MLB executives defend new jerseys after backlash: 'Everything was performance-driven'

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Major League Baseball's new jerseys are not getting a warm welcome.

Nike’s new on-field Vapor Premier uniforms for the 2024 MLB season were recently revealed as pitchers and catchers reported for spring training.

While some players have given mixed reviews on the jerseys, highlighting that they do feel better, fans have ripped Nike for their looks.

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Eloy Jiménez, #74 of the Chicago White Sox, poses for a portrait during Photo Day at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 21, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Pitchers Rich Hill and Miles Mikolas said they look "cheap," as the last names on the back, and numbers on the front, are noticeably smaller. There also have been viral photos of tucked-in jerseys very visible through new pants.

MLB senior vice president of global consumer products Denis Nolan maintained, though, that the uniforms are top-notch.

"In acquiring Majestic and its MLB uniform manufacturing facilities in Easton, PA -- which have been making player uniforms for nearly two decades -- Fanatics has consistently produced world-class uniforms, including every Nike-branded MLB on-field jersey and all City Connect gear since 2020," Nolan said, via MLB.com.

Another global consumer exec, Stephen Roche, said that the jerseys' respective color schemes match up 100% for the first time.

"That was all part of the tightening up of the entire process," Roche said. "Clubs were able to approve how everything matched Nike’s standard colors. For the first time, we had a uniform where all the colors matched exactly with the hats and the on-field colors. They had always been close,