After months of complaints from fans and players, Nike is expected to change several elements of its new Major League Baseball uniforms by the start of the 2025 season, according to a memo obtained Sunday.
The MLB Players’ Association memo to players said that after weeks of conversations with the league and its official uniform supplier, Nike, the union “received[d] indications”, the following changes will be made: return to larger letters on jersey tops and pants, bringing back the previous sewing options, number of stitches and higher quality zipper that were in place in 2023 .
Plus, as Nike already said Athleticismthe memo says Nike is working to find solutions for the teams’ mismatched gray uniforms and sweat stains visible through the jerseys.
“This is entirely a Nike issue,” the memo said. “Basically what happened here was that Nike was innovating something that didn’t need to be innovated.”
It is worth emphasizing what the memo is and is not. Above all, this is not a direct commitment from Nike. (Nike did not respond to a request for comment.) It is the union that informs players of perceived progress toward that end. This is also not a promise to return to uniforms from previous seasons. The Nike Vapor Premier is here to stay, when it comes to the fabric and overall design of the jersey.
Nike released the Vapor Premier this spring, after first showing it off during the 2023 All-Star Game, and was met with immediate blowback. Fans tore apart some of the designs, including the oddly small name on the back. Players blasted the pants’ fitting process and the cheap feel of the fabric.
Once the season started, sweat stains appeared, road grays were identified as having different tones and pants. started to blow along the seam – apparently due to a change in the number of stitches. (One issue not mentioned in the memo is the see-through nature of the pants, as, as previously noted, well-placed sources claim that the fabric of the pants has not changed this year, although some small details like the zipper and the belt loops have done so.)
“We warned Nike about various changes when they previewed them in 2022, particularly regarding pants,” the memo said. “MLB was and has been equally aware of our concerns. Unfortunately, until recently, Nike’s position was essentially “nothing to see here, players will have to adapt.”
MLB and the MLBPA declined to comment.
By placing the blame on Nike, the MLBPA continued to support Fanatics, the manufacturer of the uniforms. For months, as more and more problems arose with the new uniforms, the Fanatics drew much of the public’s ire for the mess. The MLBPA has repeatedly publicly absolved Fanatics, which it did again in Sunday’s memo: “Fanatics has been, and continues to be, an excellent partner with the players and has manufactured the uniforms over the past eight last few years without any problem.” Besides its partnership with MLB and Nike, Fanatics also has a lucrative licensing deal with the players union, and the MLBPA has invested in Fanatics.
Fanatics declined to comment.
“Fanatics has been and continues to be an excellent partner to the players and has been manufacturing the uniforms for eight years without issue,” the memo said. “Fanatics recognizes the vital importance of soliciting player feedback, getting buy-in and not being afraid to have difficult conversations about jerseys or trading cards.
“We hope that in the future Nike will take a similar approach.”
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(Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)