MLB Unveils New All-Star Uniforms, Drawing Mockery From Fans

For decades, baseball’s All-Star Game was the most colorful event on the sporting calendar. Stars from the American and National Leagues donned their regular-season uniforms for the game, a visual treat that also gave viewers a clue to distinguish the players.

Still, this year’s game, held July 16 in Arlington, Texas, will be the fourth in a row to feature All-Star jerseys. It’s part of MLB’s 10-year deal with Nike, which runs through 2029, and while there’s reportedly momentum for a revival of the long-standing tradition for 2025, Nike gets what Nike wants for now.

Major League Baseball has released the uniforms for the upcoming 2024 MLB All-Star Game in Texas. Cream and coral for the AL, navy and light blue for the NL.

My story with pictures of all 30 teams and some history here: https://t.co/rNnooCuM0C photo.twitter.com/JgkaBpXlGl

—SportsLogos.Net (@sportslogosnet) July 4, 2024

Nike wants maximum attention for the All-Star jerseys, which were worn in Cleveland during Workout Day and the Home Run Derby in 1997, but not until 2021 in Denver during the game itself.

The last three All-Star Games have featured one team in a solid-colored jersey over solid-colored pants, a look more reminiscent of a superhero than a traditional baseball player. This year will be no exception, with the NL pairing navy pants with navy jerseys. The AL will wear beige pants with beige jerseys.

The lettering and sleeve colors are pastel blue for the NL and pastel red (“coral”, officially) for the AL, with the ubiquitous Nike crest on both fronts of the jersey. The spelling of “National League” and “American League” one over the other appears to be similar to the NL uniforms for the first All-Star Game in 1933 — but it’s worth noting that the idea was quickly abandoned in favor of teams wearing their regular jerseys.

The league will undoubtedly sell a lot of the 2024 shirts, but the reveal at X did prompt some frustrated reactions:

Can’t they just wear their regular uniforms? Why does everything have to be this way? https://t.co/m501JjjyhO

— Wayne Randazzo (@WayneRandazzo) July 3, 2024

We used to be a real country photo.twitter.com/hqsAmBEZCJ

—DraftKings (@DraftKings) July 3, 2024

Cool, but not as cool as the 1989 All-Star Game jerseys. photo.twitter.com/rd5KIvayZ9

— The Twins Almanac (@TwinsAlmanac) July 4, 2024

Can’t we do better? photo.twitter.com/12IRLcgwJZ

—Codify (@CodifyBaseball) July 3, 2024

Commissioner Rob Manfred — at least officially — has said he prefers the generic Nike look to players wearing their team uniforms. Asked about the change for the 2022 game in Los Angeles, he said, “I never thought that a baseball team wearing different uniforms during a game would be a particularly attractive look for us.”

Two years later, that position remains unchanged, judging by the uniforms we will see on July 16.

(Photo courtesy of MLB)