Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin is pushing back at the backlash his company has received in light of the new MLB uniforms that have been widely lampooned.
The uniforms were designed by Nike and manufactured by Fanatics, and issues with them have ranged from being generally shoddy looking to smaller letters for last names to pants that appear to be see-through.
Rubin spoke at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Friday and was of the belief that his company is unfairly taking the blame.
“We’ve purely been doing exactly as we’re told — we’ve been told we’ve done everything exactly right — and we’re getting the s–t kicked out of ourselves every day right now,” Rubin said, as covered by The Athletic.
“That’s not fun. Normally when I get beat up it’s because I actually did something wrong.”
He reiterated the previously reported claim that Fanatics was manufacturing the uniforms in accordance with precise instructions from Nike.
“In this particular case, Nike designs everything, hands us a spec and says, ‘Make this,’” Rubin continued. “We have made everything exactly to the spec. Nike and baseball would say, yes, you’ve done everything we’ve asked you to do. Part of changing a uniform is people get uncomfortable, and it takes time (to adjust).”
The MLB Players Association has been among the chorus of detractors to the new designs, and Rubin acknowledged that perhaps not enough of the players were on board before dramatic changes were made.
“They got certain players on board, not all players on board,” Rubin revealed. “When you change something so old and so nostalgic, you need everyone to be on board with it.”
He was of the belief that once people get used to the new uniforms, they will be considered an improvement over the past.
