When people talk about baseball in the USA these days, it’s not necessarily about the sport itself. The reason: new jerseys and transparent pants.
It pinches and tweaks, it doesn’t look good either. Spring training for the 30 teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) usually revolves around sporting questions such as: When will Shohei Ohtani, the 700 million man, hit his first home run? Is my team getting stronger? Who will get a mega contract at the last minute?
But because nothing stays the same, players and fans are currently increasingly concerned with a fashion component before the start of the season at the end of March. The league’s exclusive supplier has produced new “uniforms”, i.e. game clothing consisting of different tops and trousers – and is now being heavily criticized: the jerseys look more like inferior fan items, the trousers often don’t fit and are too thin .
Jersey costs over $400
The sporting goods giant Nike, which has been supplying the 30 clubs exclusively and with a cooperation partner since 2020 at a price of one billion dollars for ten years, had fully promoted the new jerseys. “Breathable, lightweight and high-performance material” was used. “25 percent more stretch” and “moisture-wicking technology” should create even more comfort.
According to its own statement, Nike had been working on the jerseys for years and even used “the most modern digital technology” to scan more than 300 players “to find the ideal fit that is more athletic and figure-hugging than the previous model.” The result: a jersey that costs $430 each.
“I know everyone hates them”
But in practice things probably don’t work out the way Nike had imagined. In any case, there is no lack of critical voices from the players. “I know everyone hates her,” said Trea Turner of the Philadelphia Phillies, for example. According to The Athletic, Taylor Ward of the Los Angeles Angels criticized the jersey for not looking like a $450 shirt, but rather like a copy of an original jersey. “It kind of feels like paper,” Ward said. His verdict: “Thumbs down.”
The matter is very unpleasant for Nike. There was already trouble with tradition-conscious fans in 2020 because the manufacturer’s company emblem was suddenly visible for the first time on the player jerseys and fan merchandise. And now the jerseys look more like quickly manufactured mass-produced goods. The company tried to contain the criticism by releasing statements from players praising the new jersey. However, they all had personal sponsorship contracts with Nike and therefore seemed quite unbelievable.
Fans complain about replicas
The new model is also causing anger among fans. If you don’t want to spend $450 on an original jersey, you can also buy a replica model. However, depending on the model, this also costs between 100 and 200 dollars – and is no better received by fans than the originals. One fan criticized the jerseys as “absolute garbage” in a widely shared post on Platform X, saying: “It’s cheap. It’s lazy. Honestly, it’s embarrassing. I would feel uncomfortable wearing something like that in the “It would be public, but that’s just my opinion.”
What is particularly popular with all major US media is the players’ and supervisors’ criticism of the mostly long trousers: they can only choose from three standard models, each with five different waist sizes, obviously far too few. Some clubs have not yet received any delivery. The powerful players’ union MLBPA has also gotten involved. “The pants,” said her boss, Tony Clark, caused “general concern.” In addition, some of the pants appear transparent. Jerseys or underpants tucked into the pants can sometimes be clearly seen.