Rumored new Blue Jays City Connect caps leak ahead of release

Here come the Blue Jays’ City Connect leaks! A post on Reddit this afternoon at r/Torontobluejays shows a New Era 59Fifty official on-field cap that appears to be the Blue Jays’ City Connect hat. Toronto is one of nine MLB teams to get a new City Connect uniform this year.

Like many of the other recent City Connect leaks from overseas markets, this hat purportedly came from a location in Mexico. While New Era's flagship store and head office are located in downtown Buffalo, New York, just a stone’s throw away from Sahlen Field, home to Toronto’s Buffalo Bisons Triple-A affiliate, some of their manufacturing is done overseas.

Blue Jays City Connect hats reportedly leak ahead of May launch

The Blue Jays are scheduled to launch their City Connects on May 31, and their marketing campaign has already begun, with social posts like the one above showing starter Yusei Kikuchi’s reaction when he saw them for the first time.

As per ESPN's description of the program, “Major League Baseball's City Connect uniforms, which launched in 2021, have [got fans talking]. Nike has worked with MLB teams to create a uniform that reflects each baseball city's culture and community, similar to the NBA's city jersey series that began in 2017.”

A quick look at New Era 59Fifty official on-field caps in this contributor’s collection, including my Buffalo Bisons home cap for the team just down the street from New Era’s head office, shows they were made in places like China and Bangladesh. So, it adds up that it may have already been leaked in foreign markets early!

The hat looks slick - it’s navy blue with a stylised red and blue “T”, and a red maple leaf centered on the bottom of the letter. The inside lining features an outline of the downtown skyline, with the CN Tower and what looks like the domed roof of Rogers Centre. That's aligned with previous City Connects, like the New York Mets' recent hat drop.

Toronto wouldn’t be the only team that's had to deal with an early peek at their new City Connects, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers also suffering similar leaks. As per Mark Powell of Fansided, ‘X’ user @DyeMyColor, who previously found leaked jerseys for the Mets and Tigers in Japan, unveiled what could be the Dodgers' second City Connect threads.

Looks like my hat collection may be expanding next week when the City Connects are launched. What do you think, Jays fans?