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Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin has finally spoken out and addressed the ongoing fiasco that their new uniforms have caused in Spring Training.
The new uniforms designed by Nike and produced by Fanatics have been the target of much ridicule by MLB players and fans alike.
The complaints have gotten so loud that the Major League Baseball Players Association has even had to step in and address it.
The quality of the uniforms appears to have gone down considerably, the numbers and names on the backs of the jerseys don’t look right, and the pants in many cases are see-through.
Last week, Major League Baseball attempted to explain what was going on with the problematic new Fanatics and Nike uniforms.
MLB assured everyone that they were on top of it and that they “are in close contact with our Clubs and uniform partners to ensure Clubs have what they need for Opening Day.”
While Nike appears to be bearing the brunt of the criticism from those in the know, based on their past track record, fans are continuing to blame Fanatics.
Speaking at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Friday, Rubin addressed the issues with the new Nike MLB uniforms, manufactured by Fanatics.
“We’ve been told we’ve done everything exactly right, and we get the [expletive] kicked out of us every day, so that’s not fun,” Rubin said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Normally when I get beat up, it’s because I actually did something wrong. Here, I’m actually getting beat up and I actually didn’t do something wrong, we did exactly what we were instructed to do.”
“Time will tell but I believe Nike will be proved right” about the uniforms being an improvement.
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— Michael Silverman (@MikeSilvermanBB) March 1, 2024
“Part of changing the uniform is people get uncomfortable,” Rubin said. “It takes time. What I would tell you is the biggest thing I’ve probably learned is, if we’re involved in something, we need to make sure that everybody’s on board … They got certain players on board, but not all players on board. I think if you change something so old, and so established, we need everybody to be on board with it.”
Another comment he made during the conference also appeared to try to lay the blame at Nike’s feet.
“In this particular case, Nike designs everything, hands us a spec and says, ‘Make this,’” Rubin said. “We’ve made everything exactly to the spec and Nike and baseball are saying ‘Yes, you’ve done everything we’ve asked you to do.’”