Red Sox's New Uniforms Unfairly Sparking Internet Outrage Toward Fanatics

This story was updated following the Boston Red Sox's recent press release regarding the topic.

Baseball fans are extremely particular about their favorite teams' uniforms, and this week, the Boston Red Sox's threads have been causing a stir.

Tuesday was Red Sox media day, and as photos of players in their home white uniforms began to hit the internet, many immediately noticed that something was off. It appears that the red piping that runs from the collar down to the bottom of the row of buttons has been widened, and it's causing the "RED SOX" letters to touch that piping.

Compared to last year (left), there’s something off about the lettering on the Red Sox’ home whites this year (right). pic.twitter.com/1whb3Vlyj8
— Brendan Campbell (@brendan_camp) February 17, 2026

Predictably, fans are up in arms about such an oversight, and they're mainly directing their anger at Fanatics, the ever-growing uniform and merchandise titan that has produced Major League Baseball's uniforms in concert with Nike since 2024.

Fanatics taking a beating, but Red Sox are to blame

Feb 17, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman (44) poses for a photo during media day at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

As it turns out, the Red Sox are responsible for the jersey snafu, and came to the defense of Fantatics.

"As part of Major League Baseball's return to the 2023 jersey template, we approved a design for our home white jerseys, which Fanatics produced exactly to our specs," the Red Sox said in a team-released statement on Wednesday afternoon. "Once they were produced and seen in person, we felt there should be more spacing between the lettering and piping. In collaboration with MLB and Fanatics, we're adjusting the home whites to achieve this separation. The updated jerseys will be ready for Opening Day. We are grateful to our partners for their ongoing support.

Fanatics is a popular punching bag on the internet these days. Fans have long bemoaned the quality of the merchandise they receive, and social media posts of manufacturing errors on gear that arrives at homes often go viral.

However, MLB attributes final design decisions to Nike, not Fanatics, so the latter does not deserve the amount of blame it's getting. That fact became an important point of distinction when Nike's new uniform template took hold before the 2024 season, and nearly every team's letters on the backs of their jerseys appeared far smaller than before.

You're never going to slip a uniform issue past baseball fans, and especially not Red Sox fans, who love tradition, even when their design teams keeps rolling out new colors for City Connect uniforms to sell even more merch.

And it remains to be seen whether the jersey lettering can or will be changed before opening day, but you can bet those fans won't let it go anytime soon if it's not.