MLB shirts

[ChrisUrbz]

Does anyone know if Nike will start making umpire shirts for 2023 or will they keep the Majestic logo with a new shirt design?

[Ump242]

I would like to know too, cause if they dont, I think either 1) Majestic may just make shirts for MLB umps only (backstock?), or 2) MLB umps might start using Smithy shirts

 

Seen a photo of a design supposedly by Nike for a field jacket

[ChrisUrbz]

Yeah, I seen a Nike jacket as well. You would think either way something would have come out by now since Majestic stopped making the side panel shirts. 

[MadMax]

As of the hand-off to Nike in 2020, Majestic is no way involved or attached to Major League uniforms of any kind, full stop. 

Decisions regarding Major League Baseball Umpires, re: their uniforms, must clear a committee of MLBU representatives. An example of this was in 2014-15, when Majestic had secured the entire production run of their newest and latest development of CoolBase fabric. They were ready to crank out production, but MLBU did not approve of their proposals, and as such, did not sign off on commissioning and accepting any new shirt designs. As such, Majestic had to do something with that material, or else it would have to be written off, so they produced two shirts – one in all black, and one in “traditional” navy (with the red and white trim), hoping to capture some sales with organizations such as American Legion, Little League, and various State-level NFHS units (such as Ohio, or Mi… I’ll stop right there). An agreement was struck to test the all-black shirts on select crews in MLB, as part of a trial study. Such features as the panel, and the drop-tail were included in the resulting 2016 design we now know and use, while others, such as the collar shape and the button garage were dropped. 

It was Majestic’s reluctance to continue that initiated the transfer to Nike, by way of UnderArmour, who actually accepted the contract in 2018, and then backed out on it. 

With Nike taking up the reins, I’m sure someone mentioned to the Nike designers that uniforms would be needed for the umpires (eventually), but of course, the pandemic was still upon us, and it became a small priority, especially since any proposals would have to clear the MLBU Committee. As such, they’ve been using Majestic backstock in the interim, with the logos obscured. 

That FTX logo sure did a helluva job obscuring, didn’t it?? 🙄

There’s also the possibility that Nike designers have placed multiple proposals in front of the MLBU Committee, but given Nike’s track record (have you seen some of their NCAA College football unis??!!), the Committee may have rejected all of them, in taste alone. 

[Chris Hickman]

No changes in 23

[ChrisUrbz]

5 hours ago, MadMax said:

As of the hand-off to Nike in 2020, Majestic is no way involved or attached to Major League uniforms of any kind, full stop. 

Decisions regarding Major League Baseball Umpires, re: their uniforms, must clear a committee of MLBU representatives. An example of this was in 2014-15, when Majestic had secured the entire production run of their newest and latest development of CoolBase fabric. They were ready to crank out production, but MLBU did not approve of their proposals, and as such, did not sign off on commissioning and accepting any new shirt designs. As such, Majestic had to do something with that material, or else it would have to be written off, so they produced two shirts – one in all black, and one in “traditional” navy (with the red and white trim), hoping to capture some sales with organizations such as American Legion, Little League, and various State-level NFHS units (such as Ohio, or Mi… I’ll stop right there). An agreement was struck to test the all-black shirts on select crews in MLB, as part of a trial study. Such features as the panel, and the drop-tail were included in the resulting 2016 design we now know and use, while others, such as the collar shape and the button garage were dropped. 

It was Majestic’s reluctance to continue that initiated the transfer to Nike, by way of UnderArmour, who actually accepted the contract in 2018, and then backed out on it. 

With Nike taking up the reins, I’m sure someone mentioned to the Nike designers that uniforms would be needed for the umpires (eventually), but of course, the pandemic was still upon us, and it became a small priority, especially since any proposals would have to clear the MLBU Committee. As such, they’ve been using Majestic backstock in the interim, with the logos obscured. 

That FTX logo sure did a helluva job obscuring, didn’t it?? 🙄

There’s also the possibility that Nike designers have placed multiple proposals in front of the MLBU Committee, but given Nike’s track record (have you seen some of their NCAA College football unis??!!), the Committee may have rejected all of them, in taste alone. 

That sucks so we are stuck using Smitty for 2023 ugh..

[BT_Blue]

9 hours ago, MadMax said:

have you seen some of their NCAA College football unis??!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living just outside of Portland, I can vouch for how many uniform ideas they can come up with. Especially during the early 2010s

[MadMax]

6 hours ago, ChrisUrbz said:

That sucks so we are stuck using Smitty for 2023 ugh..

Nah, I’m buying Honig’s shirts for anything I have a choice in. 

