The Milwaukee Brewers unveiled their City Connect uniform, inspired by the People's Flag of Milwaukee, the city's summer skies, grilling culture and Lake Michigan. The Brewers will debut the uniform for the first time on Friday, June 24 and will wear the look during the entire series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The uniform will also be worn for every Friday home game and on community nights.
"The objective was to create something edgy that was different than our regular uniforms but still true to the Brewers," said Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger. "Taking the elements of what makes Milwaukee a great place. We wanted to push the Brewers forward, be respectful of our history and be respectful of the great things about Milwaukee that our fans love."
The look's overall color palette is inspired by the People's Flag of Milwaukee. The powder blue base reflects the summer sky of Milwaukee, the yellow represents the sun while the navy trim pays homage to Lake Michigan.
The jersey features the city's nickname for the team, "Brew Crew" in a font meant to honor the city's industrial past with a modern spin nodding to the city's cultural renaissance in recent years. The hats feature the city's area code 414 while the MKE across the front represents the city's airport abbreviation.
The right sleeve features a grill patch, a nod to the city's culture around outdoor grilling in the summer and a staple at Brewers games. The yellow and white piping represent a beer's foam head.
Schlesinger said the team's uniform re-design efforts for 2020 helped inform the process. The uniforms received a positive reaction from players as well.
"The players love it. The 25-year-olds who are playing our games on the field are the type of people we want to buy this stuff," Schlesinger said. "If the players are excited about it, that's huge."
The Brewers hope this uniform helps push the team forward and appeal to a new generation of fans.
"Baseball has this reputation of being somewhat conservative and resistant to change," Schlesinger said. "These kinds of things can demonstrate that maybe the stereotype isn't true. That might have been true of 1980s baseball, but I don't think it's true today and we think we can add to the notion that baseball is listening and we're part of the culture that we're embracing, that we can be fun and edgy and stay true to the elements of the game."