Aug 31, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Bryce Harper (3) on the field before the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Eric Hartline
Major League Baseball announced sweeping uniform changes Monday.
- Players will get to wear their team's uniforms again in the All-Star Game beginning in 2025.
- Additionally, the much-maligned Nike Premier jersey will be receiving changes, including "enlarged letters for player names, embroidered sleeve patches and reverting back to full pant customization."
The smaller font and curving doesn't look quite as bad for a long last name like "Castellanos." But it is brutal looking for a short name like "Soto." @UniWatch @PhilHecken pic.twitter.com/AC9gUtkLHd
- Per the announcement "the changes will begin in 2025 and will be fully implemented by the start of the 2026 season." What is noted is that the gray road uniforms — which have had sweat-stain issues in 2024 — will return to the 2023 fabric and "will be ready for Spring Training."
It sure looks like Bobby Miller had to change jerseys before the fourth inning because he was sweating so much. @UniWatch @PhilHecken pic.twitter.com/UNPxY5jmcu
Some key members of the Phillies and fans around the sport can be credited at least partially with putting pressure on MLB, Nike and Fanatics to make these changes.
Bryce Harper — who was an All-Star for the eighth time in his career this season — expressed a desire for players to get to wear the threads of their team in the Midsummer Classic again.
“If we could change back to that,” Harper said, “I think it would be really cool.”
This is how the All-Star Game is supposed to look, @mlb. pic.twitter.com/a6YOLmS2CZ
From 2021-2024, MLB had NL and AL jerseys designed and worn by all players competing in the game. Those All-Star Game jerseys will still be created and worn by players during the workout day and those who are watching the Home Run Derby. But players competing in the Home Run Derby and those selected to the All-Star Game will again wear the uniform of their team.
As far as we're aware of, Harper didn't make any statements publicly about the Vapor Premier uniforms, which are produced by Fanatics to the specifications of Nike. But he did wear his 2023 cream alternate jersey during a game in mid-April.
It sure looks like Bryce Harper is wearing a pre-2024 cream jersey today. The last name is legible. @PhilliesNation @UniWatch @PhilHecken pic.twitter.com/VXKYvuJS2R
Three of Harper's teammates were very outspoken in their disdain for the new Nike uniforms that were introduced in 2024.
Trea Turner to Steve MeGargee of The Associated Press in February: “I know everyone hates them. We all liked what we had. We understand business, but I think everyone wanted to keep it the same way, for the most part, with some tweaks here or there.”
Matt Strahm in the same AP story: “Don’t fix what’s not broken. The looks of it, it just looks different. The names are smaller on the back.”
Nick Castellanos to Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated: “The problem is that lawyers and businessmen think us young athletes are stupid. So they just tell us whatever and they expect us to believe it, and that’s kind of unfortunate, because it’s not that we’re stupid. We just didn’t go to law school and don’t know how to negotiate business deals. That doesn’t mean that we’re not intelligent. We know when we’re being lied to. Just say straight up, ‘Listen, we wanted to save some money here. This is how much we’re saving with this quality of uniform. An old uniform and the old stitching cost us this much, and we’re saving this amount of money.’ And then our next conversation would be, ‘O.K., if you’re saving that much money, where are you putting it into the game?’”
The reality here is that no one who wasn't receiving a check from MLB, Nike or Fanatics was a fan of these uniforms. Not letting players wear their own uniforms for the All-Star Game was sacrilegious. Public pressure from key players and almost all fans led to action here.
