OC Register: A look at the 175-year history of baseball uniforms

[AngelsWin.com]

Baseball uniforms have been around 175 years and have undergone some changes. The new version has not been a hit with fans and players, but the league is working its way out of a jam.

The uniforms might be new but they’ve been a long time in the making. Major League Baseball says it’s been six years since the league began working on these uniform changes, gathering input from clubs and players as they looked to optimize the outfits for the best performance possible.

MLB and Nike teamed up in 2019 on a 10-year deal, with the apparel company taking over for Majestic Athletic, which had been making jerseys for the league since 1982.

Pampers or Huggies?

But the pants are the issue. Many players complained that when they wear white tops and white pants, the tucked-in jersey can look like a diaper because the pants are relatively see-through.

Getty Images

A cropped photo of Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes in spring training shows the sheer material of the new uniforms some players are unhappy with.

The plus side

MLB officials say these uniforms improve mobility by providing 25% more stretch and also will dry 28% faster. Nike says they incorporate more recycled material than past uniforms, lowering emissions from manufacturing.

What’s next?

One potential solution is that players could wear last year’s pants until the problems are solved. No decision has been made by the league.

Subtle differences

Paul Lukas of Uni-Watch, a blog dedicated to uniform design, described the 2024 changes: “Stretchier fabric, changing home jerseys from white to a subtle off-white, narrowing the placket (the vertical strip on the front of the shirt upon which the buttons sit), altering the belt loops, moving the MLB logo down on the back of the jersey and reducing the size of the last-name lettering.” Smaller lettering has fans complaining and players perplexed the most.

 

What they cost

There are several price ranges for the new jerseys. The cost of what’s closest to what the players wear would buy you some very good seats to Opening Day.

Nike Vapor Premier Elite Jersey | Authentic jersey, as worn by players on the field. | $355

Nike Vapor Premier Limited Jersey | Inspired by the on-field jersey, it has an embroidered Nike Swoosh, heat-applied twill logos, a woven, heat-applied label, heat-applied sublimated twill player name and number. | $175

Nike Vapor Premier Game Jersey | Replica player jersey with silicone printed heat-transfer front logo, Nike Swoosh and silhouetted batter, screen-printed back player name and number, heat-applied labels. | For purchase soon.

Notable events in baseball uniforms

Sources: Baseball Hall of Fame, Powers Sports Memorabilia, “Today” show, MLBcollectors.com, MLB.com, Uni-watch.com, The Associated Press, Nike

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[Tank]

i don't follow them, but i've seen a post on twitter of a group that hates the new era logo on the hats, so there are pictures of guys taking razor blades  and removing it whenever they buy a new lid.

as for these new uniform changes, several of these changes seem to be made just for the sake of change. there's no practical reason to make the names smaller - because of the red highlights on the cubs jersey above, the name is a blurry mess to read. it looks cheap as can be to have what amounts to an iron-on patch for the team name on the front. 

nike is good at fixing uniform problems that don't exist. i can't imagine dropping almost $400 on one of these. 

[katie]

There’s no issue with the new pants. I saw them up close the Sunday game of our fan fest weekend. Yeah they were see through as hell but I don’t think there’s an issue with that…

[Tank]

14 minutes ago, katie said:

There’s no issue with the new pants. I saw them up close the Sunday game of our fan fest weekend. Yeah they were see through as hell but I don’t think there’s an issue with that…

[Angel Oracle]

Emissions is one of the reasons for the changes?

Oh contrare, the air will be dirtier from all the vomit induced after seeing the new unis.

Edited March 28 by Angel Oracle

[Chico]

Thanks for posting this superb link. 

[Lhalo]

Changing uni’s all the time is just a money grab. Like Tank inferred the latest editions look cheap and there’s no way I’d drop $400-$500 for one of them.