Uniform maker fashions response

The Bryce Harper jersey that could have been worn this baseball season by the biggest Phillies fan is now a protective mask in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Fanatics, the company that manufactures uniforms for Major League Baseball, has suspended production on jerseys and is instead using the polyester mesh fabric to make masks and gowns for hospitals in Pennsylvania and nearby states.

Yankees and Phillies pinstripes were still in vogue on baseball’s scheduled opening day — only stitched on the protective wear made by the apparel company.

Michael Rubin, the founder and executive chairman of Fanatics, was watching TV last week when he was struck by the idea to turn the 360,000-square foot facility in Easton, Pa., into a factory for the COVID-19 fight.

Fanatics developed a prototype that was approved by the state’s emergency agency and by Tuesday the company halted production of all baseball jerseys.

Rubin, a limited ownership partner of the NBA’s 76ers and NHL’s Devils, said he had the blessing of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to stop producing jerseys.

Fanatics stated fashioning masks and gowns Tuesday, and Rubin hoped to produce nearly 15,000 masks and gowns a day. Rubin said the demand was for 95% masks. The production plant had been shut down as a nonessential business, but about 100 workers have returned to work for Fanatics.

The company is making Level 1 masks, used for low-risk, nonsurgical procedures that are the accepted standard for surgical and procedural use.

Rubin spoke to Manfred and Fanatics teamed with MLB to provide hospital uniforms at no cost to those in need in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.

Hockey equipment manufacturer Bauer has shifted from making visors for helmets to medical visors for those fighting the coronavirus pandemic.