Astros set to make questionable City Connect jersey change for the 2025 season

While many teams have released their City Connect jerseys to decidedly mixed reviews, Houston Astros fans generally really like the team's Space City concept since the uniforms debuted in 2022. While one can take some quibbles with the design the Astros ultimately landed on, the jerseys have sold well, by and large, and are generally considered to be among the better City Connects out there.

However, the concept behind City Connects is that they were always intended to be impermanent, as organizations adapt them based on fan feedback, changes in design tastes, and continued innovation on cycle. Now that every team (except the Yankees and wandering A's) has received one, it's time for a mass reload, per MLB.

Still, even knowing what we know, it was somewhat puzzling when the Astros revealed that they will retire their City Connect design after the 2024 season and reveal a new design before the 2025 season.

Astros taking a bit of a risk with upcoming City Connect jersey change

One can understand why the Astros would make a change. The current City Connects have been popular, especially the hats, but the design is a few years old now and there are only so many people that would buy them that haven't already done so. Introducing a new design is basically a way for the team to print money...assuming the new design is actually good.

That last part is important, because it isn't like other MLB teams haven't fumbled their City Connect designs. The Brewers' design has been panned, although adding a new color scheme was a nice wrinkle. The Rangers' design was clearly a missed opportunity, and the "TX" logo is unreadable and looks like a cheap knock-off of the Tigers' logo.

Given how good the Astros' original City Connect take was, they do deserve the benefit of the doubt for the moment. They seem to "get" what Houston fans want, and perhaps the new iteration will be an improvement. However, if they get weird and decide to get too cute with the new City Connects, the new uniforms won't be the cash cow they are hoping for, and are going to be ridiculed far and wide.

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