With the baseball season in full swing, the Major League Baseball (MLB) Players Association has announced plans to address the backlash surrounding the new Nike Vapor Premier uniforms. Initially designed to enhance mobility, moisture management, and fit, the uniforms have faced criticism from both players and fans for various issues, such as smaller letter sizes on jerseys and fabric prone to rips and tears. In response to the widespread dissatisfaction, the MLB Players Association released a memo outlining upcoming changes to the uniforms by the start of the 2025 season.
According to the memo, the revisions will include improvements to the pants, such as returning to complete tailoring options, high-quality zippers, and stitching standards to prevent “blowouts.” Additionally, changes to the jerseys will involve larger lettering and addressing concerns related to perspiration challenges. The memo highlighted that the issues with the uniforms were primarily a result of unnecessary innovations by Nike, the manufacturer, which disregarded feedback provided by players during the preview stage in 2022.
The memorandum also sought to shift some of the blame away from licensed sportswear brand Fanatics, who produced the Nike-designed uniforms, emphasizing the importance of soliciting player feedback and buy-in when making significant design changes. The hope is for Nike to take a more collaborative approach in the future when designing sports apparel. In 2019, Nike secured a 10-year deal with MLB worth over $1 billion, taking over from Majestic Athletic as the official uniform manufacturer since 1982.
When questions arose about the critiques in February, Nike defended its design process by mentioning body-scanning over 300 MLB players to achieve the ideal fit and incorporating Dri-Fit ADV technology in the fabric to keep athletes cool during games. Despite the negative reception, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed confidence in the new jerseys, emphasizing their performance-focused design. The upcoming changes to the uniforms aim to address the concerns raised by players and fans and improve the overall quality and functionality of the apparel.