Laugh my ass off. Uni-Watch has been bringing us some great breaking and exclusive news about the 2024 season and the uniforms to come. While no Cardinals news yet, yesterday’s Uni-Watch post about the San Diego Padres uniforms rubbed me the wrong way and really shows how ludicrous Nike’s 4+1 rule is. The Padres will be wearing their Home Whites, Road Gray, Brown Tops, Camouflage Light, Camouflage Dark, and City Connect. A total of 6 uniforms. The reason? Quote, “MLB allowing Padres to keep both camo unis, even with new “4+1” rule. Grandfathered in to allow tradition of honoring the military to continue.” – Jesse Adler on Elon’s World.
So as long as we put some camouflage in the uniform or have some nod to the United States military, we’re allowed to have as many uniforms as we want? Was that the case with the Oregon Ducks football team years ago? They came out every week in new uniforms, new colors, new helmets, all new gear, you name it. But I never remember them wearing camouflage. So why did they get infinite uniforms? Probably because they’re in close proximity to Nike’s headquarters, right? But that doesn’t make sense, because are they actually making their products in Oregon? I was under the impression that Nike’s factories are located in 2nd and 3rd world countries. But some googling lead me to this: https://manufacturingmap.nikeinc.com.
Back to my rant… With the mandatory addition of the City Connect uniforms, and limiting teams to how many uniforms they’re allowed to have, it would seem that Nike has an iron clad contract that allows them to fuck around with any team’s brand, unless of course it has ties to the military, then the rules don’t apply anymore.
But also, let’s not forget, we aren’t allowed to have as many uniforms as we want not just because of the 4+1 rule, but because of Nike’s production issues. In both 2022 and 2023, Nike had production issues that limited what the Cardinals wanted to wear, affecting both of our alternate uniforms. In 2022, the Saturday Cream alternates were not available until the final Saturday in April, and the Saturday Blue alternates were not available until the first Saturday in May. In 2023 the Saturday Blue alternates were not available until the fourth Saturday in April. So again, I’m confused about how many uniforms we’re allowed to have and when we’re allowed to have them. But also let’s just add a City Connect, let’s sprinkle in some camouflage desecration, let’s relocate to Beaverton, Oregon…..
What’s my point? I think Nike’s rules are dumb. I think the power should be given back to the teams. I think we should go back to the tradition of having our uniforms produced locally by St. Louis companies, like Rawlings and Liebe.
Cardinals Uniforms & Logos 
Preach!
Love the piss and vinegar in the post.
Nike can fuck right off as far as I’m concerned, and the same goes for Rob Manfred and the owners for getting into bed with them. Any company that runs an ad featuring a picture of Tiger Woods with the words “Winning Fixes Everything” underneath after it came to light what a shit he had been can go straight to hell.
I, like you, really wish control of uniforms remained with the individual teams.
LikeLike
I’m surprised at the level of “outrage” that the Spring Training uniform situation is receiving. You’d think this would be a welcome change considering the Cards were Grapefruit League champions last year before struggling in the regular season. Like it or not, most of the decisions regarding uniforms circle around efficiency, from the manufacturer, the league and the club.
The move to red Spring Training uniforms in 2014 was driven by the league, who suggested that all teams have one jersey top to be worn in all ST games. The teams that were hauling both home and road unis to ST embraced the concept, as they didn’t have to worry about two sets of unis (home and road). If a player was acquired in a preseason acquisition during ST, the club only had to race to get one jersey prepped for him. Further, the addition of Grapefruit League patches and graphics on the rear numbers were MLB initiatives. They used ST as a bit of a testing ground (at least for the sublimated graphics on the numerals) and also wanted to build the brands of the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues respectively. This all came from the original move to one ST jersey, which was about efficiency.
One of the primary factors behind the Cardinals’ 2013 logo/jersey redesign was due to Majestic’s shrinking the front logo from approximately 2004-2011. The logo had gradually reduced in size and was ultimately about 25% smaller in 2011 than in 2004, but this was not directed by the team or league. It was found to have been a subtle move to increase the production time of the unis…EFFICIENCY.
When MLB moved to Nike in 2020, there was absolutely a push to reign in the total number of sets from every team. Part of this was because Nike was rushing to accommodate the MLB contract (it was originally Under Armor’s contract and Nike saved them by buying out the proposed deal when UA had financial hardship). Turn times for specialty jerseys in the first year under Nike were 3-6 MONTHS. Care Cards were one of the only teams to get a specialty jersey that season, a TBTC St Louis Stars uni to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues. The “4+1” branding from Nike/MLB is just a fancy way of setting a limit.
But think about it like this, four unique sets of uniforms equates to hundreds of garments each team is maintaining:
-26-man roster plus coaching staff normally equals about 35 jerseys. Each set is made in duplicate, so every player/coach has a back-up jersey.
-Starting pitchers, catchers and star players are regularly afforded the opportunity for multiple jerseys of the same set. Some starters prefer a fresh jersey every inning. Catchers wear through their jerseys faster than any other player due to their equipment rubbing on the garment. Stars are stars, if they want a few extra jerseys in the rotation, they will be accommodated.
There are roughly 100 or so jerseys of each set–Home, Road, Home Alternate and Road Alternate. Add the “plus one” set, and you’re talking about managing 500+ garments with coordinating pants, hats and batting helmets.
When those numbers are considered, it’s reasonable to see why the league and manufacturer (and a number of teams) are looking for opportunities to pare down the overall load. Apparently 4+1=EFFICIENCY. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person