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Major League Baseball and Fanatics are getting demolished by fans on social media (and some players as well) for their terrible new uniforms.
Of course, this is nothing new.
Both Major League Baseball as well as Fanatics have repeatedly been bashed by fans for their horrible choices.
Nike also has been playing a part in this debacle as they along with Fanatics signed a 10 year deal with Major League Baseball before the 2020 season to provide these abominations.
It’s Fanatics, however, that is bearing the brunt of the criticism thanks to their terrible track record when it comes to creating official merchandise for the major sports leagues.
Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, who covers the St. Louis Cardinals, reported that pitcher Miles Mikolas and another player on the team hate the new MLB gear.
This is what the back of the white jerseys look like with the new template. Players are pretty unhappy. Miles Mikolas says they also don’t fit right; pants are no longer as customized, and the fabric is a very different consistency.
“They look cheap,” another player said. pic.twitter.com/UoH4vVHTfd
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) February 13, 2024
“These look absolutely terrible,” Michael Waterloo of The Athletic commented.
CBS Sports’ Nick Stellini echoed that sentiment, writing, “Fanatics handling the on-field unis is going as expected.”
Meanwhile in Seattle, a thread on X has blown up over how much people hate the new Mariners jerseys.
Last year vs this year’s replica jersey offerings from the fine folks at MLB, Nike & Fanatics. Last year’s being on the left and this year’s on the right.
I have a lot to say, so bear with me here.
Let’s just rip the bandaid off right away with this year’s new jersey offerings pic.twitter.com/3IShhlj0nL
— Bobby Mullins (@TheBobbyMullins) February 11, 2024
“They cut corners and increased prices, citing demand & inflation as causes for the incremental price hikes,” self-professed jersey snob Bobby Mullins wrote. “The materials for the actual jersey are not bad, but not great either. Just ok, and thats fine on a replica jersey.
“They eliminated the majority of stitching on the jerseys instead settling for a heat press approach, resulting in a visually, less appealing and shortened life expectancy for the jersey. No longer was the front plackets and names & numbers, multi layer, raised lettering & numbering. They instead opted for multi-color, single layer heat pressed on to the jersey.
“In what appears to be a race to see how bad things can get and how high can we jump prices, this year simply says, hold my beer. This year, the materials used for the jerseys are made of a lighter material. Authentics (jerseys the players wear) saw the new material used on last year’s All Star Game jerseys, and it’s not the same as the replicas. Simply put on the replicas, it’s cheap, and a completely unnecessary change.
“You can see the changes when comparing side by side the MLB logo has been moved to lower down below the neckline piping. Spacing is horrible. Cramming in a lot into a small space, while having tons of room to work isn’t a good look. The multi color lettering and numbering is less defined, and not visually crisp.”
(He wrote nine more tweets about the terrible Fanatics MLB jerseys, but you get the point. People are big mad.)
“Nike’s global brand and reputation as a leader in marketing and driving innovation makes them an ideal partner,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said when signing the new deal with Nike and Fanatics in 2019. “In addition, Fanatics is a valuable partner who has proven to serve our fans with speed, agility and quality service. We’re very excited about the possibilities this unique arrangement provides us over the next decade.”
If this is the result of those “possibilities,” hockey fans are going to be in for a real treat when Fanatics becomes the NHL’s official provider of on-ice uniforms for the 2024-25 season.