This past offseason, the MLB announced that Nike and Fanatics would be teaming up to provide MLB players and fans with the official on-field uniforms. These uniforms faced immediate and hilarious backlash, due to their poor quality and seemingly cheap design, and MLB is planning changes.
Players immediately became aware of the issue during Spring Training, when during teams’ media days players noticed the extreme transparency of the uniforms.
Fans were noticing on X when teams would post player photos, that players were often “overexposed” in their pictures. These concerns were especially noticed once fans got their hands on the jerseys and discovered the poor quality.
Things became even worse once the season started, with players ripping their uniforms on almost a per-game basis. In multiple instances within opening week, there were a few players playing with large holes in their uniforms.
Along with the ripping, sweat was also an issue with the new jerseys. Players’ jerseys were changing colors midway through games due to the build-up of sweat in their uniforms.
News came out today that the MLB is introducing changes to the uniforms. These include bringing back larger numbering and lettering, addressing the sweat issue, and addressing the pants overall.
Fanatics has been both praised and scolded by consumers over the years, for revolutionizing the sports memorabilia industry and making jerseys easier to get. But this has come with a decrease in quality, as jerseys are rarely stitched and often just printed on lettering.
