MLB Is Reportedly Addressing its Uniform Problems

This year, Major League Baseball debuted new uniforms across the league — and then came the backlash. Reaction to Nike’s Vapor Premier uniforms (produced by Fanatics) was not exactly glowing, with one Orioles player telling The Baltimore Banner that “the look of it is like a knockoff jersey from T.J. Maxx.” The uniform pants also quickly became an issue, with many reporting on their see-through quality — which soon reached ubiquitous meme territory.

Now, it seems, the league has read the room and opted for futher changes to the uniforms — though we might not see them before next season. Citing a memo from the MLB Players Association, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that changes to the uniform are on the way. This includes changes to the size of lettering on jerseys, addressing the semi-transparent pants and dealing with what Passan succinctly referred to as “the new Nike jerseys’ propensity to collect sweat.”

The changes should go into effect at the start of the 2025 season “by the latest,” Passan reports.

For those wondering about where the blame for this can be placed, the memo cited Nike as the responsible party. “At its core, what has happened here is that Nike was innovating something that didn’t need to be innovated,” the memo stated.

The memo’s tone towards Fanatics was far more concilatory, hailing the company for “not being afraid to have difficult conversations about jerseys or trading cards.”

MLB Players Complain Their New Fantatics Uniforms Are “See-Through”

Don’t worry. It sounds like changes will be made.

It sounds like baseball fans will be taking in the ill-starred uniforms for at least a few more months. The forthcoming change also begs a question: if a team slumps immediately after the modified uniforms are unveiled, will their fanbase be clamoring for a return to see-through pants and odd sweat distribution?