MLB Admits Uniform Fiasco: Promises Fixes Amidst Player Backlash

Author:

Alexie Marone

|Published: April 30th, 2024

After facing widespread criticism and fashion mishaps during spring training, Major League Baseball (MLB) is taking action to address the issues with its new uniforms, as ESPN's Jeff Passan reported.

As per a memo obtained by Passan from the MLB Players Association, significant modifications are in the works.

These include larger lettering on the back of jerseys, rectifying mismatched grey colour schemes, and tackling the problem of sweat collection on the new jerseys.

The blame is largely placed on Nike and its introduction of the new Vapor Premier uniforms, which have garnered widespread disapproval from players.

"This has been entirely a Nike issue," the memo stated. "Nike was innovating something that didn't need to be innovated."

The initial unveiling of baseball's new uniforms left much to be desired. White shirts and pants were reportedly see-through, lacking proper tailoring.

Additionally, the lettering on players' nameplates had shrunk, giving the jerseys "an amateur look," according to Passan.

The memo also absolved Fanatics, the uniform manufacturer, of responsibility.

It mentioned that Fanatics recognizes the importance of soliciting player feedback and not shying away from tough conversations about jerseys.

Fanatics hopes that Nike will adopt a similar approach in addressing the concerns raised.

Nike secured its position as the league's official uniform supplier in 2019 as part of a lucrative 10-year, $1 billion deal with MLB.

Both MLB and Nike declined to comment on the matter when approached by ESPN.