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See-through pants. 'Knockoff' jerseys. New MLB uniforms trigger complaints, except from Dodgers

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See-through pants. 'Knockoff' jerseys. New MLB uniforms trigger complaints, except from Dodgers

Dodgers players haven’t complained as much as others around baseball. Maybe when a team wins 100 or more games every year the players look and feel good no matter what they wear.

But the hot topic in MLB spring-training clubhouses spilled onto the field this week when teams held photo day dressed in new uniforms designed by Nike and manufactured by Fanatics. Players griped about poor fit, bright colors, the small size of their names, and the, er, see-through nature of pants that brought to mind the children’s chant, “I see London, I see France, I see Mookie’s underpants.”

For his part, Dodgers star Mookie Betts is less concerned than many of his MLB counterparts, saying: “It doesn’t matter to me. If we’re worrying about uniforms — it matters to some people. I couldn’t care less. As long as I’ve got one on.”

Nevertheless, the grumbling across the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues got loud enough for the Major League Baseball Players Assn. to express dismay.

“It’s disappointing that we’ve landed in a place where the uniforms are the topic of discussion,” MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said. “Each conversation with the guys is yielding more information with what we’re seeing.”

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As in seeing too much. Shohei — show hey! — Ohtani.

“A lot of the rhetoric is confirmation that the pants are see-through,” Clark said. “It’s been an ongoing conversation where each day has yielded something new that doesn’t seem to make as much sense as you would like.”

Another issue with the pants: Several teams don’t have enough to go around.

“There are teams that have pants and jerseys,” Clark said. “There are some teams that don’t have pants. There are other teams that are supposed to be receiving certain things before the start of the [season]. There are others that — in the event they have an issue with the pants and a player needs a new pair — don’t have any in reserve.”

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred last week waved off the growing chorus of complaints like Alessandro Benetton at a Paris fashion show, saying the jerseys “have been tested more extensively than any jersey in any sport. … After people wear them a little bit, I think they are going to be really popular.”

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The new uniforms were worn at last year’s All-Star Game in Seattle, and Manfred said feedback was “universally positive from the players.” Or maybe they were just overjoyed to be All-Stars and unwilling to criticize the brass.

Spring training is different. Days drag on, scores don’t matter and players have plenty of time to consider sartorial splendor or lack thereof. A cliche in baseball goes something like, “Look good, play good.” Players paid mega-millions want to feel like at least a million bucks.

Not, as one veteran Orioles player told the Baltimore Banner, like a fan scouring off-price retailers for deals. “The look of it is like a knockoff jersey from T.J.Maxx,” he said.

Another Orioles player, who like his teammate requested anonymity to avoid backlash from MLB officials, critiqued his new orange cap, saying: “You can see how much brighter this one is. And so you look like a pumpkin when you’re out there.”

Numbers and letters on jerseys are smaller because the new Nike Vapor Premier jersey is made of thinner, lighter fabric that MLB says will provide more comfort during hot summer ballgames. Players might eventually appreciate that.

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Other complaints — especially pertaining to below the belt — seem to be worth addressing.

Previously, players fitted during spring training could request customized tailoring, according to the Athletic. This year, Nike and Fanatics sorted players by four body types based on body-scanning of about 300 players and gave them three options — slim, regular, or baggy fit. Tailoring specific areas wasn’t an option.

A statement by MLB on Thursday indicates Nike and Fanatics are revisiting the policies and could break out the measuring tape or thicken pants before opening day, which is about five weeks away.

“Like every Spring Training, Fanatics team services, Nike and MLB representatives are visiting camps to meet with all players, conduct uniform fitting sessions with them, and get their feedback on how their uniforms fits,” the statement said. “Based on player requests, adjustments are being made to jersey size, waist, in-seam, length, thigh fit and the bottom of their pants.

“The goal of these meetings is to provide players with the most comfortable uniforms available for Opening Day. We are in close contact with our Clubs and uniform partners to ensure Clubs have what they need for Opening Day.”

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Maybe by then the uniforms will live up to what MLB and Nike promised ahead of spring training, that they would “improve mobility, moisture management and fit, while keeping sustainability in mind — bringing inspiration and innovation to athletes.”

Or at the very least, sufficient cover.

Times staff writer Jack Harris contributed to this report.

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WWE star Chelsea Green should be WrestleMania ‘headliner,’ Alba Fyre says

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WWE star Chelsea Green should be WrestleMania ‘headliner,’ Alba Fyre says

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Chelsea Green has been one of the hardest working pro wrestlers in WWE since she returned to the company in 2023 and has put together history-making moments.

Green was the first women’s United States champion in the belt’s history and the first to have multiple reigns. She’s been knocked off ladders and thrown in dumpsters, and yet, strings of bad luck have kept her off the WrestleMania card for the last three years.

Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre enter the ring during SmackDown at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, on Jan. 23, 2026. (Rich Wade/WWE)

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WWE star Alba Fyre, who is a part of Green’s Secret Hervice, told Fox News Digital she would have liked to have seen the Canadian star on the card.

“You know, we’re always rooting for Chelsea,” Fyre said. “Obviously, I’m a big fan of Chelsea, but I think it’s a shame that she’s not on the card this year. She should be the headliner.”

This year, it was a bit out of her hands.

Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre enter the ring during SmackDown at KFC YUM! Center in Louisville, Ky., on Feb. 27, 2026. (Craig Melvin/WWE)

WWE CHAMP JADE CARGILL VERY HOPEFUL TO MEET ‘STONE COLD’ STEVE AUSTIN AT HALL OF FAME CEREMONY

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Green suffered an ankle injury in the months leading up to WrestleMania 42. She hasn’t been in the ring in a few weeks, but still remained on screen. She was seen on “Friday Night SmackDown” as of late trying to be in the corner of Tiffany Stratton, who is eyeing the United States Championship herself in a battle with Giulia.

Green was off the card for WrestleMania 40 and 41. She last appeared at the event in a fatal four-way tag team match with Sonya Deville at WrestleMania 39.

Chelsea Green looks on during SmackDown at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla., on Feb. 20, 2026. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE)

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Pro wrestling fans will be interested to see how the next 12 months go for Green. She may work herself back up the ladder and get into contention for the women’s title once again. If so, she’ll either have to contend with Jade Cargill or Rhea Ripley.

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How Alex Palou became IndyCar’s most successful driver — and why he rejected F1

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How Alex Palou became IndyCar’s most successful driver — and why he rejected F1

Alex Palou’s 2025 season was the best for an IndyCar driver in nearly 20 years.

He won a career-high eight races, including the Indianapolis 500. He won his third straight series title and his fourth championship overall. He made the podium 13 times in 17 races.

Yet if you ask Palou, he’ll tell you he’s going into Saturday’s qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Long Beach needing to prove himself all over again.

“Who cares about what we did last year?” he said. “It’s cool to have four championships, but the only important year is 2026. Everybody started with zero points on the board and we need to do it all over again.”

That’s far easier said than done, although Palou is off to a fast start in his quest for a fifth championship having won two of the first four races on the IndyCar schedule to stand second in the driver standings, two points behind defending Long Beach champion Kyle Kirkwood.

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“Last year was magical,” said Palou, who has captured 10 of the last 21 checkered flags, dating to 2024. “As an athlete you always want to keep on improving, but I need to be realistic and understand that to win eight races in IndyCar in the same year, it’s pretty tough to beat.

“So although I want to achieve that, we just need to take 2026 separately and just try our best, try to win as many races as possible and then obviously fight for the [Indy] 500 and the championship.”

Winning Long Beach, one of the few prizes on the IndyCar circuit that has eluded him, would be a big step in that drive for five. But that won’t be easy since passing on the tight 1.968-mile street course, with its 11 turns, is difficult. That makes track position important, putting a premium on Saturday’s qualifying and on pit stops in Sunday’s race.

“It’s always super tough to be competitive there,” Palou said of Long Beach, where he finished second last April, giving him three straight podium finishes. “One of the only bad things about street racing [is] that it’s really tough for us to overtake with how tight the tracks are and all the bumps.

“It just makes it super challenging.”

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Alex Palou competes during the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida on March 1.

(David Jensen / Getty Images)

Not as challenging as the race Palou, the most successful Spanish driver in IndyCar history, had to run just to get into a race car.

As a boy growing up in the tiny Catalan village of Sant Antoni de Vilamajor, Palou started kart racing about the same time he started grade school. He was 15 when he finished second in the 2012 European karting championship yet he didn’t see much of a future beyond that.

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Lewis Hamilton had finished in the same spot 13 years earlier, then went on to become the most successful Formula One driver in history. But England has a long-established history with open-wheel racing and Spain did not.

“He came from nothing, showing up at a carting track and then having these big dreams and aspirations. And here he is,” said Barry Wanser, the senior manager of IndyCar operations for Chip Ganassi Racing.

“I know he’s very proud he’s the first Spaniard to win the Indianapolis 500. That’s just absolutely incredible.”

But that was never the goal.

“Honestly,” Palou said, “my goal was just to have fun. When we started, I never wanted to be a race car driver for a living. I never thought that it would be possible.”

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Before Palou, Fernando Alonso, a two-time F1 champion, was Spain’s most successful open-wheel driver. After Alonso is Carlos Sainz Jr., who has won four F1 races; Pedro de la Rosa, who made more than 100 F1 starts but climbed the podium just once; and Oriol Servià, who ran 79 IndyCar races in nine years but never placed higher than fourth before retiring in 2019, one year before Palou made his debut in the series.

