The sight of Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform was widely anticipated this MLB offseason. Yet, at his introductory press conference last month, something about his Dodger blue attire was unexpectedly striking: the uniform itself.
Specifically, the lettering on the back. It was large, bold – reminiscent of a bygone era.
Whoa, I forgot the letters are gonna be big again pic.twitter.com/0hv2qiWmdB
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) January 23, 2025
In a notable shift for Nike’s Mlb Uniforms, the classic styles are making a comeback. Following the debut of the Nike Vapor Premier uniform last spring – a design that faced such widespread criticism it even earned its own Wikipedia page detailing the 2024 Major League Baseball uniform controversy – Nike is reverting to its pre-2024 design template. This means a return to larger lettering, a more substantial fabric, pants tailored to player preferences, and road gray uniforms that effectively manage sweat, avoiding the unwelcome Rorschach blot effect under stadium lights.
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Spring training commenced on Sunday, with Chicago Cubs pitchers and catchers reporting to Mesa, Arizona. Cubs pitcher Justin Steele, upon retrieving his pinstriped No. 35 jersey, meticulously examined the name on the back, comparing the typeface to images of older uniforms on his phone. “Interesting,” Steele remarked, pondering the nuances of font sizes across different uniform iterations.
Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, a Nike endorser, had previously voiced concerns about the Cubs’ uniform color last spring. However, after extensive discussions between players and Nike, Swanson expressed satisfaction with the current direction.
“We all make mistakes occasionally, and they’re making every effort to restore things to the players’ preferences,” Swanson stated. “I commend them for that. While adjustments may not always happen as swiftly as we’d like, managing a project of this magnitude is undeniably complex.”
The intense backlash against the Vapor Premier uniforms yielded a rare outcome: players and fans collectively achieved their desired result, and perhaps even more. Nike agreed to reinstate the prior uniform specifications, and MLB announced that, starting in 2025, players will once again wear their primary home and road uniforms for the All-Star Game, a tradition that had been discontinued after 2019.
“We value the input of our players and fans; their perspectives are important to us,” affirmed Denis Nolan, MLB’s Senior Vice President of Global Consumer Products, in a recent statement. “In response to last year’s feedback, we are providing the players with the modifications they requested. These changes are being implemented and rolled out beginning this season.”
Nike has reaffirmed that the remediation plan, initially outlined in September, remains on schedule. The 2025 road gray uniforms will utilize the pre-2024 fabric – a thicker material originally introduced by Majestic Athletics, the league’s former uniform provider – with the home whites following suit in 2026. Additional features returning this season include larger player numbers, embroidered sleeve patches, and team-specific custom fonts.
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For players, the reinstatement of customized pant fitting will likely be the most welcome correction. Last spring, Nike’s decision to categorize players into four generic “body-type buckets” instead of providing individual tailoring sparked considerable discontent. (“When I wear my pants,” All-Star closer Carlos Estévez commented last year, “I feel like I’m wearing someone else’s pants.”) Fanatics, the uniform manufacturer, began measuring players in August to prepare for the 2025 uniforms, as confirmed by MLB, and will visit each spring training camp to make necessary adjustments. The league has assured that the uniforms are on track for delivery within the timelines requested by clubs.
Chicago Cubs players Shota Imanaga in new MLB uniform arriving at spring training.
Shota Imanaga and the Cubs arrived at spring training, equipped with the pre-2024-style uniforms in their lockers. (Matt Dirksen / Chicago Cubs/Getty Images)
Nike stated that these changes to uniform details and materials were a direct result of a player survey conducted in partnership with MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association. While Nike did not directly address inquiries about the lessons learned from last year’s uniform issues or what they might have done differently, the company provided the following statement:
“At Nike, we are committed to creating uniforms that not only honor the esteemed legacy of Major League Baseball but also empower athletes to perform at their peak. We have listened attentively to the voices of the players and teams, and we are dedicated to delivering the highest-quality uniforms that effectively meet their needs.
“From reintroducing player-preferred materials and larger lettering to personalized fit and tailoring services, every element is carefully considered. We are committed to upholding the integrity and tradition of the MLB uniform while also pursuing innovation to ensure every player feels confident and prepared as they take the field.”
