Shohei Ohtani’s pants are latest flub in Nike-Fanatics MLB jersey fiasco
Nike and Fanatics continue to get roasted as more MLB jerseys are unveiled for the upcoming 2024 season.
The jerseys, designed by Nike and manufactured by Fanatics, have been widely panned on social media for a week now, and the criticism is getting louder now that players are reporting to Spring Training.
The latest issue stems from player photoshoots in which jersey tails tucked into a player’s pants are visible, making the pants appear see-through.
Shoehi Ohtani, in his first portraits in a full Dodgers uniform, looks to be wearing transparent pants.
It could be written off as perhaps a bad angle if it were the lone instance, but a Mariners video with catcher Cal Raleigh clearly shows the colors on his jersey beneath his pants.
The latest development comes after the players association griped about the situation.
MLBPA executive director Tony Clark expressed his “frustration” with the jerseys and declared that there were “some misses” in this year’s crop.
There’s been debate about whether Nike or Fanatics is more to blame about the situation.
Last week, UniWatch founder Paul Lukas made the case that the process was effectively under Nike’s control.
“They’re manufacturing the uniforms according to Nike’s design specs,” Lukas wrote. “In other words, Fanatics is basically serving as a subcontractor here. They do what they’re told by their client, and the client is Nike.”
Nonetheless, there’s plenty of blame to go around.
In one instance this week, an X user posted a photo of Mariners infielder Michael Chavis’ jersey in which the number 10 appeared to be irregular.
This post was a screenshot taken from Chavis’ own Instagram stories.
Then, Fanatics customer support responded to the post as if the user were a customer who had an issue when it had been the player’s actual jersey.
Responding last week to a tweet from an X user slamming the changes in this year’s Nationals uniforms, longtime sports business reporter Darren Rovell predicted unprecedented damage control.
“Prediction: MLB is going to step in and stop production before Spring Training ends,” Rovell tweeted. “How this many eyes missed here seems impossible.”
