Pitchers and catchers arrived at spring training this week ready to return to the grind of Major League Baseball only to find their lockers filled with jerseys that most Little Leaguers would scoff at.
It seems that even though Nike signed a 10-year jersey deal with MLB, the company has licensed production of the threads out to Fanatics, a manufacturer with notorious quality issues.
Players are now learning in real time about what fans have long experienced it comes to Fanatics products. According to The Athletic’s Stephen J. Nesbitt, the players union is already stepping in:
An airing of sartorial grievances that began earlier this week at the St. Louis Cardinals complex in Jupiter, Fla. has resulted in Nike, which engineered and designed the jerseys, and Fanatics, which manufactured them, facing blowback from big leaguers and baseball fans alike. The complaints prompted players to take their displeasure to their union, and the MLBPA is now involved in relaying the players’ concerns.
Both Nike and Fanatics declined to provide a comment to The Athletic. Fanatics is slated to begin manufacturing jerseys for NHL players next year as well.
It’s unclear what recourse the players have, but elevating the complaints from simple quips in the media to a union issue shows how much contempt there is in the clubhouses.
And the discourse is likely to grow louder. So far most camps have only required pitchers and catchers to report. Position players begin arriving in Florida and Arizona next week. We’ll see what they have to say about their new jerseys once they get a chance to try them on.