After a journalist posted a picture of San Francisco Giants' infielder Casey Schmitt at spring training this week, the photo went viral for being rather … revealing.
Baseball players have been wearing a new MLB uniform to training this year, designed by Nike and sports gear retailer Fanatics, but they've haven't been too happy about it. Players have gone on record saying they don’t like the designs, and now, fans have noticed one major change — it seems like the new white pants are essentially see-through.
Alex Pavlovic, a reporter with NBC Sports Bay Area (which is co-owned by the Giants), shared an Instagram story of Schmitt wearing the new uniform during a photoshoot on Thursday, per Sports Illustrated. Unfortunately, the pants left little to the imagination in terms of what’s underneath.
Even though Pavlovic deleted the story, screenshots have surfaced on Xitter and other platforms, as SFGATE reported (and as a head’s up, it should go without saying, but some of these links are not quite safe for work).
These new uniforms were supposed to be lighter and thinner, but fans are raising some concerns about the design of the jerseys. Many are reportedly blaming Fanatics for the noticeable drop in quality, although it’s been making the MLB jerseys for the past four years. In fact, the MLB is insisting that the pants haven’t been changed. In an official statement, the leagues said, “The uniform pants have the same material and thickness as the uniform pants used last season … There were changes to the fabric of the jersey, not the pants,” per WSJ reporter Lindsey Adler.
It all seems like a bit of a mess, with all this hubbub before preseason has even started. But hey, hopefully it’s the start of a good, interesting season for the Giants.
Feature image of Oracle Park via Unsplash/Ruari Bell.