Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh Details Meeting With MLB Commissioner, Uniform Issues
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, like many other fans and players, doesn't appear to be a huge fan of Nike and Fanatics' redesigned MLB uniforms.
Raleigh and his teammates got the chance to voice their concerns about the jerseys and pants, as well as other major topics facing the game, in their meeting with commissioner Rob Manfred on Wednesday. The backstop then held an interview with Seattle Sports' "Brock & Salk," where he fleshed out how the meeting went:
"(Manfred)'s making his rounds, all 30 teams, probably meeting with two, three teams a day. Just going over, basically, the state of the union, where the game is at, where they see things. Obviously, the RSN network issues, other issues, the new rules, keeping the rules, things like that. Basically just where the game's at, talking about it, bringing up issues. Players can get in front and actually talk to him face-to-face. Any kind of things that are kinda lingering concerns players have. Obviously, the jerseys were definitely brought up in that meeting."
Raleigh said Manfred told the players that the league would try to address their concerns. The catcher added that, given how big of a corporation Nike is, he has faith the issues would be fixed.
Ever since they were officially unveiled at the start of Spring Training, the new Nike Vapor Premier jerseys have come under fire for feeling cheap and not fitting properly. The pants, which MLB insists are the same pants from years past, have also been exposed as being see-through, leading to increased mockery of the apparel online.
On top of all that, the re-sized letters and numbers have led to the jerseys being compared to shoddily-made knock-offs.
It remains to be see what MLB can do in regards to the uniforms ahead of Opening Day, or if they will commit to doing anything at all. But between the Players Union confronting the league and Manfred going team-to-team at Spring Training, they may not be finished with the onslaught of complains just yet.
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