Fanatics pulls out all the stops for last-second PR reversal on terrible uniforms

Fanatics hasn't had a great year. While it's not entirely their fault -- remember, Fanatics merely distributes Nike's terrible ideas -- the uniforms they delivered (or in some cases could not deliver) to MLB teams were borderline see-through. Spring training and the beginning of the MLB regular season were a disaster for Fanatics, which was typically blamed for the uniforms, rather than Nike or Major League Baseball. And let me be clear -- there's plenty of blame to go around.

Finally, MLB stepped in to address complaints from players and vowed to fix a problem that should have been avoided in the first place. The players association blamed Nike for the small lettering on the back of jerseys, mismatched gray tops and bottoms and more.

"This has been entirely a Nike issue," the memo to players read. "At its core, what has happened here is that Nike was innovating something that didn't need to be innovated."

MLBPA has a partnership with Fanatics, of course, which is a very important footnote to the above statement.

"We cautioned Nike against various changes when they previewed them in 2022, particularly regarding pants," the union memo read. "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.'"

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Fast forward: Fanatics saves face by calling upon a new MLB celebrity

During Fanatics Fest over the weekend, notable MLB celebrity Livvy Dunne -- a former LSU gymnast and social media influencer who is also dating Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes -- dressed as the Bucs NL Rookie of the Year candidate in a Fanatics uniform that, as far as we can tell, doesn't need any modifications.

While one social media stunt won't make up for months of ineptitude, it'll help take the public's mind off, well, terrible uniforms. As long as MLB and MLBPA actually fixed the problem, the beginning of 2024 will go down as another quirky chapter of baseball history.

If not, Livvy Dunne uncorking 99 MPH fastballs with a fake mustache can only distract the public for so long.