In 1991, Right Said Fred declared “I’m too sexy for my shirt.” This year, MLB’s home white uniform pants might be too sexy for the players. In a growing list of complaints about the league’s newly issued Fanatics jerseys, yesterday, executive director of the MLB Players Union, Tony Clark, said they have told him the pants’ eggshell color is so light that shirttails and undergarments are visible.
“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.”
Please Bring Back MLB’s One-Game Playoff
MLB added the one-game Wild Card game in 2012 to drive excitementPer ESPN, Clark also remarked that because the fabric of the jersey tops is so light, it’s a “challenge” to have traditionally sized number and letter patches placed onto them. (There has also been discontent that the patches are hot-pressed onto the tops instead of sewn in.) The result? Players have said the jerseys look “amateurish.”
“Hopefully, we can get something done over the course of the next six weeks of spring training because I’d hate to be in a place where we’re still having conversations about some of the challenges we’re having in that regard once the lights come on for real,” Clark said, per Front Office Sports.
Last week, after the more initial concerns arose, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred publicly supported the jerseys. He acknowledged that the jersey material is “different” and was designed as “performance wear.” He added that they had been “tested more extensively than any jersey in the sport,” and when they were previewed at last year’s All-Star Game, players had a “uniformly positive” response.
“I think after people wear them a little bit, they’re going to be really popular,” Manfred also said.
So far, that hasn’t come to pass. If anything, as players have tried them on, they’ve been critical of the fit.
Fanatics has been described as a “quasi-monopoly” and is frequently in the crosshairs of consumer ire. In his remarks, Manfred referred to the new threads as products of “Nike,” but while MLB is in a partnership with the company on jersey production, Nike licensed those rights to Fanatics in 2020.
Now, MLB players are getting a taste of what consumers have been complaining about for years. Seattle Mariners infielder Michael Chavis, who wears number “10,” posted an image of one of his jerseys with a painfully misaligned “0” to Instagram. An X user screenshot the story and posted it to their account. Then, Fanatics’ customer support appears to have responded to the post as though the user was an ordinary customer.
“Hey there,” began a representative identifying themself as “Kyle.” “[I]t looks like we dropped the ball on this one. Send me a DM so I can learn more about this!”
All Kyle has to do is read the relentless headlines of complaints from fans and, now, professional athletes to learn whatever he needs.
More Like This
Whether you’re looking to get into shape, or just get out of a funk, The Charge has got you covered. Sign up for our new wellness newsletter today.