[ChrisUrbz]

7 hours ago, MadMax said:

Nah, I’m buying Honig’s shirts for anything I have a choice in. 

Is the Honig shirt a better quality then Smitty? I know the old shirts used to be but haven't bought any since the panel style came out.

[MadMax]

6 hours ago, ChrisUrbz said:

Is the Honig shirt a better quality then Smitty?

In my opinion, yes. Limper, softer fabric. Smaller, narrower collar (not neck, per se). Slimmer in the torso, slimmer in the arms. 

Only downside is that obnoxious, oversized "jock tag" on the lower front of the shirt. If they make it a quarter the size, it still serves its purpose. 

[BT_Blue]

Don't know if this is still the case. But last time I bought Honigs (decade plus ago when the style was the thing stripe down the side) the sleeves for the moisture wicking undershirts they sold were longer than the sleeves of the shirts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JSam21]

On 12/25/2022 at 1:39 AM, ChrisUrbz said:

That sucks so we are stuck using Smitty for 2023 ugh..

We would never see the Nike officials uniform to begin with. 

[Ump242]

4 minutes ago, JSam21 said:

We would never see the Nike officials uniform to begin with. 

We would,  on TV when the mlb umps wear them,  maybe a heads up from sneak peak/ spoiler photos,  lol

 

And they wouldn't be acquirable by amateur for at least 1 year

[JSam21]

17 minutes ago, Ump242 said:

We would,  on TV when the mlb umps wear them,  maybe a heads up from sneak peak/ spoiler photos,  lol

 

And they wouldn't be acquirable by amateur for at least 1 year

The NBA is the only league that Nike makes uniforms for with the logo on it. Has anyone seen those widely available on the open market? We will get other companies making replicas of them before we actually see a Nike branded one on the market. 

[boyinr]

13 hours ago, JSam21 said:

We would never see the Nike officials uniform to begin with. 

I will go out on a limb and say this is going to be just like the Nike catchers masks.  The only way to get them is to know someone.  They have no interest in providing low volume products to an even smaller market.    

[BCBrad]

Well the Nike Swoosh will probably be better than the FTX on all the MLB shirts. 

[umpstu]

On 12/27/2022 at 5:45 PM, BT_Blue said:

Don't know if this is still the case. But last time I bought Honigs (decade plus ago when the style was the thing stripe down the side) the sleeves for the moisture wicking undershirts they sold were longer than the sleeves of the shirts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hated the sleeves on those. Even the sleeves on the later models t shirts were long.  And now you can't find them.  IMO the best under shirts on the market, provided you can find them.

[Ump242]

13 hours ago, boyinr said:

I will go out on a limb and say this is going to be just like the Nike catchers masks.  The only way to get them is to know someone.  They have no interest in providing low volume products to an even smaller market.    

Then why even bid for it?

[boyinr]

19 hours ago, Ump242 said:

Then why even bid for it?

Easy.  They want to make 500 for the national TV market vs 5,000 for the local Rec park.  It’s all about the Swoosh.  

[blue32]

I actually kinda like the V2 Smitty shirts with the side panels. Not as nice as the Majestic but was a HUGE upgrade from the Smitty V1, which was garbage. Can’t believe there are people still selling those on Amazon, for the same price as the V2. 

[JSam21]

On 12/28/2022 at 11:38 PM, Ump242 said:

Then why even bid for it?

 

15 hours ago, boyinr said:

Easy.  They want to make 500 for the national TV market vs 5,000 for the local Rec park.  It’s all about the Swoosh.  

One word... Perception. When your brand is seen as the uniform supplier for 3 of the 4 major sports in the US... it makes your brand that much more prestigious. It is the same reason why WWE will only run arenas that have over a certain number of seats, even if they won't sell them out.  Makes them seem like a bigger deal. When the consumer thinks that the brand is a big deal, then they become a bigger deal. 

[NicNag]

Either way that FTX logo needs to go. The went bankrupt 2 seasons ago and MLB still promoting this cryptocurrency bs. 

[JSam21]

2 hours ago, NicNag said:

Either way that FTX logo needs to go. The went bankrupt 2 seasons ago and MLB still promoting this cryptocurrency bs. 

If by two seasons ago, you mean November 2022... then sure. 

[Ump242]

Taking off or just ordering shirts with no ftx logo should be easy enough

[Ump242]

And I was just thinking, If Majestic was pricy and sold the shirts between $60 and $70, what do you think Nike would charge for theirs? if it even bothered to sell it to the amateur umpire market...$80? $90? $100?