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MLB players dressing down Nike, Fanatics over new uniforms that look ‘like a replica’

[Original article]

The top story of spring training so far has nothing to do with the seams and stitches on a baseball. Instead, the talk of spring is all about the seams and stitches of the new jersey that Major League Baseball’s on-field uniform provider has rolled out for this season: the Nike Vapor Premier.

Nike claims the new jersey is softer, lighter and stretchier than the previous model. Many players say it’s worse. In clubhouses around the league on Wednesday, they criticized the jerseys’ poor fit, cheap look, inconsistent quality and small lettering.

“It looks like a replica,” Angels outfielder Taylor Ward said. “It feels kind of like papery. It could be great when you’re out there sweating, it may be breathable. But I haven’t had that opportunity yet to try that out. But from the looks of it, it doesn’t look like a $450 jersey.

“So far, thumbs down.”

At his locker, Angels reliever Carlos Estévez was in a tizzy over the new threads. He pulled out a couple tops and pairs of pants to show that the shades didn’t match. He laughed at the spacing and shrunken nature of the lettering on the back of the jersey. And he bemoaned the fact he can’t customize his pants to his preference, the way pitchers once could, tailoring the fit to their big dumpers and tree-trunk thighs.

“When I wear my pants, I feel like I’m wearing someone else’s pants,” Estévez said.

“I could see Estévez (flexing),” Ward said, “and it just ripping in the back.”

An airing of sartorial grievances that began earlier this week at the St. Louis Cardinals complex in Jupiter, Fla. has resulted in Nike, which engineered and designed the jerseys, and Fanatics, which manufactured them, facing blowback from big leaguers and baseball fans alike. The complaints prompted players to take their displeasure to their union, and the MLBPA is now involved in relaying the players’ concerns.

But anyone paying attention only to official channels would have little idea what the fuss was about. As that storm of criticism brewed in clubhouses, MLB and Nike ran a joint press release about the new jersey that included rave reviews from Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (“It’s almost like wearing my favorite shirt out on the field”), Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (“much more breathable, with vents on the numbers and better airflow all around”) and reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. (“Feeling free in the jersey is the best feeling in the world”). All wear Nike gear in games. So do several other stars who have publicly praised the jerseys since Nike debuted them at the 2023 All-Star Game: Mike Trout, Kenley Jansen, Corbin Carroll and Jason Heyward.

Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, who has a Nike endorsement deal, said he reached out to Nike contacts Tuesday to discuss the new jerseys. He’s all for the new materials, he said, but some of the design decisions — like the specific shade of blue on the Cubs jerseys — are worth reconsidering.

“Cubbie blue is its own blue, right?” Swanson said. “This blue on the uniform is a little bit different than Cubbie blue. So how can we just recapture that?”

Swanson’s broader point was that in the design process, Nike may have removed some elements that make each team’s jersey their own. In Cardinals camp, for example, they lamented losing the chain-stitching of player names on the jersey.

“You wouldn’t change the font of, let’s say, the (Atlanta) Falcons,” Swanson said, referring to his favorite National Football League team. “They have a little bit of a futuristic block lettering. That’s unique to their jersey. You wouldn’t then go put that on the New York Giants jersey.” He added, “With some of those things, it’s like this makes a Cubs uniform a Cubs uniform. It doesn’t need to change. I think that they will probably have to end up figuring out a way to kind of go back to what it used to be.”

It is unclear whether these uniforms will differ from those worn in the regular season.

Nike did not respond to a request for comment.

While the jerseys themselves have changed, the main parties in the creation process have been the same since Nike became MLB’s official on-field uniform provider in December 2019, reportedly paying more than $1 billion for a 10-year deal. (Under Armour initially won that bid, back in 2016, but that deal fell apart and Nike swooshed in.) Nike partnered with Fanatics — which had purchased MLB’s 2005-19 uniform supplier, Majestic, in April 2017 — to manufacture the jerseys. So the Nike jerseys are now produced by Fanatics, out of the same Pennsylvania factory where Majestic jerseys were once made.

Chris Creamer, who runs SportsLogos.net, explained in an email Wednesday that it’s surprisingly common for one company to create jerseys for another brand like Fanatics is now doing for Nike. When Fanatics takes over as the National Hockey League’s uniform outfitter this fall, the Fanatics-branded jerseys will be manufactured at the same Quebec factory as the Adidas ones NHL players are wearing this season.

