a sunset vibe, something with an orange fade would have made sense.

As has been the case with most of the City Connect uniforms, I really like the alternate logos (Cap/Loon)

[CRF]

They're ok I guess, but it took them years to come up with that?

[RocRedWing]

I think the yellow is what destroys these for me. The justification is that it looks like a sunset, but it's SO bright and so prominent. They needed to scale it way back.

 

Also what the heck are those pants? what's wrong with white pants?

[matt]

I was excited about the hat -- been in need of a new Twins hat. But I can't with that garish 10k lakes patch.

[rv78]

LOL, Maybe the Twins organization could get Nike to give them money for a good player or two instead of wasting it on a ****** uniform design. Puke!

[Steve Lein]

Have seen a lot of complaints about these looking like Brewers jerseys, but I see the Minneapolis Lakers, and that should be obvious... That said, I would have gone with a green color instead of yellow. I'd figure out what the loon is eventually, but it's weird. The "MN" logo is better than their new "M". The "10,000 Lakes" on the side of the hat never should have been added. Overall, I give them a "meh." But yeah, make the "MN" the new hat logo for everything instead of the current "M."

[strumdatjag]

It’s called City Connect, but the logo is for our State - MN.  Count me in the detractor camp.  

[Sutter50]

Lots of people getting worked up It's just laundry. 

[Patzky]

19 minutes ago, Steve Lein said:

Have seen a lot of complaints about these looking like Brewers jerseys, but I see the Minneapolis Lakers, and that should be obvious... That said, I would have gone with a green color instead of yellow. I'd figure out what the loon is eventually, but it's weird. The "MN" logo is better than their new "M". The "10,000 Lakes" on the side of the hat never should have been added. Overall, I give them a "meh." But yeah, make the "MN" the new hat logo for everything instead of the current "M."

They will wear the City Connect jerseys against Milwaukee this summer.. maybe the Brewers will be allowed to wear their Brew Crew unis. 

 

 

 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I think the Minnesota "City /State" Connect uniforms and hats are beautiful. A lot of "Minnesota Nice" thought has gone into this design.  I applaud the Twins and MLB and Nike for doing this. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My eyes tell me these uniforms are beautiful. My home county in North Carolina has beautiful Lake Norman, the largest man-made lake in North Carolina. The dam provides power for millions of North Carolinians. It also contains 50 square miles of surface area and over 500 miles of shoreline. There are beautiful trails for hiking and biking, largemouth bass and crappie are plentiful, and  wonderful boating and sailing are available 365 days out of the year. It is a peaceful place. I'm sure Lake Norman may seem small to many of you reading this and I'm sorry to report there is no ice fishing here, but we can fish from boats and from shore 365 days out of the year.  The city of Charlotte is less than 30 miles away and many beautiful lakefront homes border the lake. We in North Carolina are proud of our Lake Norman. We are also proud of our beautiful mountain streams that I can drive to, over winding country roads, by woods and pastures, and be there on the Blue Ridge Parkway in less than 2 hours from my home.  There are abundant  trout streams for fly fisher -persons. Mmmm,  so good when cooked right. The Atlantic Ocean is only a 4 hour drive from my home. More delicious fish, plus crabs, clams and shrimp to catch.  You in Minnesota are also rightly proud of your beautiful lakes, rivers and streams. I will never forget my first flight into Minneapolis as we flew over so many shimmering lakes. Gorgeous ! The unique blue ripple effect on the Twins' new uniforms reflect the pride and beauty of lovely Minnesota for this one North Carolina Twins' fan. Go Twins.

[Doctor Gast]

If they wanted to economize, maybe this would have been a good place to start by ditching it. As far as the City Connect uniforms go the idea behind it is nice.

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

41 minutes ago, strumdatjag said:

It’s called City Connect, but the logo is for our State - MN.  Count me in the detractor camp.  

I wonder if the rural reaction to the "Twin Cities" jerseys fueled these being a State Connect vs a City Connect. Wasn't a ton of people but man some people were angry about those. 

[strumdatjag]

5 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

If they wanted to economize, maybe this would have been a good place to start by ditching it. As far as the City Connect uniforms go the idea behind it is nice.

Nope - The idea isn’t NICE, the idea is NIKE.  Sell more stuff, that’s all.  

[bighat]

A "city connect" jersey that has the STATE of Minnesota on the hat, an outline of Lake Minnetonka somewhere, and "MN" on the jerseys? 

What part of any of this "city connect" jersey is connected to the city of Minneapolis, whose citizens have loyally hosted this team for its entirety?

The designers did not understand the assignment. Just call it an "alternate jersey" if that's what we're going with. 

Also: it's really, really bad. There are some bad ones out there and this is definitely in the bottom tier. Uff-da. 

[MN_ExPat]

Not going to mince words or pull any punches.  I don't like them.  At all.  Like, even remotely.

For those that do... Ok.  Won't agree with it ever, but if you do, that's ok.  You do you baby 😉.

Personally, I just can't help but feel mildly nauseous when I look at them too long.  Whole city connect concept just feels somewhat forced to me.

[Steve Lein]

2 hours ago, 2wins87 said:

Wait, the star on the loon is supposed to be it's beak?

But the wings... and... did they at least look at pictures of loons?

Almost spit out my coffee from a text from the fiancee pointing this out earlier this morning!!! I can see how you can invert them with perspective, but yeah....

[SotaSports in NM]

20 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

If they wanted to economize, maybe this would have been a good place to start by ditching it.

They will make more in merchandise sales, though.

[Road trip]

11 minutes ago, SotaSports said:

They will make more in merchandise sales, though.

Yup, probably quite a bit of extra $'s in merchandise sales.  If only 1% of the fan base loves them and wants to buy a replica jersey, that's a significant financial windfall.

10,000 fans times a $500 jersey could help pay for a decent relief pitcher!

Me, personally, I'm perfectly happy to wear a $20 Twins t-shirt, but I'm no fashionista.

[SotaSports in NM]

1 minute ago, Road trip said:

Me, personally, I'm perfectly happy to wear a $20 Twins t-shirt, but I'm no fashionista.

If the price tag wasn't so hefty I'd happily buy a jersey. but I'm generally the same - got a couple Twins t-shirts I rotate around.

[Jocko87]

I kinda like them and I really like that they went with the state concept rather than the city.  They are the Minnesota Twins, not the Minneapolis Twins, or the St Paul Twins.  Which city would you like them to connect to? 

Not being connected to a city is kinda their thing, you know, the Twins.  Of the Twin Cities.  Maybe we should call them the metro area connects.

That said, I do not like them this much. Gag.

Quote

Adult jerseys run $199-$479

 

[2wins87]

29 minutes ago, Steve Lein said:

Almost spit out my coffee from a text from the fiancee pointing this out earlier this morning!!! I can see how you can invert them with perspective, but yeah....

I could see an abstract loon when I first looked at it, but with the head and (black) pointy beak at the top. Though that would put the star at...

If I try to imagine the star as a beak the best I can see is a weird looking duck.