As spring training ramps up, players rush into camp looking forward to getting fitted in their new uniforms only to find out that they are filled with flaws.
Skinny Letters? Yup!
Uneven last names? Yup!
Baggy Pants? Yup!
See through pants? Yup!
Mismatched Jerseys? Yup!
Pants so thin that players have to worry about their private areas showing? Yup!
Fan approval? Nope!!
Players approval? Nope!!!
Sophomore and avid Fanatics hater, Nora Kerrigan described the jerseys as, “Horrible and completely unacceptable for a major league sports team. Beyond the fact that the lettering is horrible, the pants are way too thin.”
Senior James Mertz had a blunt description of the new jerseys, “They are terrible. Just terrible.”
Although fans are known to overreact about on field changes, in this example they are backed up by the ones affected directly: the players. Several MLB players have posted on social media about their disappointment with the new jerseys. Moreover, the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) has gotten involved as the union chief Tony Clark stated that, “It’s been an ongoing conversation where each day has yielded something new that doesn’t seem to make as much sense as you would like it.” With the players complaining to a level that their union had to get involved it is clear that the situation is bad.
So what happened to these jerseys that they went from completely fine to horrible? The short answer: Fanatics.
In the 2019 offseason Nike announced that they signed a 10 year contract for MLB jerseys which debut on field during the 2020 season. These jerseys were worn for the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons with little to no complaints. Then during the 2023 offseason Nike announced that they have contracted the jersey manufacturing to Fanatics, a company known for making low quality jerseys for fans. With Fanatics taking over they quickly began to cut costs which ultimately has led to these abysmal Major League Baseball uniforms.
In the end the change may not be as big a deal as MLB fans have made it but it is clear that basic non see through uniforms are a necessity. As fans we hope that the league is able to figure out how to bring back normal jerseys that at least aren’t seen through!?
