Sports
What we know — and don't — about MLB's ongoing issues with Nike uniforms
In the sweltering summer of 1994, back when Russell Athletics was Major League Baseball’s official uniform supplier, the New York Yankees suddenly switched jersey fabrics, from polyester to a more breathable cotton, to beat the heat. Yankees players raved about the cotton uniforms in a front-page story.
Luis Polonia: “Cotton is king.”
Wade Boggs: “What a fabric! Finally we can breathe.”
Paul O’Neill: “I never dreamed anything could be so soft and fluffy.”
Thirty years later, Nike, MLB’s current uniform supplier, introduced a new jersey — 90 percent recycled polyester — that got equally glowing reviews.
Adley Rutschman: “Much more breathable.”
Nolan Arenado: “It’s almost like wearing my favorite shirt out on the field.”
Ronald Acuña Jr.: “Feeling free in the jersey is the best feeling in the world.”
The difference?
The Nike jersey is real. The cotton one is from an episode of “Seinfeld.”
It’s easy to imagine this suggestion from Yankees assistant to the traveling secretary George Costanza to manager Buck Showalter now on a Nike pitch deck: “Imagine playing games and your team is five degrees cooler than the other team. Don’t you think that would be an advantage? They’re cooler. They’re more comfortable. They’re happier — they’re going to play better.”
It’s been 10 days since we started reporting about the many missteps in the Nike Vapor Premier rollout, and the groans have only grown louder. Here’s what we know — and don’t — about MLB’s ongoing jersey issues.
What are players upset about?
Depends on the day. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said new issues keep arising as he moves from camp to camp during spring training. The first complaints were about the design and feel of the jerseys. Concerns have since coalesced around the pants. Players have complained that instead of receiving fully tailored pants as in the past they now are measured, put into one of four body-type buckets and given pants that should fit someone shaped like them. Many are not satisfied.
Then came the pants shortage and the, uh, see-through thing.
The see-through what?
The pants. They’re sorta see-through.
How sorta?
Enough to see tags and logos underneath the white pants. Enough to make the long tails of the tucked-in jersey top look like a diaper. Enough that spouses are making jokes about it. No one asked for this kind of transparency in baseball.
Scott Barlow welcome to Cleveland pic.twitter.com/fmGVQBJESR
— Andre Knott (@DreKnott) February 22, 2024
The question is: Are these pants more see-through than pants from past years?
A source familiar with the process said the pant fabric has not changed; another said the material and thickness are the same. That sentiment has been shared in several tweets and stories. However, a Nike spokesperson did not respond to The Athletic’s requests for clarity on whether this exact pant design — belt loops aside — was used last year, and, if so, what year this pant was first introduced.
Without a clear answer, skepticism seems warranted.
Uni Watch’s Paul Lukas, who has written extensively about the new Nike jerseys on his site and Substack, said he saw a “somewhat similar phenomenon” in photos from previous years’ photo days. “To me,” he said, “it was not as severe.”
Wouldn’t we have noticed if the pants had been this translucent in the past?
That seems to be the general consensus on Baseball Twitter. On one hand, everything about these uniforms is being more closely scrutinized than any jersey in recent memory. On the other, this see-through effect is not just occurring in the studio lighting of photo day. We’re seeing players’ undergarments in poorly-lit lobbies and on outdoor ballfields as well.
I didn’t notice it during my team’s game this weekend, though.
You might not!
One reason for that: your team might be wearing last year’s pants.
That’s right, teams are short on pants. Typically, according to a handful of players surveyed, they’ll have about five pairs of tailored game pants in their locker a couple of weeks before Opening Day. Currently, some teams have none, and some one. It’s not clear which company is at fault for the shortage — Nike, which engineered and designed the uniforms; or Fanatics, which manufactures them.
in case anyone was wondering, it looks like the Padres are wearing the OLD (not transparent) white pants, while Dodgers are wearing the NEW grey pants.
(you can tell by the belt loops.) https://t.co/6TKuGicD43 pic.twitter.com/z12pBWiUlY
— ric sanchez (@ricsanchez) February 22, 2024
What have MLB, Nike and Fanatics said about all this?
Very little.
Nike and MLB issued statements Friday, though neither has answered specific questions regarding the new jerseys.
A Fanatics spokesperson has declined multiple requests for comment.
Whose fault is this?
In the simplest explanation — following the responsibilities as laid out by MLB, Fanatics and Nike before Nike became MLB’s official uniform supplier in December 2019 — blame would primarily fall on Nike. That’s how Lukas sees it. That’s also how Clark, the union chief, sees it. Nike had four years to land its transition from the Majestic Athletics template to a Nike one. It so far has flopped.
Fanatics, however, has taken most of the heat from fans for the new jerseys. That’s because of Fanatics’ history of selling sub-par (or worse) products to consumers as it dominates the licensed sports apparel market. It is an earned reputation. In the case of these Nike jerseys, Fanatics produces the final product, so any imperfections or inconsistencies in the stitching, lettering and patchwork could be attributed to them. But the material and design changes are Nike choices.
