New City Connect Balls Coming. Plus: Padres Putting on a Commemorative Clinic!

Major League Baseball’s City Connect 2.0 uniforms are gradually being leaked. A few have been officially unveiled by teams—the Astros and Nationals. But we haven’t seen much on the official Rawlings ROMLB-CC on-field game balls. Which teams will use a commemorative City Connect baseballs this season? And which 2024 City Connect specially stamped Rawlings logo balls will get a second season of life in MLB ballparks?

Without further delay, here’s the lineup of freshly stamped baseballs to be used this season. These include original artwork files that we’ve mocked up, followed by donated images of game-used baseballs, and additional information we can share with confidence about other upcoming baseballs. We’ll close it out with some unconfirmed prognostication and rumors. And maybe a bonus sneak peek or two will be added later.

Making their Major League Debut: Anaheim Angels, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres 2025 City Connect Baseballs

I will let the fans judge. I’ll only say, there’s been a pattern here for this CC genre: simplicity. Of course, there are a few outliers. You can find all previous iterations from other teams in the Museum of Baseballs ➡️ MLB ➡️ Team Milestones, Anniversaries & Celebrations Gallery.

Some know the Padres have already used their CC2025 ball. They made the cut and took the field in the team’s second game of the season. It’s likely they’ll use them during all Friday home games in which they’ll sport their CC uniforms.

Did you know, the Padres also used team-branded MLB Opening Day game balls the night before, and they were only team to get that privilege? You knew if you’ve been following our 2025 Live Tracker updates or our Instagram. To close out their opening series with the Atlanta Braves, whom they swept, San Diego then debuted Military Appreciation Day official gamers, which are purportedly planned for game-use every Sunday Military Appreciation home game. I found that schedule from the official team website, but this does not confirm these baseballs will be available and used in every game. It’s just an educated guess.

How about some real-world images of the three new Padres baseballs?

Here are game-used examples from helpful Padres fans and a shot from the official team shop:

I mentioned 2024 City Connect baseballs will also return this season. The following list is dependable, but not guaranteed and not final. We expect each of these to be used in at least one game this season. A few teams will probably use their City Connect baseballs in multiple games.

1. Philadelphia Phillies “L🔔VE” City Connect Rawlings Baseballs
2. St. Louis Cardinals “The Lou” City Connect Rawlings Baseballs
3. Tampa Bay Rays Pelican & Palm Trees City Connect Rawlings Baseballs
4. Toronto Blue Jays Maple-Leafed T City Connect Rawlings Baseballs

Which was your favorite from last season? I prefer the Cardinals; they’ve always had sweet logos and uniforms. The pair of redbirds on a bat is a classic look. It also helps that this ball was only used in one game last year, so I’ve heard, making it scarcer and perhaps a bit more desirable for collectors favoring MLB Authenticated, game-used specimens. (I’ve just realized I never added The Lou City Connect ball to the MLB Teams page in the Museum. Yikes! I’ll take care of that ASAP.)

No word on the Mets CC ball from last season, by the way. If you’ve heard they’re going to use them again, please let us know in the comments or via email/IG message. Since it wasn’t on the latest dealer order list for this season, we’ll consider it to be retired for the time being. Reminder, the 2022-2024 Astros is obviously replaced with the 2025 we unveiled earlier. And lastly, we’re still expecting 1-2 more. There was a Minnesota Twins City Connect sample ball rumored last season that was ultimately canceled. We’d like to think they fixed the flaws and got it done for this year—but no promises. Also, any word from the Dodgers yet? They’re missing great opportunities for valuable commemorative game balls in the Shohei era!

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