February 21, 2024
Dave Nelson/USA TODAY Sports
New Phillies pitcher Spencer Turnbull in the increasingly unpopular Nike-templated uniforms down in Clearwater.
With the more looks we get at the new Nike-templated MLB uniforms as spring training progresses, the worse they seem to get as player complaints continue to funnel in.
And MLB Players Association president Tony Clark isn't thrilled about them either.
“Any time there’s change, there’s an adjustment period," Clark told The Athletic's Sam Blum after a meeting with Los Angeles Angels players this week. "Sometimes that adjustment period goes well, sometimes not so much. In this instance, there appear to be some misses that could have otherwise not been misses."
Ouch.
As a quick refresher: This season's MLB uniforms are being made with Nike's Vapor Premier template, which are being produced by Fanatics over at the old Majestic factory in Easton and under Nike's design decisions.
The sports giant's explanation for the new template was to make the uniforms lighter and more advanced after what it said in a press release was a comprehensive and years-long research process that took more than 300 body scans of players and a test run at last year's All-Star Game. But then pitchers and catchers got their hands on the uniforms as they all started to report for their first spring workout of 2024.
"Cheaper" appeared to be the more applicable phrase.
The name and number packages on the back were noticeably smaller compared to the old uniforms from 2023, the MLB logo underneath the collar got inexplicably pushed further down to make for a more cluttered aesthetic on many of the jerseys – particularly the ones that use piping around the necklines – players were quickly critical of the uniforms' fit and lack of customization options, and in some photos, you can visibly tell just how thin the new material actually is.
Nike and MLB really ruined the designs especially the pants it’s basically see through now they look so cheap 😭 pic.twitter.com/akYCxbVvPi
— shobae 大谷翔平 ¹⁷ Ohtani Shohei ¹⁷ 😎 chihuahua lover (@shoheisaveus) February 21, 2024
And specific to clubs like the Phillies, as a reader and Paul Lukas of Uni Watch pointed out earlier – and that more images of the jerseys have since verified – the chain-stitched embroidery on the "Phillies" crest across the chest has been replaced with a thinner patch material that falls closer to a replica jersey and lacks any sort of on-field pop.
We love a happy Ranger :) pic.twitter.com/mfl6XBkg5P
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) February 14, 2024
“I know everyone hates them,” Phillies shortstop Trea Turner told the Associated Press last week. “We all liked what we had. We understand business, but I think everyone wanted to keep it the same way, for the most part, with some tweaks here or there.”
It's becoming an increasingly awful look for Nike, and Fanatics, which hasn't been in any fan's good graces to begin with.
As for where this goes, here's what Clark continued to tell The Athletic about the uniforms and what the players want to do about them:
“We are on the phone with the requisite parties that are involved in making that decision because we aren’t...We’re trying to make sure our guys have what they need in the fashion that they need it. And it’s reflective of what being a major-league ballplayer should be reflective of.
“It’s an ongoing dialogue. Hopefully, we can get some things done over the course of the next six weeks of spring training. Because I’d hate to be in a place where we’re still having conversations about some of the challenges we have in that regard once the lights come on.” [The Athletic]
😬
P.S. – A look at how Fanatics is handling the reaction to the new jerseys:
I love Twitter man pic.twitter.com/QGRnhKmxxb
— Konjac Jelly (@_Konjac_Jelly) February 21, 2024
You can't make this stuff up.
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