Dodgers get a do-over with 2024 Nike City Connect jerseys

Nike's City Connect jersey series has been hit-or-miss from the beginning. They've been divisive ever since the first batch was released in 2021, when seven teams -- including the Dodgers -- all got brand new jerseys to pay homage to each team's home city. For almost every team that's gotten one so far (20 out of 30 teams as of 2023), you can find fans who love them and fans who hate them, with no real consensus.

However, the Dodgers may be an exception. Their original 'Los Dodgers' City Connects were thoroughly underwhelming as basically just inverses of their regular home jerseys with an extra 'Los' attached to the front. The intention behind them was good — a shoutout to the city's roots and the incredible Hispanic and Latino contingent of the Dodgers' fanbase — but the execution left a lot to be desired.

In 2024, the Dodgers are getting another shot. Eight teams will get City Connects for the first time, and the Dodgers will be the first team to get a second version. They'll roll out between Opening Day and the All-Star break in July.

Dodgers get a do-over with 2024 Nike City Connect jerseys

Dodgers jersey sales skyrocketed after the team signed Shohei Ohtani and his No. 17 went to presale. Ohtani's allure was, of course, because he's arguably the face of baseball and is one of the most talented players in the league, but there was also a huge monied element in signing him. He'll bring Japanese sponsors and international and domestic fans alike who are willing to spend big money on anything with his face or name on it. His Angels jersey topped sales in 2023, supplanting the Dodgers' own Mookie Betts, whose jersey led in 2022.

It's entirely possible that the Dodgers getting a part deux has to do with their incredible offseason and their adding Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, among others, on top of the fact that the original version was met with a lukewarm-to-negative reception. If Nike can get it right this time, the new jerseys will likely fly off of shelves. They should take this opportunity to innovate a little and give fans a product that they'll actually be gunning to wear.