In the spring, as temperatures warm, some people’s thoughts turn to baseball, and other people’s focus is on the fashion trends that will arrive, once winter coats are put away. This year, those interests are combining in interesting ways. The Nike Vapor Premier uniforms that Major League Baseball revealed as the official uniform for the 2024 season have prompted some strong opinions, many of them negative. Nike notes that it designed the uniforms to provide more performance benefits and lightweight functionality, but fans (as well as not a small number of players) note that the jerseys look more cheap and flimsy than lightweight. In addition, the redesigned shirts feature smaller lettering and, for many teams, non-embroidered logos and patches. Such considerations seemingly might not affect how players perform, but for fans who often shell out hundreds of dollars for an authorized jersey, the changes are deeply problematic. They look like “cheap knockoffs” instead of expensive, authentic versions, such that they cannot provide value in terms of signaling status. The smaller lettering also makes it more difficult to stake a visible claim on their back for their favorite player. Furthermore, team loyalties rank among the most powerful brand connections that consumers establish. Receiving a physical product linked to a beloved team brand—even if that product is made by a different brand (Nike) and distributed by yet another brand supplier (usually, Fanatics)—that evokes low quality perceptions is disturbing. Look, it’s hard enough rooting for the Oakland Athletics or Chicago White Sox. Do these poor fans have to deal with unlikeable jerseys too?

Sources: Nathaniel Meyersohn, “Why the New Major League Baseball Jerseys Have Players and Fans Furious,” CNN,February 21, 202