The news that everyone has been waiting on is finally here.
ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan reported recently that Major League Baseball plans to work with Nike and their uniform producers to correct changes that have caused plenty of backlash from players, coaches and fans across the league.
Smaller, more rounded lettering on the nameplate across the back, see-through jerseys and pants, and susceptibility to ripping and showing sweat are a few of the immediately apparent problems for the new uniforms.
When the new style was previewed in 2022, the MLB Players Association strongly cautioned MLB on the changes and could see many of these problems years ago.
"We cautioned Nike against various changes when they previewed them in 2022, particularly regarding pants," the union memo read, per Passan. "MLB had been, and has been, aware of our concerns as well. Unfortunately, until recently Nike's position has essentially boiled down to -- 'nothing to see here, Players will need to adjust.'"
Nike's new "Vapor Premium uniform" has altered the look and feel of jerseys across the league. The issues arise at first glance at the new template.
Nike will fix uniforms, but will they repair the damages they did to the Phillies?
Of course, the Philadelphia Phillies were impacted just as much, if not more, than the rest of the league.
After being forced to ditch their get-away red jerseys due to Nike's jersey limit, the Phillies quickly had newfound problems with the rest of the uniforms in their set as well.
When the iconic day-game cream uniforms made their debut earlier in the season, it was easy to tell that the color had changed. They're no longer the light cream color that Phillies fans have seen for years but more of a champagne or even yellow color.
Bryce Harper famously donned an older version of the uniform for at least one game earlier this season when the Phillies were wearing the cream alternates.
The lighter color, combined with the new manufacturing of the uniforms has made it so that the tucked-in jerseys are easily visible through the pants of both the cream alternates and home pinstripes.
What other issues are going on around the league?
While the Phillies have been massively affected by the change, it doesn't stop in Philadelphia.
A problem that has been league-wide is the disparity between the gray color in pants and jerseys for the away teams. Many teams are finding that their tops and bottoms don't match and can be easily seen by spectators.
Oftentimes, players can be seen sweating completely through their uniforms or covered with water due to the poor design of the jerseys and the inability to repel liquid.
MLB is making changes to the new uniforms after weeks of complaints from players and fans, per @JeffPassan
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 28, 2024
The changes will include larger lettering on the back of jerseys, remedying mismatched grey tops and bottoms, and addressing the issue of jerseys collecting sweat pic.twitter.com/pM8xsHCakP
The rounded, smaller lettering on the back of jerseys looks almost kid-like, really questioning the aesthetic appearance of the game. Not only are names harder to read and less visually pleasing, but several players were forced to leave hyphenated names off of their jerseys due to the new styling.
MLB is aware of the problems, and has been since spring training. But what will they do to fix them?
What will Nike change to make the Phillies' uniforms better?
In Passan's report, he notes specifically that changes will be coming before the beginning of the 2025 season and will include fixes to mismatched colors, sweat absorption and the undersized nameplate.
It's unsure whether Nike will address specific issues that individual teams are facing.
The Phillies cream alternates are one of a few team-specific issues, much like the different spacing on the home pinstripes, the added number to the front of the Throwback Thursday powder blues, and the change from chain-stitching on the Phillies wordmark across the front.
While many of these things are minor compared to league-wide issues, they are still problems that can be addressed, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.
With the new age of baseball and the development of more athletic-type material, it's likely that the uniforms will adapt and grow into something that can be beneficial for both the look and feel.