What are some of the design choices?
The white uniforms are a slightly off-white shade. The pants have different belt loops. Certain embroidered elements are now printed. The fabric looks, as Lukas writes, like a paper towel. On the front of the jersey top, a narrower placket has led to some awkward split-letter chest scripts. The back of the jersey has changed dramatically. First, Nike lowered the MLB logo. The lettering is significantly smaller. And the uniform number, also smaller in most cases, was perforated for optimal airflow.
“Something about the smaller lettering just doesn’t look major league,” Lukas said, “and there’s been no explanation for why. That’s what I’ve found so surprising and confounding.”
He brought up the example of the Indianapolis Colts’ shoulder stripes.
“The shoulder stripes don’t extend as far as they used to, like when we were growing up,” Lukas said, “because the stripe is interrupted by a seam that didn’t exist when we were growing up, because they’ve changed the way they sew and tailor the jersey. OK, I don’t really love that, but at least there’s an explanation I can understand. Form follows function. For these changes, they haven’t given any explanation.”
Is there time to change anything before Opening Day?
It’s unlikely anything substantial will change with the design. It appears the priority will be to fix the pant fit issues — as soon as there are enough pants.
What would Costanza do?
Stan for cotton.
Cotton breathes.
Polyester, you know, it’s not a natural fiber.
This weekend we tracked down Jason Alexander — the actor who played Costanza, not the reliever. Alexander declined an interview. He’s not really a sports fan, his publicist said, so he hasn’t been following the Nike snafu and therefore doesn’t have strong opinions about the new jerseys.
Well, that makes one of us.
(Top photo: New York Yankees/Getty Images)
Sports
Ex-NFL star implores Russell Wilson to hang it up: ‘Do your TV thing’
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Russell Wilson has had his share of ups and downs in his NFL career.
He helped the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in 2013 and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. But the last few years of his career arguably did some damage to his legacy as he’s spent the last three seasons with three different teams.
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New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 9, 2025. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Wilson is still on the free-agent market as he looks to latch on to a new team for 2026. However, former NFL star Aqib Talib implored Wilson to hang up the cleats.
“Do your TV thing, Russ. It’s over with, man. Once you’ve got to decide, do I even want to play?” Talib said on “The Arena: Gridiron.” “I think you don’t really want to play. I hate when guys get to the later part of their career and then they start doing the bounce-around thing and they’re not going to win. There was no chip in New York. That’s just going to be another stop on your resume.”
Wilson reportedly garnered some interest from NFL teams.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson stands on the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Oct. 26, 2025. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
He told the New York Post that the New York Jets were one of them.
Wilson also was reportedly a candidate to take Matt Ryan’s spot on CBS’ “The NFL Today” after Ryan left to take a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson has 46,966 passing yards and 353 passing touchdowns in 205 career games, but the 2025 season with the New York Giants was one to forget.
Wilson started three games and made some bizarre decisions in a loss against the Chiefs. Jaxson Dart was named the starting quarterback. As he came in to take a few snaps while Dart was being checked for a concussion, Wilson was booed.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 19, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
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Should he end up signing with another team, Wilson will be entering his age-38 season.
Sports
Artists, community come together to welcome World Cup to Inglewood with murals and more
A lot has changed since Jacori Perry attended Morningside High School.
Perry is now a renowned artist who goes by the names Mr. Ace and AiseBorn.
The school is now known as Inglewood High School United.
And the lecture hall on that campus now features a large, ornate mural of a soccer ball being grasped by the hands of two people — freshly painted by the 2004 Morningside graduate as the city of Inglewood prepares to host eight World Cup games at SoFi Stadium starting next month.
Local artist Mr. Ace works on his mural at Inglewood High School United on May 11. The artists, whose real name is Jacori Perry, attended the school when it was known as Morningside High more than two decades ago.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
“If you told me that I would be back here painting one of the walls on this campus when I was in high school, I don’t think that I necessarily would have foreseen it,” Mr. Ace said as he was putting the finishing touches on his mural last week. “So I’m a little in amazement about just the way life works in that sense.”
He was one of several Los Angeles-based artists to participate in a Road to World Cup Community Day last month at Inglewood High United. Many of the artists — including Juan Pablo Reyes (“JP murals”), Michelle Ruby Guerrero (“Mr. B Baby”) and Angel Acordagoitia — sketched designs on portable panels (12-feet by 8-feet) and picnic tables for community members to paint.
The picnic tables will remain at the high school in front of Mr. Ace’s mural. The mobile murals will be placed throughout LAX to welcome visitors arriving for the World Cup.
Kathryn Schloessman, CEO of the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee, said in a news release that the event was “just one example of how the energy of the World Cup can be felt in neighborhoods across our region.”
“Students, artists, and volunteers came together to create a work of art that will live on well beyond the end of the tournament,” Schloessman said. “It’s a reflection of the creativity, diversity, and community pride that makes our region so special as we prepare to host the world for FIFA World Cup 2026.”