“The money exchanged in these deals is really just for that brand’s corporate logo on the jersey,” Creamer wrote. “The leagues or the companies involved don’t seem too bothered by who is actually producing it.”

A Fanatics spokesperson declined to comment.

Nike claims that in designing the Nike Vapor Premier it “body-scanned more than 300 baseball players to dial in the ideal fit — more athletic and form-fitting than the previous chassis,” which is clothes-speak for template. But a common complaint among players is that Nike has limited the customization of jerseys.

Pitchers, in particular, are huffing about their pants. Before last year, according to multiple pitchers, they had several measurements taken for their pants, which then were tailored. Nike has since simplified the fitting process, and tailoring is not on the table. (“You’re telling me that Fernando Tatis is going to be on the field without painted-on pants?” a pitcher joked. “Robbie Ray with some baggy pants?”)

Some clubhouse managers have taken on the task of tailoring.

Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle, who fans have given the nickname “Tommy Tightpants,” has leaned into the look. He reached into his locker for his new trousers Wednesday and gave them a “stretch test” with his hands. Not tight enough. Kahnle hadn��t actually put them on yet, but he knew.

“I like the old ones,” Kahnle declared.

A Dodger said he was swimming in his pants.

A Tiger loudly complained, “These pants they made are terrible.”

Among the design tweaks Nike made to this year’s jersey, according to Uni Watch’s Paul Lukas, are stretchier fabric, changing home jerseys from white to a subtle off-white, narrowing the placket (the vertical strip on the front of the shirt upon which the buttons sit), altering the belt loops, moving the MLB logo down on the back of the jersey and reducing the size of the last-name lettering. The latter change has fans fuming and players scratching their heads.

(Link to tweet showing the difference in the jerseys)

Tigers catcher Jake Rogers, who had no other complaints about the jerseys (“It feels good”), noticed that the lettering was visibly smaller this year. “You see an old jersey, my name was like this,” he said, gesturing with his hands, “using up a lot of room.”

“Look at the last names, bro,” Estévez said. “I’m 6-foot-6. This is going to look tiny on me.”

“I think the last names look really bad honestly,” a Cardinals player said. “I saw someone on Twitter said this looks like a Walmart jersey.”

Nike will sell three versions of the Nike Vapor Premier jerseys to fans: Limited Jersey (“inspired by the on-field jersey”), Game Jersey (“replica player jersey”) and Elite Jersey (“authentic jersey, as worn by player on-field”). Only the Limited jersey is currently available; an Acuña can be had for $174.99.

Now situated at Cubs spring training in Mesa, Ariz., Swanson has been sort of stuck in the middle, privy to both complaints from players about the jerseys and chats with Nike employees about them.

“It’s one of those things where there’s good and bad,” Swanson said. “It’s hard to sit here and just blast them about it or praise them for it. There’s stuff on both sides, and I think the beauty is they’re willing to have those conversations. Obviously, if it’s a change of anything, initial reactions are always going to be (strong). But I do think there are some things that could be altered to make it better.”

Whether or not Nike makes changes, this jersey looks different. It feels different. It’ll take time, however, to know whether the Nike Vapor Premier is actually better or worse than the version before it. When Majestic in 2016 introduced its “Cool Base” jersey — lighter, moisture-wicking, more flexible — they felt thinner and cheaper, Creamer said. There were design complications. There was criticism. But eventually, everyone moved on.

Reds catcher Luke Maile said changing jerseys is like changing toilet paper.

“You notice it at first,” he said, “but after a while, it’s just your toilet paper.”

#posting this article because I am SO bothered by the uniform stuff #also Dansby features in this so hey #he's maybe the one Nike-contract guy who hasn't been a total shill so far #listen: I am in the apparel industry I understand that development of new fabrics happens and trends occur #for example there's a big push to use more recycled materials for polyester and that's good!#the pants issue sounds like such a huge problem for major leaguers; that is so stupid and should be fixed promptly #as for the jerseys for me it's the detail work that is driving me up a wall #I HATE the font uniformity it looks so silly and small and ugly #I hate that they dropped the MLB logo down off the neck forcing the above change for NO reason #and I HATE HATE HATE LOATHE HATE that they got rid of the stitching for names/numbers/patches #you should NEVER be paying hundreds of dollars for HEATPRESSED JERSEYS #I am NOT shelling out $450 for heatpressed trash are you kidding me #baseball #hey MLBers this is why you have a union maybe get something done with that

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