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1 MLB team is successfully resisting the tiny lettering on the back of their new Fanatics-produced Nike jerseys

The MLB jerseys produced by Fanatics for Nike have become a huge problem for the league, between see-through pants and the tiny letters on the back that players have complained about.

But one team has successfully resisted the tiny-letter issue: The Kansas City Royals.

Eagle-eyed Paul Lukas of Uni Watch took note of some Royals jerseys in spring training that had lettering that looked perfectly large … and sure enough, it’s a thing!

Lukas spoke with the team’s VP of communications and discovered that the Royals made a case despite the fact that there was no choice given to teams about lettering size:

  • The Royals like the new uniforms but felt strongly about maintaining the full-sized lettering as a way for fans to connect with the team’s players, so they worked with Nike and MLB to make that possible.
  • This was not a case of teams being presented with a choice of lettering sizes. There was no choice at all — everyone was supposed to get the smaller letters. The Royals essentially got a waiver because they lobbied hard for it. (This is similar to what Cardinals prexy Bill DeWitt III told me about how he lobbied hard to keep the team’s chain-stitched chest script.)

Pretty awesome. Does this mean that other teams will now ask for standard lettering? And would that mean producers would comply?

Or, perhaps, they’ll never be Royals.

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