The new MLB uniforms designed by Nike and produced by Fanatics have drawn criticism for being see-through, particularly in the pant region.
Multiple photos of players showed a lack of opacity, including images of Casey Schmitt, Scott Barlow, Shohei Ohtani, and Cal Raleigh.
While the uniforms were meant to use lighter materials, they have revealed more than intended.
It’s insane how cheap the MLB pants are now. Fanatics what are we doing, we can see his jersey tucked in through his pants 😂 pic.twitter.com/GwwGfYbZY5
— Marc Luino (@GiraffeNeckMarc) February 21, 2024
MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark expressed frustration that the uniforms have become a distraction.
Players have complained the pants are too tight and resemble “knockoff” or “replica” gear rather than authentic uniforms.
“It’s disappointing that we’ve landed in a place where the uniforms are the topic of discussion,” MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark said. “Each conversation with the guys is yielding more information with what we’re seeing.”
There have certainly been issues with the rollout of #Nike's new 2024 baseball uniforms — see through pants, tiny player names, no more embroidered patches… so I reached out to #MLB to find out why these changes were made.
Here's what I learned: https://t.co/dc38zKzNHy pic.twitter.com/XnFx5ffBMH
— Chris Creamer | SportsLogos.Net (@sportslogosnet) February 26, 2024
“A lot of the rhetoric is confirmation that the pants are see-through,” Clark said. “It’s been an ongoing conversation where each day has yielded something new that doesn’t seem to make as much sense as you would like it.”
“Even I thought the last few years they haven’t been as stretchy,” Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle said. “But definitely this year you can notice the fabric is just a little tighter than we’re used to.
“I think the consensus is they’re not too great. … I know a lot of the guys don’t really like them.”
MLB has defended the quality of the uniforms produced by Fanatics at their facilities.
“In acquiring Majestic and its MLB uniform manufacturing facilities in Easton, PA — which have been making player uniforms for nearly two decades — Fanatics has consistently produced world-class uniforms, including every Nike-branded MLB on-field jersey and all City Connect gear since 2020,” MLB senior vice president of global consumer products Denis Nolan said.
