BALTIMORE -- To unveil their new Nike City Connect uniforms, the Orioles turned to the people of their city. They enlisted Baltimore residents -- both natives and those who have relocated here -- to participate in their reveal video.

Kondwani Fidel, a poet/essayist from Baltimore, provided the soundtrack with his original work, ¡°You Can¡¯t Clip These Wings.¡± He also contributed to the creative process as the baseball franchise with longtime roots to the city (having been here since 1954) designed a uniform to best represent Charm City.

• Orioles City Connect uniforms

Now, the O¡¯s have brought their new City Connect threads to life and directly to the people of Baltimore.

Shortly after Monday¡¯s online reveal, the Orioles¡¯ team store inside of the warehouse at Camden Yards opened at 10 a.m., giving fans an opportunity to buy the club¡¯s new City Connect merchandise -- jerseys, hats, hooded sweatshirts, T-shirts and more. Many did just that, flooding Eutaw Street to purchase their apparel.

¡°They love it. They¡¯re really proud of this city,¡± Orioles senior vice president of community development and communications Jennifer Grondahl said. ¡°There¡¯s so much beauty within this city, and there¡¯s so much opportunity for the future. So for us to use this jersey as an opportunity to tell that story, it means everything to our organization.¡±

The caps don¡¯t read ¡°O¡¯s,¡± but rather display a fresh script ¡°B¡± logo. The jerseys don¡¯t read ¡°Orioles,¡± but instead ¡°Baltimore.¡±

¡°This¡¯ll be the first time I¡¯ve actually worn Baltimore on the front of my uniform -- in Baltimore,¡± outfielder Austin Hays said. ¡°It¡¯s going to be special to put that jersey on for the first time and step out in front of the Camden Yards crowd. It¡¯s an honor to be able to represent this city and its people like this.¡±

The Orioles will don their City Connect look for the first time on Friday night, when they¡¯ll host the Rangers for the opener of a three-game series at the start of a six-game homestand to close out May. The uniforms will be worn for Friday home games moving forward.

Here are several of the notable aspects of Baltimore¡¯s City Connect set:

• The colorful pattern on the uniform represents the various neighborhoods of Baltimore. It was designed on the inside -- a first for an MLB team -- as a showcase of the city¡¯s colorful interior, a contrast from the grayscale exterior that represents a ¡°surface-level view¡± that some may have of the city. Those vibrant colors symbolize the uniqueness of the various aspects of Baltimore.

¡°When we first sat down with Nike, we talked to them a little bit about what makes Baltimore so special. That¡¯s how we landed on this particular jersey,¡± Grondahl said. ¡°The colors, everything has been thought of, it was very deliberate. The snowball, the Ravens, all the different pieces, the Orioles -- everything that makes Baltimore special.¡±

• The bold typeface used for the ¡°Baltimore¡± logo was inspired by the Globe Collection and Press at the Maryland Institute College of Art and the local arts scene. The speckles and imperfections ¡°represent the shared grit the Orioles and the Baltimore community possess.¡±

¡°We felt that it was really, really important to not create a slogan or anything that was going to take away from how powerful we think this city is,¡± Grondahl said.

• A patch featuring ¡°You Can¡¯t Clip These Wings,¡± the words of Fidel, was emblazoned on the jersey as an embodiment of Baltimore pride and to exemplify the city¡¯s perseverance.

• The script ¡°B¡± logo on the hats was pulled from the first letter of the Baltimore script logo on the Orioles¡¯ road jerseys. It¡¯s also featured on the sleeve patches.

¡°It¡¯s colorful, it¡¯s fun. The black and gray with the bright colors, it¡¯s clean. It¡¯s the city,¡± outfielder Anthony Santander said. ¡°I love Baltimore. I love the fans. We want to represent them and make them proud with these jerseys.¡±

The Orioles became the 19th MLB team to reveal a City Connect uniform (a rollout by Nike that began in 2021), and the fifth to do so this season.