Under Armour is "looking for more opportunities to get into" the MLB market, according to Jeff Barker of the Baltimore SUN. UA is among the many suppliers to have a product license from MLB, and the company "produces some of the cleats, compression sleeves and batting gloves." The company also "makes a share of the catchers' gear -- an important marketing tool because catchers and their equipment brands so often appear on camera during broadcasts." UA is "not yet a heavy hitter in MLB stadiums but has secured an important presence ... by signing the right players." That includes NL MVP Bryce Harper, three-time NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw and All-Star 2B Dee Gordon. Catchers and the brands they sport "get lots of air time," and UA endorses Cs Matt Wieters and Buster Posey. Both players "sport chest protectors featuring the company's interlocking 'UA' logo." A company spokesperson said that the company "signed Wieters and Posey as part of a broad strategy." Barker noted UA does not "have to pay MLB for permission to have Wieters or Posey wear its gear." The company also is a local sponsor of the Orioles and Cubs, allowing it to have "signs at the teams' stadiums" (Baltimore SUN, 4/3).
ONE-ARMED BANDITS: BLOOMBERG NEWS' Matthew Townsend reported UA was "granted a patent" last week for a one-armed jacket pitchers can wear. The product includes an "'arm warmer' that’s best described as a half-jacket with one sleeve." There also is a "mitt at the end of the sleeve for the pitcher to keep fingers cozy and adjustable vents for temperature control." The patent application "was filed two years ago and approved on March 29" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/1).
