New uniforms have some Phillies pining for the old ones. Others like them: ‘I feel huge in the jerseys.’

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Last year, a Phillies player was talking to a clubhouse employee, who brought up the topic of the 2024 uniforms. The employee wanted to give players an idea of what to expect. These jerseys would be different.

“I remember him saying, this is not going to be good,” the player said. “He was like, ‘It’s going to be a mess.’ They knew, back then that it was going to be a [bleep] show.”

Multiple Phillies players said they were disappointed by the quality of the jerseys awaiting them when they arrived at camp this year. Before spring training, MLB and Nike announced a rollout of the “new, on-field Nike Vapor Premier uniforms.” In a news release, the two parties said that the jersey was designed to “improve mobility, moisture management and fit,” adding that Nike had “body-scanned more than 300 baseball players to dial in the ideal fit.”

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Nike and MLB have said that the process for creating the Nike Vapor Premier uniforms was shaped, in part, by player feedback, but two players The Inquirer spoke to, who asked not to be named, didn’t see a need to change the existing uniform — or tailoring system.

“The way they had it was good,” one player said. “It was perfect. So the fact that they’re changing it is kind of asking for it. It’s one of those things where I don’t know what it looks like on their end — Nike and Fanatics’ end. Maybe this is easier for them. Maybe they felt like they were going to save money or, you know, increase margins. I have no idea.

“But I do know one thing: Those jerseys are not going to sell. People are going to buy the old jerseys. Because they just look better. They’re nicer.”

Said another Phillies player: “At the time, I didn’t think it would be this bad. We had something going so good. The structure we had in place was working. It was great. Especially for … that was a big deal to come to the big leagues debut and you had your pants that are fitted to you, that you chose. They’re customized now, but we’re just limited in what we can customize. You get bucket one, bucket two, bucket three.”

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A few players across the league — like the Angels’ Mike Trout, the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll, the Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm Jr., and the Dodgers’ Jason Heyward — have praised the new jerseys, but it is worth noting that all four are Nike athletes. A few other players tried the jerseys on at the 2023 All-Star Game and gave their sign-off in a video posted to MLB’s twitter account.

Another complaint across baseball is that the pants are somewhat see-through. ESPN reported that the Major League Baseball Players Association has expressed player concerns to MLB over the pants.

Aside from the new customization process, the two big complaints in Phillies camp are the size of the names on the back of the jerseys and the quality of the fabric. The aforementioned news release described the fabric as “breathable” and “lightweight,” but two players described it as cheap.

“I mean, the pants are thinner,” said one of the Phillies. “The feel of the jersey is OK. Like, feels fine, it’s just the font on the back just looks bad. My jersey has only been washed five times, it’s already falling apart. The thread and the seams are coming out of the numbers. So, it definitely feels cheaper. Like I mean, you know, when you put on a Fruit of the Loom T-shirt, compared to a luxury T-shirt. It kind of feels like that. Still paying the luxury price, though.”

“I think the other big thing is the letters,” the other player said. “I mean, that’s kind of funny. When I look at it, I feel like I’m looking at a fake jersey. I think that’s something that, you know, at a minimum, they can fix. Because that’s like, ‘OK, let’s send out nameplates and make the sizes look back to normal.’

“My eyes are already terrible. Especially with the short name guys, like [Aaron] Nola, I’m pretty much just depending on the number. I better know your number, because I can’t see your name.”

Catcher Garrett Stubbs said he didn’t have anything bad to say about the jerseys, but added that the quality doesn’t justify the price.

“Everyone likes a nice look, and yeah, they do seem like the quality of them is not as good,” Stubbs said. “Which to me, as a fan, I’m paying $180 for a jersey, you want it to be really good quality. Because $180 is a decision. You don’t want to be paying that much money for something that you don’t feel is worth $180. So, I kind of feel bad for the fan who goes in and wants to buy a jersey and doesn’t necessarily get the quality of $180 like they used to.”

Nike has been the league’s uniform provider since December 2019, and partners with Fanatics to manufacture the jerseys. Fanatics manufactures the jerseys to adhere to Nike’s design specs, according to Paul Lukas of UniWatch. In a statement, Nike said the following:

“We always put the athlete at the center of everything we do. We worked closely with MLB players, teams, and the league to create the most advanced uniforms in the history of MLB which are lighter and more flexible.

“The quality and the performance of our product is of the utmost importance to us. We will continue to work with MLB, the players, and our manufacturing partner to address player uniforms.”

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A Phillies spokesperson said the team has “received feedback from our players and we are confident that Nike and Fanatics will get the uniforms to a point that pleases everyone.”

When asked to comment, MLB provided the following statement:

“Like every spring training, Fanatics team services, Nike and MLB representatives are visiting camps to meet with all players, conduct uniform fitting sessions with them, and get their feedback on how their uniforms fit. Based on player requests, adjustments are being made to jersey size, waist, inseam, length, thigh fit, and the bottom of their pants. The goal of these meetings is to provide players with the most comfortable uniforms available for opening day. We are in close contact with our clubs and uniform partners to ensure clubs have what they need for opening day.”

The MLBPA has said it has engaged with Nike about the new uniforms.

Lukas reported on Tuesday that the Royals lobbied hard to revert to the old, bigger lettering, and are now using full-size lettering on their spring training uniforms. It’s unclear whether the Phillies will do the same.

But outfielder Brandon Marsh, who is rehabbing his left knee after surgery, likes the new jersey. He put one on for picture day recently.

“I looked at myself in the mirror and I liked it,” Marsh said. “I like the way it fits the upper half. Makes me look like I did some work this offseason.

He added: “My opinion on the jerseys is, yeah, they are different from what we’ve had in the past, and it might take a little bit to get used to, because we’re creatures of habit. But I kind of like them because I feel huge in the jerseys.”