Under Armour trolls Nike, Fanatics over MLB uniform controversy

Amid the furor and outcry over the subpar Major League Baseball uniforms and fan apparel, Nike and Fanatics — the two companies responsible for bringing the new uniforms for 2024 to bear — have faced plenty of scrutiny. And, of course, mockery.

That’s also par for the course when one of the big issues to date has been the apparent see-through qualities of the pants, which has led to some borderline NSFW moments. Now a rival apparel company has gotten in on the humor.

Under Armour, which makes baseball gear and apparel, posted a picture of white Under Armour baseball pants with a tongue-in-cheek caption.

“We got you covered,” the post said.

We got you covered. pic.twitter.com/8auaV1cSZA

— Under Armour (@UnderArmour) February 23, 2024

While the pants have faced plenty of scrutiny, the jerseys themselves also appear different, and worse in the eyes of fans and players. The numbers and lettering appear smaller and less vivid, appearing more like screen printing than an embroidered or stitched element.

And with the MLB season closing in, the league will be working diligently to quell any concerns prior to first pitch on opening day.

Getting the MLB jerseys right will be big if sales of one jersey are any indication

Shohei Ohtani entered free agency as one of the most anticipated players to ever hit the open market. In the end, he chose to go to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s a move that clearly has MLB fans incredibly excited.

After signing with the Dodgers, Ohtani’s jersey sales set a 48-hour record at Fanatics. This broke a record that was previously held by Lionel Messi. That’s according to Fanatics itself, though the company did not release any numbers associated with that record.

Along with Messi, Ohtani also passed Cristiano Ronaldo, Justin Fields, and Bryce Harper.

Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that Shohei Ohtani is setting a record for jersey sales. After all, he’s an international superstar who is doing something that has never been done before at the MLB level. Even Babe Ruth, who Ohtani is often compared to, stopped pitching once he got to New York after mostly pitching and not hitting in Boston. Ohtani is doing them at the same time.

Ohtani is a two-time MVP, Rookie of the Year, and three-time All-Star. He has a career batting average of .274 with an on-base percentage of .366 and an OPS of .922. All of those career numbers are below his numbers for the 2023 season. He also has 171 career home runs, 124 of which came in the last three seasons.