Nike’s $1 billion agreement to be MLB’s official uniform supplier spans from 2020 through 2029. For the initial four years, the uniforms largely mirrored the designs of the previous supplier, Majestic Athletics, with the addition of a Nike swoosh. The Vapor Premier marked Nike’s first significant design overhaul of MLB uniforms. The jersey was promoted as lightweight, breathable, stretchier, moisture-wicking, and form-fitting. Nike-sponsored athletes enthusiastically endorsed these features.
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However, many other players openly criticized the new uniforms, expressing dissatisfaction with their look, feel, and color accuracy. During MLBPA leadership’s spring training camp visits, executive director Tony Clark was compelled to bring player complaints to the league’s attention.
Initially, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred defended Nike in February, asserting that the Vapor Premier had undergone “more rigorous testing than any jersey in any sport” and that player feedback at the 2023 All-Star Game was “uniformly positive.” He optimistically predicted, “I believe that once people wear them for a while, they will become very popular.”
This prediction proved inaccurate. The narrative quickly transcended the sports realm, becoming a topic of discussion on national platforms like NBC’s “Today” and NPR’s “All Things Considered,” evolving into a broader conversation about rising corporate profits and declining product quality. As public scrutiny intensified, further issues emerged. Sweat stains became highly visible on the road gray uniforms. Discrepancies in color between the gray tops and pants were noted. A modification in stitch count along the pant seam resulted in a tear during a player’s slide into home plate. Fans, and even players’ spouses (as seen on social media), began observing that the pants appeared excessively translucent. (However, sources involved in the design and manufacturing process clarified that the pant fabric itself remained unchanged from when Majestic was the uniform supplier.)
Carlos Rodon MLB uniform sweat stains during a game.
Visible sweat stains were a prominent issue with the 2024 uniforms, as exemplified by Carlos Rodon pitching in Houston last spring. (Tim Warner / Getty Images)
Much of the public criticism was directed at Fanatics, the apparel giant that has manufactured MLB uniforms since acquiring Majestic in 2017. At the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference last year, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin clarified his company’s position: “We have simply been executing instructions – we’ve been assured we’ve done everything correctly – yet we are facing considerable backlash daily.”
Rubin later told The Athletic, “For someone in the public eye in business, some level of criticism is expected. However, the intensity of the negativity surrounding the baseball uniforms was perhaps 100 times greater than all the collective criticism we’ve faced in our company’s history.”
Rubin’s stance was subsequently supported by both MLB and the MLBPA: the uniform issues were attributed to Nike’s design choices. “[Nike was] innovating on something that didn’t require innovation,” stated an MLBPA memo to players.
Nike has repeatedly declined interview requests from The Athletic over the past year, including recently, to discuss the development process of their MLB uniforms. However, in May, less than three months after Manfred’s prediction of player popularity, Nike executives addressed MLB’s spring owners meetings to issue an apology and outline their plan to reverse the uniform innovations.
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“I believe they appropriately acknowledged responsibility for the issues related to the new uniforms and their rollout,” Manfred stated. He added, “I viewed it as a positive step. It’s beneficial to hear directly from the individuals involved. And again, it’s commendable that Nike took ownership of the situation.”
The process of rectifying these issues will extend into 2026, leaving less than four years remaining on Nike’s current contract with MLB. It remains uncertain whether Nike intends to introduce another round of uniform innovations. Nike has stated that their current focus is on the upcoming two seasons and that they will continue to seek player input on uniform decisions moving forward.
“Wearing a Major League uniform is a privilege,” Swanson reflected. “It’s almost sacred, isn’t it? It’s an honor to wear a big-league uniform. I believe certain aspects of that are non-negotiable. (Nike is) clearly making the necessary adjustments to restore it to that standard.”
When the Vapor Premier was initially unveiled last spring, Nike announced three retail tiers: an authentic jersey, an on-field inspired jersey, and a replica. Last week, Nike declined to comment on whether the Vapor Premier template would continue to be sold at retail in 2025. The impact of the Vapor Premier’s unpopularity on 2024 retail sales remains unknown; Fanatics has not disclosed sales figures.
In Mesa, as Cubs players prepared for their first workout, uniforms were not a prominent topic of discussion. At least on day one, it appears that clothing will not be the central narrative of this spring training.
“It needed to be addressed,” Swanson concluded, “and it was addressed. Everything is good now.”
— The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney contributed reporting.
(Top photo of Eli Morgan: Rick Scuteri / Imagn Images)
