MLB Officially Announces Sweeping Changes To Unpopular New Jerseys

It's official; Major League Baseball and Nike are already making changes to their widely despised brand-new jerseys.

As spring training started, the league and Nike revealed their brand-new design template for the on-field jerseys…and they were immediately torn to shreds. 

READ: Players And Fans Are Very Unhappy With The New MLB Uniforms

Players complained about the new fabric, saying that the jerseys felt cheap and amateurish compared to previous uniform sets. Fans immediately noticed the, sometimes, comically small lettering for the names on the back of player uniforms. While some versions were less offensive, on the backs of bigger players like Los Angeles Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow, the letters look absurd and like an afterthought.

Other problems were quickly noticed too. The pants appeared to be more see-through than in years past. But perhaps most embarrassing for MLB and Nike, the new fabric used on most teams' away jersey tops resulted in a different shade of gray than the older fabric that was retained for the pants. 

The mismatched colors are clearly noticeable for most teams, especially because the tops have the shinier, newer fabric, while the bottoms appear more matte. 

Detailed view of the jersey of New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge. Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

They also seemed to collect sweat, with Carlos Rodon's soaked-through uniform being the most obvious example.

READ: MLB Jerseys Have A Sweat Problem

None of it was good. Frankly, it's inexcusable for the on-field product for a major sport. But now it's changing.

MLB Jersey Changes An Embarrassment For Nike

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Friday that the league would be making changes to all on-field uniforms, after extensive conversations with the players.

"Player and Club feedback is extremely important to us," Manfred said. "Together with Nike, we listened to our players and as a result, we are addressing their concerns."

According to MLB.com, the Nike uniform set will replace the small letters with larger ones for the 2025 season, as well as bringing back the much-requested individual pant tailoring. For 2024, players had been given one of three choices for pant individualization, an incredibly unpopular change from years past. 

The league's story also said Nike will address the "slight color differences between the jerseys and pants." Though calling the mismatched grays "slight" doesn't inspire confidence. While the lettering won't change until 2025, the mismatched colors are supposedly going to be fixed as soon as the second half of this year. 

"We will continue to work with Nike to make adjustments with the goal of delivering a uniform that looks good and helps MLB players perform at their best," Manfred concluded.

What's most bizarre about this situation is how poorly Nike handled the transition to new fabrics, and how little feedback they received before launch. Sure, the jerseys were used at the All-Star Game in 2023, but the lettering seemed bigger on those uniforms and players likely didn't see the new official team sets until spring training rolled around.

The mismatched gray fabrics also seems like an obvious oversight; different fabrics hold different colors differently, of course the new material would create a discrepancy. And of course, with millions of people watching, it's going to be noticed and derided.

Nike didn't need to reinvent the wheel with the MLB jerseys, just modernize the material, maybe with something similar to what they use for the NFL, and retain a similar letter style to previous years. Instead, it made massive changes. Which were, to use a baseball term, a huge swing and miss.