Major League Baseball Players Upset with “See-Through Pants” -

By Anthony Curioso

The newly designed uniforms for the 2024 season in Major League Baseball (MLB) have caused a riveting discussion among fans and players.

Many fans have criticized the new uniforms, saying they look like knock-offs, similar to the player shirts sold in the teams’ souvenir stores.

However, the players have also raised concerns about the quality of the uniforms with the most prominent concern being the pants. As spring training games started on February 22, players and fans watching Cactus League action in Arizona reported that the pants players wore allowed people to see through them if they looked closely enough.

An Associated Press report on baseball’s new uniforms quotes MLB officials saying the “new uniforms improve mobility by providing 25% more stretch and…will dry 28% faster. The lettering, sleeve emblems, and numbering are less bulky in an attempt to make uniforms more breathable and comfortable.”

The apparent “great MLB pants debacle of 2024” that has come to light recently is not the first time players have expressed their distaste for the uniforms they have had to wear. Arguably, the most famous example was in 2016, when the then-Chicago White Sox ace, Chris Sale, earned a five-game suspension for using scissors to cut up an uncomfortable uniform set that the White Sox were planning to wear for a game.

The pants debacle is also not the first time that MLB has gotten complaints about changes first made during spring training. Many will recall that the sweeping rule changes that MLB first implemented last season also caused mixed emotions in the community. In that case, most people slowly overcame their frustrations with the rule changes as the season progressed.

Whether the MLB will change the new uniforms in response to the players’ complaints is still to be determined. Still, some have suggested that the league must consider the opinions of those who wear them the most before implementing such significant changes. In the meantime, players must adjust to the new uniforms and hope they do not cause too many issues during games.

On the other hand, fans will have to decide whether they can overlook the see-through pants and other potential flaws while watching their favorite teams play this season. Time will tell whether the new uniforms will be a hit or a miss among baseball fans and players alike.