If spring training 2024 will be remembered for anything, it might not be singularly defined by the large free agent market that continues to remain unsigned nearly two weeks into game action. The ongoing dissatisfaction with Nike's new uniforms from players has yet to die down.
We all know the narrative by now. Uniform tops with players' names so small on the nameplate they could double as eye tests at the local Department of Motor Vehicles. Pants that are so see-through that — well, this is a family baseball website, and we won't go there.
Philadelphia Phillies players have been critical from the opening of camp, showing that it's not just the fans who are in disbelief over these supposed "upgrades" to baseball performance wear. Nike and Fanatics have been roasted over the last few weeks by players and fans alike for these cheap-looking uniforms. It's becoming clear that this entire PR nightmare was probably avoidable.
Instead of coming up with a solution, MLB and Nike have doubled down. MLB's most recent response is that the pants are the exact same as last year — a statement most don't believe.
“The uniform pants have the same material and thickness as the uniform pants used last season,” MLB told the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). “There were changes to the fabric of the jersey, not the pants.”
Nick Castellanos has scathing words for MLB lawyers in response
Stephanie Apstein from Sports Illustrated recently spoke with a number of Phillies players about their feelings toward the new jerseys. Unsurprisingly, all who spoke with Apstein for this piece were more than critical regarding how MLB has handled this situation.
To put it mildly, Nick Castellanos was not happy.
“The problem is that lawyers and businessmen think us young athletes are stupid,” said Castellanos per Apstein. “So they just tell us whatever and they expect us to believe it, and that’s kind of unfortunate, because it’s not that we’re stupid. We just didn’t go to law school and don’t know how to negotiate business deals. That doesn’t mean that we’re not intelligent."
"We know when we’re being lied to," added Castellanos. "Just say straight up, ‘Listen, we wanted to save some money here. This is how much we’re saving with this quality of uniform. An old uniform and the old stitching cost us this much, and we’re saving this amount of money.’ And then our next conversation would be, ‘O.K., if you’re saving that much money, where are you putting it into the game?’”
The ongoing controversy over these Nike uniforms is starting to get heated. It will be interesting to see if the MLB Players Association and Major League Baseball can work together and fix some of these issues before the Phillies take the field on Opening Day.