Players divided on new MLB jerseys, with some slamming 'cheap' material

But outlets reporting from Spring Training say that players are mostly dissatisfied with the new look.

"I don't like them," St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday. "Everyone should write about it."

The Cardinals have emerged as early naysayers of the new uniforms, with one player telling Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat that "they look cheap."

In recent days, however, other players have also expressed their discontent with the uniforms. In an interview with The Athletic, Angels outfield Taylor Ward gave the new jerseys a "thumbs down."

"It looks like a replica," Ward told The Athletic. "It feels kind of like papery. ... From the looks of it, it doesn't look like a $450 jersey."

In Tuesday's statement, MLB and Nike announced that it would sell three retail versions of the jerseys: Nike Vapor Premier Elite jersey ("authentic jersey, as worn by players on-field), Game jersey (a replica jersey) and Limited jersey ("inspired by the on-field jersey"). The Nike Vapor Premier Limited Jerseys, presumably the lowest of the three tiers, are the only ones currently available to purchase, retailing for a whopping $174.99.

The differences between the old and new jerseys go beyond the lighter-weight material: According to Paul Lukas of Uni Watch, the jersey placket — where the buttons are — is much narrower on the new shirts, which creates an awkward break along the teams' names in script. Also, all of the white jerseys are now subtly off-white, which makes some team colors look slightly off-color as well.

Besides the material, chief complaints from players include the fit of the pants, the lack of team-specific details and the fact that the players' names are inexplicably smaller on the new jerseys.

Pitchers in particular have complained about the pants, which used to be tailored to the player prior to last year. As part of simplifying the fitting process, tailoring is no longer an option with the new Nike jerseys.

"When I wear my pants, I feel like I'm wearing someone else's pants," Angel reliever Carlos Estévez told The Athletic.

In terms of team specifics, Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, who has a deal with Nike, told The Athletic that he reached out to his Nike contacts to address an issue with the specific shade of blue on the Cubs' jerseys.

"Cubbie is its own blue, right?" Swanson said. "This blue on the uniform is a little bit different than Cubbie blue. So how can we just recapture that?"

Other players are reaching out to the MLB Players Association with concerns about the jerseys, according to The Athletic.

But some players think that the complaints will die down once they get used to the change.

Cincinnati Reds catcher Luke Maile told The Athletic that changing jerseys is like changing toilet paper. "You notice it at first," he said, "but after a while, it's just your toilet paper."