Nike’s MLB Uniform Launch Reaches New Level of Frustration: Pants Shortage | Top Vip News

by

[ad_1]

By Stephen J. Nesbitt, Patrick Mooney and C. Trent Rosecrans

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – When players entered the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse Thursday morning, they found white and gray baseball pants on their locker chairs. More pants were piled up on a table in the middle of the room, and a message on a monitor above asked players to try them on. As he did so, he experienced the familiar sensation of putting on an old pair of pants.

Because that’s exactly what they are.

Among the many issues surrounding the release of Nike’s new MLB uniform this spring is a shortage of pants. Some teams are reusing pants from previous seasons, made by Nike or Majestic, Major League Baseball’s former uniform supplier, because they do not have enough new Nike pants for all players and uniformed personnel. The Reds have told players to plan to wear their old pants for the rest of spring training.

“The universal concern,” said MLBPA executive director Tony Clark, “is the pants.”

Nike did not respond directly to questions, but provided The Athletic his first statement since player complaints first emerged last week.

“We always put the athlete at the center of everything we do,” Nike’s statement said. “We worked closely with MLB players, teams and the league to create the most advanced uniforms in MLB history, which are lighter and more flexible.

“The quality and performance of our product is of utmost importance to us. “We will continue to work with MLB, the players and our manufacturing partner to address player uniforms.”

Through a spokesperson, Major League Baseball also issued a statement. “Like every spring training, Fanatics team services, Nike and MLB representatives are visiting camps to meet with all players, conduct uniform fitting sessions with them and get their feedback on how their uniforms fit,” reads the MLB statement. “Based on player requests, adjustments are being made to the jersey size, waist, inseam, length, thigh fit and bottom of their pants.

“The goal of these meetings is to provide players with the most comfortable uniforms available for Opening Day. “We are in close contact with our clubs and kit partners to ensure clubs have what they need for opening day.”

As Clark and players union officials tour spring training, they continue to hear widespread complaints. After meeting with Chicago Cubs players Thursday morning in Mesa, Arizona, Clark acknowledged, “It’s disappointing that we’ve gotten to a place where uniforms are a topic of discussion.” Even the negative comments about the uniforms don’t focus on a single issue.

“Every conversation with the guys generates more information,” Clark said. “A lot of the rhetoric (Wednesday) was confirmation that it looks like the pants are see-through.”

But a broader problem — beyond the see-through nature, design changes, inconsistent quality and fit issues that players have complained about — is the lack of pants available for teams to issue.

“There are teams that have pants and jerseys,” Clark said. “There are some teams that don’t have pants. There are other teams that are supposed to receive certain things before the year starts. There are others who, in case they have a problem with their pants and a player needs a new pair, they have nothing in reserve.”

Nike entered into a 10-year deal as MLB’s official uniform supplier ahead of the 2020 season. Fanatics has produced Nike jerseys since 2020 in the same Easton, Pennsylvania, factory where Majestic’s uniforms were made. A spokesperson for Fanatics, which makes the uniforms but is not involved in design or engineering, declined to comment.

In his Grapefruit League speech last week, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred defended Nike and its new uniform, praising the company’s track record and players’ concerns.

“I think after people use them for a while, they will be very popular,” he said.

Yet when spring training games begin, players and coaches still put on old pants, some by choice, others by necessity.

So far, one National League star has refused to wear the new pants. One American League star had a Goldilocks experience with his fit: too tight in one place, too loose in another, perfect in a third place. A coach tried on the new Nike uniform on the first day of practice, then went home and found an old pair that he has worn ever since. One player who wears stirrups lamented that he can choose to cut his pants high or low, but nothing in between. On Wednesday, one club received just one set of the new Nike pants; the game, coincidentally, they were supposed to wear for official photo day.

In previous years, players were kitted out early in spring training and could request all types of customization, receiving the final customized product a few weeks before Opening Day. Now, according to several players who have recently been fitted, requests to remove the fabric an inch on the thigh or bicep are being rejected. Instead, players are categorized by four body types, based on body scanning of more than 300 players that Nike and Fanatics conducted last spring, and are given three options (a slimmer, regular and looser fit) with five different trouser openings. Nike will adjust the length of the sleeves and pants, but will not adapt specific areas.

While starting the first Cactus League game on Thursday, Padres starter Joe Musgrove wore last year’s pants. When asked when he would receive the new ones, Musgrove responded, “Hopefully by opening day.” Musgrove recalled trying on the new Nike jersey, called the Nike Vapor Premier, for the first time last spring. He said the samples provided were not the right length for each player, making it difficult to assess the fit at the time.

“Pants are pants,” Musgrove said. “Let’s use them. If they don’t fit well, you’ll fix it. It is not the most important. … Honestly, our job is to go out and play baseball. So you can fuck all you want about not liking pants, but you have to deal with it.”

Some players are concerned that if Nike cannot supply enough pants to meet clubs’ current needs, players will not be able to wear them during the weeks leading up to the regular season.

“The guys are going to be angry,” the player said. “You don’t want to worry about those bulls…on opening day.”

“It’s like… a show,” another player echoed.

Reds catcher Luke Maile doesn’t mind the new uniform. Fits well. He feels good. He is frustrated because the uniform problem persists and the people responsible for cleaning up the mess are the clubhouse managers. They are left to reequip the players and rummage through storage rooms to find enough old pants to equip the squad.

“I think the biggest misconception right now is that it’s not just the players who are complaining and being prima donnas about the pants they wear,” Maile said. “We work with our clubhouse assistants every day. “They handle pretty much everything in our lives, and the amount of work they’ve had to put in, just to see this kind of failure is pretty disappointing, not just on our part, but on them as well.”

Nike stated in a statement last week that the new jersey was in development over several years. The jerseys were shown to teams during 2022 spring training. according to MLB.com, and the players’ union also reviewed the uniforms. Clark confirmed that conversations about new uniforms go back “a couple of years,” however, he does not believe the union’s suggestions have been heeded.

“We offered feedback, suggested what the challenges would be, and they needed to be remedied from the beginning. They weren’t,” Clark said. “There was an announcement from Nike and the league (last week), and all of a sudden you start hearing from guys what they’re seeing on the field. (There were) very few responses.

“That’s why I say it’s been an ongoing conversation in which something new has come up every day that doesn’t seem to make as much sense as we’d like.”

It’s unclear if Nike intends to make uniform changes before Opening Day. Clark said some of the design changes are understandable; The thinner, lighter performance fabric of the Nike Vapor Premier, for example, requires the introduction of smaller numbers and letters on the jersey.

“However, in the feedback we received, some guys are disappointed with the tops,” Clark said. “Other guys will work on it.”

Pants are a major concern for most players, Clark said. “But I’m not sure what the solution may be or how quickly we can get there.”

The Reds kept a stash of old pants on hand in case there were problems with the uniform. They also wear red tops during spring training, so in their case, wearing old pants won’t clash with the new tops (which are slightly off-white). No one is sure what will happen on Opening Day, but the Reds at least have a solution for a month.

Maile made it clear that she doesn’t expect perfection, just pants.

“Will we make it work? Of course,” she said. “Was the old way better? Probably. But I repeat, man, our job is to be able to compete. That’s what we have to do. “We will do it in whatever way it takes.”

— The AthleticDennis Lin contributed to this report.

(Reds pitchers and catchers in spring training: Kareem Elgazzar / The Enquirer / USA Today)

Leave a Comment