The Yankees might be on the verge of introducing new regular-season uniforms for the first time in over a hundred years, with some players suggesting the team should wear different jerseys during road games.
The proposed design is essentially the navy blue batting practice jersey used during spring training, featuring “NEW YORK” in gray block letters on the front.
This would mark a significant departure from the Yankees’ long-established norm of just two regular uniforms: the home pinstripes (in use since 1915) and the road gray, which hasn’t changed much since 1918.
“There’s plenty of tradition here, and this is probably the most iconic jersey in sports,” remarked slugger Giancarlo Stanton at Fenway Park on Wednesday. “But, you know, that doesn’t mean we can’t mix things up a bit, especially on the road.”
Steinbrenner Factor
It’s uncertain if Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner will go for this idea. He has made some adjustments to the team’s strict policies in recent years, like modifying the beard policy for the 2025 season and allowing Star Insurance patches on jersey sleeves in 2023.
So, while some Yankees fans are clutching their pearls at the thought of an alternate jersey, the cat may already be out of the bag.
“I’m a big believer in tradition,” said Aaron Judge, who wasn’t eager to elaborate on the topic when asked by reporters. “But I can’t control what happens until that,” he added, somewhat ambiguously. Yet, he was quite firm about wanting to keep the traditional look for home games.
“I think you’ll always see pinstripes at home,” Judge stated. “I doubt that will change. But we did make some changes to the road jersey.” [This was in reference to the removal of white piping in 2024.] “So if we’re going to wear the blues, let’s wear them when we travel.”
Having third, or even fourth, uniforms has become quite common in the league, especially with the introduction of City Connect uniforms. The Yankees, however, have remained an exception, sticking to just their home and away styles.
The Athletics, notably, are the only team without a City Connect jersey—largely because they don’t have a stable location at the moment, playing in Sacramento while they transition from Oakland to Las Vegas.
“You can’t ignore it, that’s for sure,” Stanton added with a hint of anticipation.
Navy Now and Then
The navy blue jerseys are currently kept in the Yankees’ lockers across all road clubhouses but are typically only donned by pitchers during bullpen sessions on game days.
These navy tops have been worn during spring training and have already received the green light from Major League Baseball to be used in regular-season games starting in early 2025.
Stanton expressed that players have been discussing the idea of wearing navy tops—similar to what they wear with their road gray pants—for “several years,” and he believes “a lot of people would be fine with that.”
“Every team has alternate uniforms,” Stanton remarked. “We have one too. We didn’t come together to redesign it ourselves. It’s been around. So we aren’t really breaking new ground here.”
Chisholm Jr. from the Fashionable Yankee Jazz chimed in, “I love them. I think this is awesome. The alternate jerseys are a great idea.”