Aside from Alonso, those drivers were good but not great, leaving the road from Spain to success in open-wheel racing a narrow one. That’s a path Palou is now widening.

“I would say that for sure it’s helping future generations that I’m here and that I had success,” he said, “just because they can know that with a normal European background you can come to the U.S. and fight for wins and championships.”

Alex Palou celebrates after winning the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 1.

Alex Palou celebrates after winning the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 1.

(David Jensen / Getty Images)

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Wanser said what makes Palou so good is his feel for both the car and the track and his ability to communicate with his team.

“He has a very unique ability to understand what he needs the car to do to maximize performance on the tires,” said Wanser, the race strategist for Ganassi’s No. 10 car who has sometimes been called Palou’s indispensable partner. “You’re talking about road courses, street courses, for the primary [tires] — the hards and the softs — and understanding what he needs for qualifying and also what the car needs for reducing tire deg[redation] during the race.”

For now Palou, who turned 29 earlier this month, appears content with mastering those skills in IndyCar rather that following the natural progression into an F1 ride.

He said he went “all in” to win an F1 seat following his first IndyCar title in 2021, but doubts about whether he’d be given a competitive car led him to back out. Rumors linking him to Red Bull’s F1 team surfaced after last year’s Indy 500, but Palou shot those down too, saying he was staying with Ganassi.

Wanser, obviously, is happy with that decision and hopes it will pay off Sunday in Long Beach.

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“Alex is very young, right?” he said. “IndyCar is so competitive that we could never, ever think about being complacent. If we start heading down that road, we will get beat and get beat often.

“It’s nonstop trying to constantly improve, knowing every weekend we show up to the racetrack it’s going to be difficult to win.”

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Mike Trout’s torrid Angels series vs Yankees ends in historic fashion after he blasts fifth home run

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Mike Trout’s torrid Angels series vs Yankees ends in historic fashion after he blasts fifth home run

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Mike Trout couldn’t stop rounding the bases at Yankee Stadium during the Los Angeles Angels’ four-game series, and he made history doing so.

The future Hall of Famer crushed five home runs, including a blast in the Angels’ 11-4 win Thursday afternoon, and tallied nine RBIs in the series, which Los Angeles split with New York.

The 34-year-old Trout entered the series with only two home runs and seven RBIs on the season, but he’s heading back home this weekend looking like his prime self after what transpired in the Bronx.

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Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels before a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., April 13, 2025. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

He also heads back with some history as the first visiting player to hit a home run four straight days at Yankee Stadium, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.

Trout’s five homers are also tied for the most in a single series against the Yankees. Only three others — George Bell, Darrell Evans and Jimmie Foxx — have done so in past seasons.

AARON JUDGE CALLS OUT YANKEES’ OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES AFTER GETTING SWEPT

The latest home run from Trout was a solo blast that traveled 446 feet off Yankees reliever Angel Chivilli in the top of the seventh inning Thursday to make it a 7-4 game. Jo Adell’s grand slam later in the game blew it open for Los Angeles to even the series in the end.

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Before that, Trout kicked off the series with two home runs and five RBIs in a wild Monday night contest that ended with the Yankees walking it off. Aaron Judge also belted two home runs in the game, as did Trent Grisham, whose game-tying two-run blast in the ninth inning kept the Yankees’ hopes alive.

Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels hits a two-run home run during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium April 15, 2026, in New York City.  (Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)

But Trout and the Angels got the job done Tuesday night, and the veteran outfielder’s only hit was a solo homer. Then, in Wednesday night’s loss, Trout went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs.

Yankee Stadium in general has been a pleasant place for Trout, a South New Jersey native, as he’s hitting .346 with 13 homers in his career there. He also homered in five straight games against the Yankees if you include the Angels’ last meeting in 2025. That also took place in Yankee Stadium.

“He’s the greatest, the greatest of all time,” Judge said of Trout after Monday’s game. “I know he’s had some tough injuries over the years, but to see himself back in a better spot this year – every time he comes to the Bronx, man, he puts on a show. I hate to see it, but it’s fun competing against a guy like that.”

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As Judge mentioned, the Angels are just happy Trout is playing injury-free to start the season, and perhaps this Yankees series has him hitting his stride.

Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels hits a three-run home run in the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York City on April 13, 2026. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

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The three-time league MVP is heading to Cooperstown one day, but there is always the thought among baseball fans about what could’ve been for his career had injuries not gotten in the way. Trout played 130 games last season for the first time since 2019.

Now 10-10, the Angels are hoping they can get that output from Trout once more in 2026. They’re looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.  

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