Nike revolutionize Boston Red Sox uniform for the next MLB season

In American baseball, among the uniforms of Nike's MLB City Connection series (which will debut on April 17), the jersey that affects most of all is that of the Boston Red Sox. In fact, instead of appearing with the words BOSTON in red, as always, it presents itself in reverse with a completely new palette: a decision by Nike to break with tradition with a precise communication strategy. 

According to Fast Company, Nike is working on a change of communication for Major League Baseball. The audience data of this sport in fact indicate that the average viewer is about 57 years old, while that of other national sports, such as basketball, manage to reach much younger groups of fans. For this reason, the brand would like to start communicating to the new generations to ensure MLB a strong market in the future. Nike wants to do it through certain stylistic choices. Like that. 

The Boston franchise has always had the iconic red lettering in the center of the shirt, with a background palette that, in more than 70 years, has ranged from white to gray to beige. For the 2020-21 season, on the other hand, Nike proposed a bright yellow background and the inscription BOSTON (in minimalist style) in blue, to which are tied the badges of the Swoosh and the championship at the bottom on the sides and, on the left sleeve, the detail of a running bib. The City Connection Series is a Nike project that wants to explore the identity of the sports club in relation to their city, inserting references to the city context to which the team belongs - as already seen in the NBA, with excellent works such as the Phoenix Suns' jacket. This explains the yellow and blue of the new Boston Red Sox uniform. They come from the Boston marathon's arrival strip, the final stretch of which closes right at Boylstone Street; and it also explains the running bib.

Among other things, Nike took advantage of the near-coincidence between April 17, the day of the jersey launch, and April 19, Patriot's Day that is celebrated every year in Boston. 

Swoosh wanted to include as many references to local culture as possible in the jersey, but fans could be anger about the change of the colors. In fact, red on the Red Sox uniform is a 120-year tradition, and Adam Grossman, chief marketing officer of the Red Sox, explained: "Some fans will love it and some won't, just like the moves we make on our roster. At the end of the day, our fans want us to win and have fun. If we do, the rest will take care of themselves."

The Nike jersey of Boston Red Sox 2021 is available on nike.com