Marlins introduce new teal and pink Retrowave City Connect uniforms

The "Retrowave" era has begun. As unveiled on Wednesday, the Marlins describe their new City Connect jersey as "a symbol of Miami’s identity—bold and united. It’s a blend of history and hope, tradition and innovation."

"We aimed to celebrate our club’s storied past and special moments made in the teal, while looking forward to a bright future, all woven in a style that embodies the spirit of South Florida," president of business Caroline O’Connor added.

Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Xavier Edwards, Connor Norby, Max Meyer, Jesús Sánchez, Otto Lopez, Kyle Stowers, Nick Fortes and Dane Myers are among the Marlins players who were featured in photos and hype videos as part of the big release.

The "MIAMI" woodmark is meant to be reminiscent of the "FLORIDA" lettering that the franchise used before rebranding and moving south to loanDepot park. Here's how they compare (using an old Gary Sheffield photo as an example):

This is the first instance in MLB history of a team displaying their city's area code on a hat, the Marlins say.

During the previous four seasons (2021-2024), the original Marlins City Connects paid homage to the Cuban Sugar Kings of the 1950s. Those red uniforms were worn for most Saturday home games.

I will reserve final judgement until seeing the on-field debut, but my first impression is that the Retrowave uni is a significant downgrade from the Sugar Kings one. If the Marlins wanted to genuinely embrace the franchise's history, they could have made teal the primary color rather than black. The horizontal pinstripes allegedly "reflect Miami’s ever-evolving culture, moving to a unique beat that embodies purpose and uniqueness." Meh. I get that they were going for a contemporary style, but stopping the pinstripes from actually covering the entire width of the jersey just makes them less noticeable.

To be clear, the Marlins—as well as the other MLB teams that debuted their City Connects in 2021—were contractually obligated to come up with new designs this year for Nike to manufacture and sell. It's not like they went out of their way to end the Sugar Kings era.

The current Marlins uniform rotation includes white jerseys for weekday home games, blue for Sunday home games, black for Fridays and gray for all other road games. Retrowave is now the fifth variant, to be worn 11 times during the 2025 season:

• May 3 vs. Athletics
• May 17 vs. Rays
• May 31 vs. Giants
• June 21 vs. Braves
• July 5 vs. Brewers
• July 19 vs. Royals
• August 2 vs. Yankees
• August 23 vs. Blue Jays
• September 6 vs. Phillies
• September 13 vs. Tigers
• September 27 vs. Mets

Jerseys, caps and other Retrowave-related merchandise will be first available at the Marlins team store at loanDepot park on Saturday at 10 a.m. Marlins Members have priority access beginning at 9 a.m.