Players’ union head Clark hopeful 2024 uniforms will soon be altered following complaints
Baseball players’ association head Tony Clark is hopeful 2024 uniforms will soon be altered following complaints by his members.
The uniforms designed by
Nike and manufactured by Fanatics have been criticized by players for pants that are somewhat see through and for lettering, sleeve emblems and numbering that are less bulky and apparently smaller.
“You just don’t expect to have conversations about uniforms,” Clark said Thursday after meeting with New York Yankees players. “And so having them, I’m hopeful, and this goes back to what we suggested before, in picking up the phone and talking to all the folks involved, having some appreciation for folks paying attention to it now perhaps more so than they were before spring started yet.”
Player comments have slowed recently.
“It’s calm because the commentary that’s being offered suggests that the powers that be are paying attention to the concerns that are there and are engaging how best to address them moving forward.” Clark said. “And so the tension that was drawn early, the concerns still exist. We’re hopeful that as we sprint toward opening day over the course of the next month or so that we don’t have a second batch of commentary around the pants when the lights come on.”
■ .DODGERS: Shohei Ohtani stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers — and many around the world — with his marriage announcement on Thursday.
Ohtani, the two-way Japanese star, revealed on Instagram early Thursday that he was married. Much of the relationship remains shroudded in mystery.
“She is a Japanese woman,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “I don’t really feel comfortable talking about when I got married exactly, but she’s a normal Japanese woman.”
Ohtani only gave a few more tidbits about the relationship during a short interview on Thursday, saying he had known his new bride for three or four years.
The 29-year-old Ohtani is Japan’s biggest celebrity. There has been curiosity about his personal life, which he has always kept private. His focus and his image has always been 100 percent-baseball focused and free of scandals and tabloid news.
“I felt like it was good timing because it was before the season,” Ohtani said. “I didn’t really want any distractions once the season started. I would have liked to announce it earlier, but there were some paperwork issues that (delayed) the whole process.”
■ BLUE JAYS: Toronto Blue Jays reliever Erik Swanson’s son Toby has been discharged from the pediatric intensive care unit.
The 4-year-old boy was hit by a car Sunday in Clearwater, Fla., and was airlifted in critical condition to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.
“We have been overwhelmed with a huge amount of love and support over the last few days,” Swanson’s wife, Madison, wrote on Instagram on Wednesday night.
“The most important update is that Toby is out of the PICU and we are continuing to take it day by day.”