Community members were encouraged to take part in the painting process, no matter their skill level.
“We made it easy enough for people that have zero experience to a proficient level of experience, for them to all be involved,” said Reyes, who designed and helped paint two mural panels and three tables. “We did the sketch, and then I tried to dab a little bit of color — whatever color is supposed to be there, I dabbed a little bit of color right there, so they would have a guide. …
Students and community members help paint a mural panel during a Road to World Cup Community Day event May 2 at Inglewood High School.
(Dawn M. Burkes / Los Angeles Times)
“I was right there, kind of supervising, making sure that everything went as planned. And if anybody has questions, they’re more than welcome to let me know about them. But, yeah, it’s pretty easy for them to kind of be involved and feel that sense of ownership and have a sense of pride that, ‘Yeah, I was part of that mural-creation process.’ It’s a rich experience for them.”
Acordagoitia sketched several table-top designs for the public to paint at the event.
“They did great,” he said of the community members. “They helped a lot. They were asking questions. They got all the other colors correct. So, yeah, they were excited. A lot of kids were excited to see the live painting, because now kids are used to being on their phones. So that was a great experience for them.”
Acordagoitia also opted to paint a mural panel on his own because “it was a little more technical,” involving portraits of his 8-year-old son, a nephew and a friend.
“I wanted to focus more on the youth because that’s really our future,” he said. “So that’s, that’s the main thing about the mural, just about the kids, soccer, culture, community. It’s exciting for me, because I grew up playing soccer and to include soccer with art, it’s just a dream come true.”
Guerrero said “the community was a big help in filling in all the background colors that I need in order to build the detail and layers” on the two mural panels she designed.
“My whole style is based on culture. And I think that there’s a connection there with the World Cup and how I feel like it brings together all the culture and just, like, celebration,” Guerrero said. “It kind of goes hand in hand with the type of work I do, because my stuff is really festive, celebrating culture. And just as an L.A.-based artist, I think the collaboration made sense.”
The four artists also took part in another Road to World Cup Community Day in downtown L.A. at Gloria Molina Grand Park on March 14. At that event, the artists sketched designs on large sculptures shaped like soccer balls and an oversized picnic table, also for community members to paint.
While Mr. Ace opted to paint his permanent mural at Inglewood High School United on his own, he was sure to include the community theme into his work.
“The idea was really centered around just creating something that was community-based — something that represented the World Cup but also represented some sense of community,” he said. “And so what I did was try to create something that was symbolic, very direct in terms of its relationship to soccer and figuring out through that how to create something simple that [brings] into that a sense of community. And that’s how I landed on the two hands holding the soccer ball.”
Local artist Mr. Ace works on his World Cup-themed mural at Inglewood High School United on May 11.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Back when he was a student on that campus, Mr. Ace said he was always involved in art and knew he wanted a career as an artist. He struggled to come up with the right words to describe how it felt being back there creating a work of art to be shared with the students, all of the community and everyone who happens to see it on the way to a World Cup match.
“I guess there’s no words to really describe it,” he said. “I think if any artist gets the opportunity to paint at their own high school — especially if they’ve been doing large-scale works around the city, the country or the world — I think that is a little touching. When it’s attached to something like the World Cup … you know, a large part of my childhood was spent in Inglewood, so coming from my circumstances and life, I think it’s even more intriguing.”
Sports
Indy 500: Counting Down The 10 Best Finishes In Race History
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The best Indianapolis 500 finish could be subjective, depending on which driver a fan was rooting for to win.
It certainly is in the eye of the beholder.
So take this list for what it’s worth. One view of the 10 best finishes in Indianapolis 500 history. Of course, it skews to more recent decades when the runs have come a little faster and the finishes have had a tendency to be a little closer.
We’ll add one each day to this list of fantastic finishes ahead of the 110th running of the Indy 500 on May 24 (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX).
10. Ericsson outduels O’Ward (2022)
After a red flag, Marcus Ericsson held off Pato O’Ward in a two-lap shootout. The shootout didn’t last two laps, though, as there was a crash on the final lap behind them. Ericsson had a comfortable lead when the red flag came out for a crash with four laps to go, a situation where in past Indianapolis 500 races, they likely would have ended the race under caution with Ericsson as the winner.
9. Foyt survives chaos (1967)
How does a driver who wins by two laps end up on this list? It’s because the win nearly didn’t happen on the last lap. A big crash with cars and debris littering the frontstretch just ahead of Foyt as he came to the checkered flag forced him to navigate through the wreckage for the win.
8. Sato can’t catch Franchitti (2012)
This was one of those finishes where the leader holds on for the win, but boy did the leader have to hold on. Takuma Sato tried to pass Dario Franchitti early on the final lap but to no avail and Franchitti sped off for the victory. This was one of those Indy 500s that made you hold your breath all the way to the checkered flag.
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