Twenty years ago, after blowing a crucial playoff lead to the Minnesota Twins, Juan Rincón described the feeling with baseball’s all-time blunder: “Nobody wants to be in my pants right now. . ”
No one seems to want to wear any pair of baseball pants these days. Major league players reported to spring training this week that they can no longer order their pants and that their new style jerseys (designed by Nike and manufactured by Fanatics) do not meet major league standards.
as Athletic team Stephen J. Nesbitt wrote that players across the league “criticized the jerseys for their poor fit, cheap appearance, inconsistent quality and small font size.”
sigh. MLB can’t help itself, and it’s getting worse.
In 2019, during the embarrassing Players’ Weekend, they staged an all-white-on-all-black uniform series that was reminiscent of the “spies on spies” of old Mad magazine. The next year, they had Nike put its logo on the front of every jersey as part of a 10-year deal worth more than $1 billion.
Then there’s the “City Connect” jersey, if you’re wondering what your favorite player would look like with a blueberry, cloud or license plate.All-star game, always color array Players wearing regular team uniforms became a three-hour commercial for GM’s Nike jerseys.
Now this.
Baseball’s relationship with Negi is like George trying to befriend Elaine’s cool boyfriend on Seinfeld. He wore his hat backwards and went rock climbing, unable to hide his fascination. He longs to be a playboy, but he’s still Costanza.
That’s not to say baseball should be dull. Last season’s rule changes made the product more dynamic and attractive. Many other initiatives – the annual Little League Classic, the Dream Series, the “MLB The Show” video game, the comprehensive, user-friendly MLB app – also help grow the game.
But baseball doesn’t seem to understand its own visual appeal. Let other leagues lower jersey prices through advertising. Baseball should be above this, but the final collective bargaining agreement allows teams to sell advertising space on uniforms. So now the Atlanta Braves wear a sleeve patch depicting a yellow bag of concrete mix, the Toronto Blue Jays come at you with a neon green square for a bank, and the Houston Astros sport a garish patch for Oxy – the energy producer, not the drug.
When Rob Manfred became commissioner in 2015, he said he had no intention of allowing advertising on jerseys. Of course, things have changed, and Manfred is at least honest about a 2022 reversal: “It’s a significant enough revenue stream that it’s really impossible for a sport to ignore in the long run. I think that’s what it is.” “
Of course, this is a business. But just because you can make money selling stuff doesn’t mean you should. There are several teams that won’t sell naming rights to their stadiums because continuity and tradition are more valuable. It’s still Dodger Stadium, not Guggenheim Park. It’s still Yankee Stadium, not Starr Insurance Park.
Manfred’s approach to All-Star uniforms reflects Nike’s belief that it can do no wrong.
“I never thought that the idea of a baseball team wearing different jerseys during a game would be particularly attractive to us,” he said in 2022. “I know people may have different opinions on the topic, but it’s Part of a larger plan to market the game in non-traditional ways.”
That’s fine, but why hide the player’s identity? The All-Star Game is supposed to be a showcase, and the regular season uniforms give a simple clue: “Oh, by the way, he’s the guy who did well for the Marlins…” If everyone looks the same, you’ll miss the connection.
Manfred reiterated his confidence in Nike during Thursday’s Grapefruit League media day.
“I think you know, in baseball, with any new initiative there’s going to be some negative feedback. First and foremost, these are Nike jerseys,” Manfred said. “We have a partnership with Nike. Who they are, what products they make, and what they have done for us so far has been absolutely 100% successful.
“The jerseys are different. They’re designed to be functional garments, not traditional garments. So they’ll be different. But they’ve been tested more extensively than any jersey in any sport. Last year’s All-Star Game, players The feedback from them has been unanimously positive. I think once people wear them for a while, they’ll become very popular.”
The 2024 jerseys have player names in noticeably smaller font. Obviously, this just makes it harder to know who we’re looking at. How could this be a good thing?
“Look at the last name, man,” Angels reliever Carlos Estevez said. “I’m 6 feet 6 inches tall. This would look small to me.”
A comparison of last year’s and this year’s replica jersey offerings from the fine folks at MLB, Nike, and Fanatics. Last year it was on the left, this year it’s on the right.
I have a lot to say, so please bear with me.
Let’s rip off the Band-Aid immediately and put on this year’s new jersey pic.twitter.com/3IShlj0nL
— Bobby Mullins (@TheBobbyMullins) February 11, 2024
Hey, maybe the players — many with Nike sponsorship deals — will change their minds once they play a few games. Maybe, over time, the jersey stops looking like the replica you bought when you want to save money but still want to look somewhat authentic.
But the basic concept remains. Under Nike, baseball is trying to force all of these stylistic changes instead of letting them happen naturally. Consider uniform trends from the past few decades and how they reflect the times:
In the 1970s, color television led to brightly colored uniforms. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, things were becoming more conservative—tie jerseys, belts, white at home and gray on the road, and the nostalgic trend was reflected in the retro baseball craze.
The Marlins won the 1997 World Series wearing sleeveless white jerseys. (AP Photo/Eric Draper)
In the 1990s, Major League Baseball (MLB) added four expansion teams, two of which, the Florida Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks, soon won the seventh game wearing sleeveless jerseys. World Series Champion. All expansion teams wore black (with a combination of purple and/or teal) – black became a popular color, with the Mets, Blue Jays, Royals, Athletics and others jumping on board.
During the 2010s, teams increasingly turned to alternative jerseys, which often became their de facto primary look. Four consecutive seasons ended with the World Series champions wearing colored jerseys: 2016 Cubs, 2017 Astros, 2018 Red Sox and 2019 Nationals.
Luckily, pants are still available in white or gray. Then City Connect came along and now we see the White Sox, Pirates, Mariners, Reds, Rangers and Orioles all wearing black pants. The Astros and Cubs both wear navy blue, while the Diamondbacks sometimes wear all-yellow uniforms. We are going back to the worst days of the 1970s.
Some teams have given substantial updates to classic looks. Over the past decade or so, the Orioles, Brewers, Blue Jays, Padres, Astros and Rangers have all streamlined throwback styles from their glory days to honor their heritage in fashion-forward ways .
But when the league got involved, it was all too fast — an assault on the eyes in a sport that can and should be a visual treat.
(Above photo of Giants pitcher Juan Sanchez: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
