November 2nd, 2019 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Nike makes really cool stuff. They make awesome shoes, awesome sweats, awesome shirts, even awesome baseball equipment. But beginning in 2020, they are crossing the line. They are about to become the official uniform sponsor of Major League Baseball.
What’s the big deal, they make quality uniforms for the NBA and the NFL, you say?
You’re right, they do. But per a 10-year deal agreed upon by the global sportswear company and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred Jr. back on January 19, 2019, the jerseys that will be worn by every MLB team beginning in 2020 – home and away – will have the Nike swoosh logo on the front of the jersey; not appropriately placed on the shoulder or sleeve where the Majestic logo has been for nearly a decade, but on the front of the jersey. In other words, Major League Baseball has joined the ranks of professional sports to prostitute themselves out by taking the first step toward having their century and a half old baseball uniforms begin to look like Little League – or NASCAR – uniforms.
(Photo courtesy of @Reds)
“Nike’s global brand and reputation as a leader in driving innovation makes them an ideal partner,” Manfred said when the deal was announced last January.
No, what “makes them an ideal partner” is the ridiculously large (and undisclosed) amount of money that MLB will receive from Nike for this ‘privilege,’ in hopes of making millions off of fans through the sale of these NASCAR-like jerseys to fans who had absolutely no say in the matter.
(Photo courtesy of HendrickMotorSports.com)
“We’re thrilled to bring more innovation and creativity to Major League Baseball and the incredible athletes who play the game,” said Tom Peddie, vice president of Nike North America. “This is an exciting time for baseball, and we look forward to partnering with MLB to grow the sport both across America as well as around the globe.”
No, “this is an exciting time for” Nike to make millions off of fans through the sale of these NASCAR-like jerseys to fans who had absolutely no say in the matter.
I don’t know what your take on all of this is, but I can absolutely positively guarantee you that there is one veteran (old) Dodger fan with a closet full of Dodger jerseys who will not be suckered into lining Manfred’s or Peddie’s pockets in their attempt to ruin what is arguably the most recognized sports team logo in the world.
Fire away.
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Posted in 
Is this happening already? I don’t like it, swoosh should be on the sleeve somewhere but Nike always… https://t.co/1rjBzedTw3
Ugh, nnnnooooo
Terrible..
Maybe you should have titled this article MLB meet the NBA and CHINA.
Lebron James makes $32 million annually from Nike (Annual Lakers salary $35M), according to Forbes, and Nike’s revenue in China surpassed $6 billion from June 1, 2018 to May 31, 2019, according to statista.com.
Looks like MLB chose to follow the money and here is where that leads:
When the Houston Rocket GM criticized human right abuses by China in Hong Kong, Lebron James responded by saying “we do have freedom of speech, but there can be a lot of negative things that come with that”.
For James profit outweighs all else.
One of those negative things is comments from Lebron James.
https://t.co/SZNQx89bnZ
There is nothing more beautiful then the Dodger blue script on the front of their uniform jersey. A jersey that has been basically unchanged since 1938. Now it will be desecrated by the swoosh of commercialism. Wouldn’t it be great if all baseball fans refuse to by their team’s jersey until the swoosh is removed from the front.
I’m already there, my friend.