‘They cheaped it’: Former Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill says he’s not a fan of new MLB jerseys
“The quality has just gone out the window and I think that’s unfortunate.”
MORE BASEBALL
In the wake of MLB players and fans alike noticing a decline in quality with the league’s new jerseys, one veteran pitcher didn’t hold back on his opinion about them.
Former Red Sox pitcher and MLB journeyman Rich Hill tried the jerseys on last year. He said the league “cheaped” out on the new Nike jerseys produced by Fanatics.
“I thought the way the uniforms felt, they didn’t feel quality. It felt like it was cheap,” Hill said on Rob Bradford’s “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “It wasn’t fitted to the athlete, it wasn’t fitted to that player.”
Several players on different teams have publicly stated similar negative feelings toward the jerseys.
“They look cheap,” St. Louis Cardinals’ pitcher Mike Mikolas told reporters in the team’s spring training clubhouse.
“I know everyone hates them,” Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner said. “We all liked what we had. We understand business, but I think everyone wanted to keep it the same way, for the most part, with some tweaks here or there.”
“Don’t fix what’s not broken,” Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm said. “The looks of it, it just looks different. The names are smaller on the back.”
On top of the smaller font on the players’ last names on the back of the jersey, others have noticed the name has a more pronounced curve, giving the top more of a “shirsey” look. The MLB logo has also been moved from above the back neck seam to below the stitch, just above the player’s name.
Hill noted that the lettering and numbers are no longer physically stitched into the jersey. Rather, they’re patches being ironed onto the jerseys.
“Players who were grandfathered in had an option if they wanted to wear an older uniform and the thicker material,” Hill said. “… The numbers were stitched on. It wasn’t like an iron-on kind of printed — for lack of a better term — it was a major-league uniform. It wasn’t cheap. It was a major league uniform.
“The quality has just gone out the window and I think that’s unfortunate,” Hill continued. “It’s something that players have earned the right to work their entire life to get to this point and now just to be kind of a jersey off of the rack, so to speak, it sucks.”
The 43-year-old pitcher, who made his MLB debut in 2005, believes players deserve higher quality jerseys than the ones sold to fans.
“And you earn that right, I believe, as a major league player, when you’ve been dubbed … a major leaguer. Well, with that should come a certain level of quality,” Hill said. “So with that quality, uniforms should be personally fitted to each player.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com