Braves pay tribute to Hank Aaron with City Connect uniforms
The Atlanta Braves unveiled their City Connect uniforms Monday, which feature plenty of inspiration from the greatest player in franchise history.
Aaron's widow, Billye, took part in the official trailer.
The City Connect design features the familiar royal blue and red worn by the Braves in the early 1970s and by Aaron when he broke Babe Ruth's home-run record. A new logo featuring "The A," a popular nickname for Atlanta, adorns the chest.
Tributes to Aaron on the jersey include the number 715 inside the collar, written in the font of Atlanta Stadium's scoreboard. Aaron's motto, "Keep Swinging #44," is written above the tag on the bottom of the jersey and on the under-bill of the cap.
Additionally, the Braves will donate a portion of all City Connect merchandise purchased at Truist Park to the Henry Louis Aaron Fund, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
The Braves will debut the new look on the field against the San Diego Padres on April 8 - the 49th anniversary of Aaron's 715th homer. The club will then wear the uniform for all Saturday home games in 2023.
Atlanta becomes the 15th team to don a City Connect uniform since Nike launched the project in 2021. The Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, and Pittsburgh Pirates are scheduled to unveil their City Connects later this year.
MLB is hoping that all 30 teams will have a City Connect jersey by the end of 2024, according to Joon Lee of ESPN.
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