JUPITER, Fla. – For better or for worse, the St. Louis Cardinals are shaking up their wardrobe this season.
The Cardinals are expected to debut their City Connect uniforms later this season. However, as pitchers and catchers report to spring training, there’s another big uniform change that’s the talk of town, and not particularly in good graces for everyone.
Beginning with the 2024 MLB season, all 30 MLB teams will use Fanatics-produced attire that MLB brands as the Nike Vapor Premier uniform set.
“Using the latest in digital technology, Nike body-scanned more than 300 baseball players to dial in the ideal fit — more athletic and form-fitting than the previous chassis,” said MLB.com in a news release. The league also notes that the jerseys are intended to improve performance, mobility, breathability, and moisture management.
To make that happen, there were some very noticeable changes to the uniform contents. According to a December 2023 exclusive report from Uni-Watch.com, all front numbers are now four inches high, back numbers are eight inches high, and NOB letting is 2.5 inches high.
From an eye test of last year’s Cardinals jerseys, the new ones seem to use smaller font sizes, offering a bit more of a congested look with arched names and less-rigid numbers. And at least for the home attire, there’s a noticeably less vibrant shade of red on the names and numbers, plus a subtle change in pure whiteness of the jerseys.
Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas was quick to point out the changes, acknowledging his frustrations with Cardinals beat reporters Jeff Jones and Derrick Goold on Tuesday.
“I don’t like them,” Mikolas said. He also cited concerns with how the jerseys fit, how the pants are no longer customized, and how the fabric feels different.
“They look cheap,” another unidentified player told Jones.
FOX 2’s Kevin Ryans, reporting from Jupiter this week, shared several photos of players practicing in the new-look jerseys. New pitcher Kyle Gibson’s jersey shows how some of the changes have translated from last year to now.
A poll conducted on a Chicago Cubs centric website with nearly 800 responses showed that only around 6% of baseball fans felt positive about the new jersey numbers and letter styles, with the other 94% expressing “Nay” or “Meh” on their views of the attire.
Despite wide criticism, some players seem to be in favor of the changes, including Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado.
“The Nike Vapor Premier jersey is soft, light and comfortable. It’s almost like wearing my favorite shirt out on the field — and so easy to move around in,” said Arneado via MLB.com’s news release.
One element staying similar, at least, is the Birds on the Bat logo in the front. The home and road jerseys still use traditional colors for the Cardinals logo, still stitched upon both uniforms.
Pitchers and catchers, and some position players have now reported to spring training. The whole team is expected to report by the end of this weekend. Spring training games will begin on Feb. 24.
