Fanatics MLB jersey drama reaches alarming new low thanks to Mariners
Over the past few days, MLB players and even the players union have complained about the caliber of MLB's new jerseys via Fanatics.
By Mark Powell
While Fanatics surely doesn't deserve all the blame for their MLB jersey fiasco, the company has been the target of constant criticism from fans and players alike.
It should be noted that Fanatics has been and remains the production partner of the jerseys since 2020, with Nike handling design and development, according to the league's press release upon the partnership's inception in 2019. Still, in the end they are at least partially responsible for their product. There is no denying this, especially if the product is subpar.
On Tuesday, the MLBPA stepped in, suggesting there were some 'misses' on the part of Fanatics and Nike.
“Any time there’s change, there’s an adjustment period. Sometimes that adjustment period goes well, sometimes not so much. In this instance, there appear to be some misses that could have otherwise not been misses,” Clark said. “We are on the phone with the requisite parties that are involved in making that decision because we aren’t. We’re trying to make sure our guys have what they need in the fashion that they need it. And it’s reflective of what being a major-league ballplayer should be reflective of."
Seattle Mariners new Fanatics uniforms need a lot of work
Shortly thereafter, Michael Chavis became the latest player to publicly complain about his jersey. The Seattle Mariners infielder posted the following on Instagram, per a screenshot posted by a fan.
lmao Fanatics' new jerseys are so trash that their customer service team is responding "oops, that looks wrong, please contact us so we can replace your screwed-up jersey order" not realizing they're replying to... a photo of an actual MLB player's actual MLB uniform pic.twitter.com/LXQSRLXdHK
— ℳatt (@matttomic) February 21, 2024
Assuming the screenshot hasn't been doctored, Fanatics responded to Chavis directly asking to remedy the situation.
The pants on certain uniforms have also taken a step back, it would seem. A shot of Mariners player Cal Raleigh showed his white pants as basically see-through.
WHAT DID FANATICS DO TO THE PANTS https://t.co/srCcamp0aR pic.twitter.com/gxssmszzqy
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) February 21, 2024
While it's understandable that fans are upset about the quality of their replica jerseys -- not every company can bat 1.000 -- the players themselves ought to receive top-notch products. Surely the league knows this and will remedy is shortly.
Some of the Fanatics/Nike controversy has been overblown. That's natural with any new product. The rollout, in this case, has not gone according to plan.
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