The Colorado Rockies planned to debut their new City Connect uniforms Friday, April 18, but those famous Colorado skies did not cooperate. The new look, which is based on the brilliant colors of Colorado’s mountain sunsets, was delayed 48 hours thanks to a dreary, day-long spring snowstorm that forced the postponement of the game. Colorado’s colorful skies were back in force Sunday evening, and the Rockies took to the field in their new duds for the first time in the second game of a day-night double-header against the Washington Nationals.
Colorado dropped the afternoon game while wearing their traditional home whites—an all-too-common occurrence for the 4-17 Rox—then retreated to the clubhouse to change into their new City Connect uniforms for the nightcap. (Read Chris Creamer’s complete coverage of that uniform here.)
In a season during which highlights have been in short supply, the new look offered a ray of sunshine.
“I think everybody’s really excited to wear them,” said Rockies rookie left fielder Zac Veen, who hit his first career home run and stole his first base in the afternoon game. “I think these are the coolest ones we have, personally.”
First-baseman Michael Toglia debuted with the Rockies in 2022, the same year as the Rockies’ recently retired first entry in the City Connect series, the green-and-white license plate uniforms. Before game two of the double-header, Toglia felt that players and spectators alike would appreciate the splash of color.
“I think it’s a lot of fun, to give the fans a new look and something to get excited about,” Toglia said. “Some flashy colors, for sure. I like them, I think it’s a good twist.”
Since the inception of the City Connect program in 2021, it has been an adjustment for MLB fans to see their home team in uniforms that often have nothing to do with long-established brands. But for fans of minor league baseball, where teams wear multiple alternate identities throughout the season, the concept is old hat.
The same goes for players, like reliever Zach Agnos, who has played with the Fresno Grizzlies, Spokane Indians, and Hartford Yard Goats, and who was set to make his big league debut for the Rockies after being called up from the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes before the double-header.
“It’s nothing too crazy because we did deal with it in the minor leagues,” Agnos said. “I was a freaking Steamed Burger in Hartford, and before that they were the Pickles.”
For Agnos, sharing his potential first game as a Major Leaguer with the denouement of a new uniform made the occasion even more special.
“Just making your debut in general is unbelievable, but the City Connects are pretty sweet,” Agnos said. “It’s going to be cool, maybe have a little extra swagger out there.”
Agnos did indeed make his Major League debut, pitching a scoreless eighth inning to hold a 2-1 lead, while a contingent of family and friends cheered from the stands.
The Rockies won the nightcap, beating the Nationals 3-1 to end an eight-game losing streak. The first-ever pitch thrown by a Rockies player wearing mountain sunset colors came at 6:11 pm from the right hand of Antonio Senzatela, who threw a 94 MPH four-seam fastball low for a ball, leading to a six-pitch walk to Nationals left fielder James Wood. It was the only base on balls Senzatela would issue on his way to earning the win, allowing just one run over six innings.
Asked whether the jersey—the only pullover in the City Connect program—felt different than the traditional button-ups, Senzatela was more interested in the look and the positive result.
“It feels a bit different, but it looked good,” he said. “I like the colors. It’s nice to have a win with it.”
The first runs batted in in the new City Connect uniforms were off the bat of Mickey Moniak, who hit a go-ahead two-run triple to left center with two outs in the fourth. (Moniak also made a spectular diving catch in the first inning to save a run.)
Moniak laughed when asked if there was extra significance to being the first Rockie with an RBI in the new uniforms, his answer signifying that for Major Leaguers, it’s not about laundry and logos, it’s about the game on the field.
“The coolest part about it is that it put us ahead and let us win the game,” he said.
When manager Bud Black entered the post-game press conference, he gestured to his City Connect gear and asked the press corps what they thought. When the question was turned back on him, he focused on the players.
“The guys are happy, I know that,” Black said. “It’s a new look tonight, we got a W.”
It’s been a tough first month of the Rockies’ season, but baseball offers daily opportunities for fresh starts. After the game, on the occasion of a successful Major League debut—the ultimate fresh start—Zach Agnos had the appropriate perspective.
“I like the blue, my mom says it looks good on me, so I’m going to take it and run with it,” he said.
The Rockies will wear the City Connect uniforms for every Friday home game.
