Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — It’s not the biggest news in the world. No, the Berlin Wall did not fall, but an injustice is going to be righted. The universally panned Nike uniform template is going to undergo major revisions, according to a memo obtained by ESPN.
According to a report filed by the nework’s Jeff Passan, the biggest changes to the current design will include a return to larger lettering on the back of jerseys, fixing mismatched grey tops and bottoms, and doing something about the new Nike jersey’s nasty habit of getting soaked with sweat.
Passan’s information comes from a memo distributed to players by the MLB Players Association on Sunday. “This has been entirely a Nike issue,” the memo to players said. “At its core, what has happened here is that Nike was innovating something that didn’t need to be innovated.”
Almost everyone who didn’t have a deal with Nike ragged on the uniforms as not only being bland and uninteresting with their lettering, but being almost unwearable. Shots emerged during spring training of guys whose packages were being given a little too much visibility through the sheer material of the new pants. Other pics showed up of players absolutely drenched in sweat, even though we’re still in April. It was, um, not a good look.
The union made clear that this was almost entirely a Nike issue, even though manufacturer, Fantatics had taken a lot of heat for the look and feel of the garments saying the company “recognizes the vital importance of soliciting Player feedback, obtaining Player buy-in and not being afraid to have difficult conversations about jerseys or trading cards. Our hope is that, moving forward, Nike will take a similar approach.”
When I heard that the omnipresent swoosh was going to be added to the jerseys a couple of years ago, I made sure to buy one without it before the new ones went on sale. It’s already bad enough that every team has to become a walking billboard for a shoe company, but it’s good that something will finally be done about the look at feel of these horrid things. So, Dodger fans, there should be new and better uniforms on your team by next Spring Training at the latest. So I’m not telling you to NOT buy one right now, but good things come to those who wait, children.
Thank the baseball gods for this change! Now, let’s get some hits with runners in scoring position.
