The start of the MLB season has “exposed even more design flaws in the new MLB uniforms,” according to Nesbitt and Kepner of THE ATHLETIC. For a number of teams, their gray uniforms feature pants and shirts that are “slightly -- but noticeably -- different shades of gray.” Nike said they have “isolated the issue and are exploring a solution minimize it.” But it is “unclear whether any fabric fixes for sweat or color matching could be implemented in season." The blowback should have come as “little surprise to Nike” as the issue of mismatching grays was “evident even in November,” when the D-Backs unveiled their new uniform set. But as more teams have debuted their road grays recently, it is “clearly not an isolated issue.” Nesbitt and Kepner write MLB has only gone as far as to give “gentle jabs” when “putting any of the blame on Nike -- while accepting no fault of its own.” A source said that Fanatics “raised concerns to Nike this winter about the varying gray tones” and in most cases, Nike said that it “fell within their window of variance and instructed Fanatics to use the fabric.” Meanwhile, some teams have “not yet received their full suite of 2024 uniforms.” The Twins are missing the pants for their cream “Twin Cities” uniforms. The Mariners wore home whites Sunday because their cream-colored uniforms "aren’t in yet." The Cardinals were in road grays Sunday because “neither of their Saturday alternates -- ivory at home, victory blue on the road -- had arrived” (THE ATHLETIC, 4/4).
