Ever since spring training started, it became clear the the new uniforms were going to be the target of incessant criticism.
The letters were smaller than what fans have been used to for years, and players complained about the pants being see-through.
Many MLB observers thought the uniforms looked “cheap.”
The situation became a sensitive topic for the three entities involved: MLB, Nike, and Fanatics.
Nike designed the uniform and Fanatics is the manufacturer, as the three-way agreement that started in 2018 dictates.
Who is to blame for the minor scandal around the jerseys, the pants, and the designs?
Well, MLB made its position clear on Thursday.
“MLB players and fans have spent weeks criticizing the new ‘cheaper looking,’ sweat-showing, sometimes see-through jerseys. The league has now placed blame on Nike—not Fanatics or themselves—in a statement to @TheAthletic. To MLB, Fanatics was just following Nike’s orders,” Front Office Sports tweeted.
MLB players and fans have spent weeks criticizing the new “cheaper looking,” sweat-showing, sometimes see-through jerseys.
The league has now placed blame on Nike—not Fanatics or themselves—in a statement to @TheAthletic.
To MLB, Fanatics was just following Nike’s orders.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 4, 2024
In the eyes of the league, the blame is going to the ones that designed the uniforms as opposed to the ones that just followed a set of instructions as part of an agreement.
It makes sense.
The criticism hasn’t been unanimous: a small percentage of players like the new uniform’s feel and mobility.
The vast majority of the comments and opinions, however, have been negative.
Reliever Andrew Chafin summed up the feelings of the majority with a few short, but powerful lines he told The Athletic.
“They’re not bad jerseys,” he stated.
“Just, in my opinion, they’re not big-league jerseys.”
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