Well that’ll put the ball in baseball…
In case you haven’t been following along, the MLB and sports apparel company Fanatics have been getting brutally roasted for their new uniforms ahead of the 2024 season.
The uniforms were designed by Nike, but since 2017 the production has been outsourced to apparel company Fanatics – and this year they switched to a new “Nike Vapor Premium” jersey. And they haven’t exactly gone over well so far.
Since the start of spring training, players and fans alike have been pretty vocal about the poor quality of the jerseys, which honestly look like knockoffs that you and I could buy from Fanatics ourselves.
And several players have been openly critical of their new uniforms, with one anonymous Baltimore Oriole saying that they look “like a knockoff from T.J. Maxx” while Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner was more blunt with his criticism:
“I know everyone hates them.”
Fanatics claims that the new jerseys are supposed to be more breathable and allow the players to move around better. But according to Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward, that hasn’t been his experience so far:
“It feels kind of like papery.
It could be great when you’re out there sweating, it may be breathable. But I haven’t had that opportunity yet to try that out.
But from the looks of it, it doesn’t look like a $450 jersey. So far, thumbs down.”
Even Fanatics has seemingly (and unintentionally) acknowledged the poor quality of the jerseys on social media, with their customer service replying to actual MLB uniforms and saying they look screwed up.
Yeah, not great.
But aside from the quality, another issue has popped up now that the players are trying on the full uniform: The pants are see-through.
Pretty sure that won’t leave much to the imagination when the lights come on.
For their part, the MLB Players Association has finally gotten involved, telling The Athletic that they’re working with the MLB, Nike and Fanatics to address concerns that the players have before the season begins.
But with opening day just over a month away, we’ll have to wait and see if they can come up with a whole new set of uniforms for the entire league by March 28…or if there we’ll see more than bats swinging out on the field this season.
