ALEXANDER THOMAS: CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The 2024 MLB season is one to be looking forward to. Players are more talented than ever, and new records are being set every year. One thing holding the MLB back is the new Nike Vapor jerseys manufactured by Fanatics. Players and fans have started to speak out about this problem because of the uniforms’ poor quality and cheap look.
Players around the league have expressed their frustrations with the new look. Taylor Ward, a Los Angeles Angels outfielder, told The Athletic, “It feels kind of like papery.” when asked about the materials of the new jerseys. According to the Associated Press, Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner says the following.
“I know everyone hates them,” and “We all liked what we had.”
He talks about how the players wanted little change from the new Nike uniforms.
The jerseys are just one thing that has had a backlash; the pants might be even more of a problem. Some teams’ pants are completely see-through, causing lots of silly-looking pictures of the players where we can see the jersey tucked into the pants or, in some cases, their underwear.
Pitchers are also not happy with these new pants. Many are talking about how, in previous years, you could get your pants tailored, but Nike has now made it so that is not an option.
The original goal for these new uniforms was to give players more mobility, moisture management and a more breathable fit, which explains the thin, stretchy materials. These sound like innovative ideas for a new jersey until you see what they look like.
Not only do these jerseys look cheaper, but they are going to be more expensive than they were in the past. It’s rumored that baseball stadiums will be charging around $400 for a replica jersey, while replicas were no more than $200 in the past.
Some of these jerseys do not even have embroidered patches, like in the past. They are heat-applied patches that help create a cheap, knock-off look that should not make the jersey more expensive.
Michael Rubin, CEO of Fanatics, has defended the company, saying to the Associated Press,
“We’re purely doing exactly what we’ve been told, and we’ve been told we’re doing everything exactly right.”
There is not much reason to blame Fanatics. Fanatics have been making the uniforms since 2017, and there has been no problem since Nike started designing them.
Even though the new uniforms are not great looking, more is needed to deter people from watching baseball.
There is still some notable talent to be watched in the MLB you would not want to miss. Whether it is Ronald Acuna putting up another historic 40/70 season or Aaron Judge breaking more home run records, there is no doubt that 2024 will be a fun year of baseball.
alexantm23@bonaventure.edu
