Nike backpedaling could bring back classic Braves uniforms
After a season of ridicule, Nike backpedaled on its MLB jersey design. However, will it bring back the old Braves design?
At the end of the 2024 MLB season, the league announced that Nike would be reverting back to the old design from its controversial jersey template introduced at the beginning of the season.
The controversial jersey and pants template went viral after its release for tiny lettering, ripping, mismatching, and displaying a copious amount of sweat. However, one underlooked casualty of the new design's standardization instantly downgraded the look of the Atlanta Braves uniforms.
But will the changes reverting the uniforms to the previous material and design bring back the Braves jersey's classic design?
Will the changes Nike made to the 2024 Braves jersey be fixed for the 2025 season?
According to MLB.com's press release, the jerseys will return to larger-sized player names, embroidered sleeve patches, the pre-2024 fabric, and have fully customizable pant options for players.
Not all of these changes will happen in 2025, however. While MLB will return to the same fabric for road greys by next season, home and alternate uniforms will still use the 2024 template until 2026.
Of all of the changes mentioned, the two that affected the Braves jersey the most, the downsized wordmarks on the front and the sleeve piping, are not mentioned.
It's possible that Nike, even with the return to last year's template, will simply continue using the new standardization when it comes to wordmarks and using elastic inserts in place of sewn in sleeve piping. This would mean that the Braves jerseys would continue looking like the 2024 template rather than the pre-2024 look.
(See this article I wrote comparing all of the changes the Braves have made since 1987)
There's also the possibility that next season, the Braves away jerseys will have the same pre-2024 design, with Nike returning back to the old fabric for just the greys, while the home jerseys remain the same.
MLB also announces All-Star surprise
In addition to announcing changes to the everyday uniforms, MLB also announced that starting in 2025, when Atlanta hosts the All-Star game, players will once again wear their team's uniforms during the game.
Since 2021, Nike has designed special uniforms for the All-Star Game, to mixed reception. 2024's editions were incredibly unpopular, which might have been the final straw for MLB. Nike will still design special edition uniforms for All-Star week, but these jerseys will only be worn by players attending the Home Run Derby. The participants, however, will wear their regular uniforms.
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