MLB Explains What Is Going On With Their Problematic New Uniforms (Sort Of)

Major League Baseball has a problem with their new uniforms and people are looking for answers.

Not only do the uniforms look like typical Fanatics rubbish, many players don’t like them, the pants are see-through, and there’s even a shortage of those forcing some teams to wear last year’s pants.

On Friday during the Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney podcast, player turned broadcaster Eduardo Perez tried to explain what was going on with the new MLB uniforms.

See if you can decipher this word salad (via Uni-Watch.com)…

“The MLB logo, the bat[ter]man, that’s usually up by the collar, that was brought down. And because it was brought down the names have been brought down, and because the names have been brought down, the brand also has been brought down, of the team.

“And that’s a decision that really wasn’t made by Nike or the players or the teams. It was made by Major League Baseball. And that’s the part that we have to understand. Look, you want to get that brand out there, you want to be able to showcase it, you want it a little bit bigger, these are the sacrifices that are having, that have to be made.”

Clear as mud!

Here’s some of what Major League Baseball told SportsLogos.net about the new uniforms…

The new uniform patches that are replacing the embroidered ones were put there for “performance” reasons.

Nike changed the sizes of the names and numbers “based on their experience developing and designing uniforms globally.”

The pants, supposedly, have been see-through for at least the past 10 years. This is not a new issue. MLB claims the pants are the same fabric, material and thickness as last year

Which begs the question asked by Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.net, “If this happened yearly for at least the last ten seasons, why didn’t anyone say anything?”

Major League Baseball also issued a statement last week about the uniforms.

“Like every Spring Training, Fanatics team services, Nike and MLB representatives are visiting camps to meet with all players, conduct uniform fitting sessions with them, and get their feedback on how their uniforms fits. Based on player requests, adjustments are being made to jersey size, waist, in-seam, length, thigh fit and the bottom of their pants.

“The goal of these meetings is to provide players with the most comfortable uniforms available for Opening Day. We are in close contact with our Clubs and uniform partners to ensure Clubs have what they need for Opening Day.”

So whose fault is it for all of these problems?

According to Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic, “In the simplest explanation — following the responsibilities as laid out by MLB, Fanatics and Nike before Nike became MLB’s official uniform supplier in December 2019 — blame would primarily fall on Nike. That’s how [Uni-Watch.com] sees it. That’s also how [Tony] Clark, the union chief, sees it. Nike had four years to land its transition from the Majestic Athletics template to a Nike one. It so far has flopped.”

That may or may not be true, but based on their past track record, fans will certainly continue to blame Fanatics.