The New MLB Jerseys are Hated by Everyone
By M. Scott Carter
I’ve seen some articles floating around about the new jerseys for this season, and boy oh boy are Nike and Fanatics being roasted for their “Terrible” effort this year. Have you seen what they did? Fanatics is taking the brunt of the criticism as they are already know for utilizing cheaper materials, and taking shortcuts in production, but Nike deserves just as much blame for the disaster this is becoming.
First, a quick rundown of the on-field players jerseys. In the past, each player would be measured like they were at the tailor and each jersey and pair of pants were custom sized/fit to each individual player. They had lots of options to choose from to make the jerseys exactly what they wanted. ‘The players loved it, felt good in their uniforms, felt comfortable, and they seemed to be working great. So why change it?
Apparently now even the players only have off the rack options – basically the exact same jersey a fan can buy at the team pro shop, and they are not happy about it!
“I know everyone hates them,” Phillies shortstop Trea Turner said 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.”
Some players have complained that the pants are too tight, others have complained that the new pants are see through, which if you have seen them, they are. Just Google search and you’ll see what I, and many players have been saying. Others have said they look and feel cheap. I think they’re correct, they look like a knock off to me, the wish.com version of the jersey if you will.
Others still have complained about the lack of custom options.
Tommy Kahnle told the New York Post “…definitely this year you can notice the fabric is just a little tighter than we’re used to. I think the consensus is they’re not too great. … I know a lot of the guys don’t really like them.”
Still others have complained about the lettering and numbers being too small, and not as high of quality as past seasons. It is clear that most of the players are not happy with the changes.
At least one player is taking it in stride, “As long as I’m wearing a uniform, I really don’t care,” Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts told USA Today.
The fans are not happy about the uniforms either. Comments from fans include: “They look like fake replicas!” “They look cheap.” Others have talked about how the lettering is too small, that the ratio of name size to number is off, one fan site, KorkedBats said, “The new Fanatics/Nike MLB uniforms look like players moms got the jerseys on clearance at TJ Maxx.” Which if you have compared, is a pretty accurate description!
Other fans and fan sites have complained that the quality is far less than what they are expected to pay for these new jerseys. All in all, it has been a fiasco at best, and a tragedy at worst for Nike and Fanatics.
Why do they mess with this stuff so much? Just like the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. Supposedly Nike and Fanatics have been gathering complaints/suggestions from the players at spring training so that they can make some adjustments, but don’t hold your breath on much being done this season. Especially for the fans, as that would be way more of a financial hit than they are willing to take.
Nike definitely missed the mark on this partnership so far, as evidence by the dearth of players and fans alike who have voiced their opinions all over social media, and even the traditional media. Hopefully Nike and Fanatics learn from this experience and make it better moving forward. I am sure this commentary will continue throughout the season, it will be interesting to see after a month or two of games if the players change their tune at all – for better or worse.