Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller had a great start on Friday night, giving up just three hits and one unearned run over the course of 6-1/3 innings.
Not only that, but he reportedly did it while wearing the bat boy’s pants.
That word came down on Sunday from M’s beat reporter Ryan Divish, who covers the team for The Seattle Times. Check out what he tweeted:
The Mariners don’t have their Sunday cream uniforms yet. Still delayed from Nike. They are supposed to be back for the next homestand.
Also Bryce Miller wore the bat boys pants for the city connect game cause his didn’t fit properly.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) April 14, 2024
It’s not clear what the specific issue was with the fit of Miller’s CC pants, but many players — especially pitchers — have complained about Nike offering fewer pant-customization options with the new template.
But here’s the thing: Miller is listed as 6′2″, plus he’s a low-cuffer. Do the Mariners really have a bat boy who’s that tall? Speaking of the bat boy, did he end up wearing Miller’s pants?
I emailed Divish to ask about this. I didn’t get a response, so I contacted a Mariners official, who said he’d look into it. No response yet, but I’ll update this post if I hear back from either of them.
Meanwhile: Like I said earlier, Miller pitched really well in the borrowed pants. Given how notoriously superstitious ballplayers can be, I wonder if he’ll stick with them!
It’s absolutely shocking to me that MLB wouldn’t insist on delivery of ALL FULL uniforms BEFORE spring training begins. I’m sorry but if I was running the MLB I would tell Nike that these unis could not and would not see the light of day until next season if they could not be delivered in full before spring training.
It’s absolutely shocking to me that MLB wouldn’t insist on delivery of ALL FULL uniforms BEFORE spring training begins.
That’s not possible, because measurements are taken *at* spring training.
In a hypothetical world, all things are possible. If I was commissioner, they’d better find a way. If they can outfit the teams in spring training unis, they can outfit them in regular unis. Especially since most players should know what size they wear by that point in their careers. Player specific tailoring can be done later. On that note, is player specific tailoring not allowed? I understand Nike has a few fits they are offering players, but are they not allowed to use team staff or independent tailors to alter their unis in regards to fit?
This actually is something Fanatics management is responsible for: Maintaining proper staff/resource levels at the Easton, PA factory in order to turnaround the uniforms in the short time between spring training and the regular season.
It’s absolutely shocking to me that MLB would insist on making Nike’s terrible new template even worse by requiring their logo remain the same size as previous seasons despite said size being too large for the new template.
But here we are.
The pants DO look a lil short!
If you look at other pics of him, they’re the same length he usually wears.
Given his height, that might really be a Bat Man…
This is the Mariners we’re talking about, so I’m guessing that the real culprit was their cheapskate owner not paying for the unis until the absolute last minute, or deciding to reduce the order without telling anyone to save a few bucks, and figuring they could just make do.
Regardless, John Stanton deserves a FYVM.
The Mariners’ payroll is 16th in the league. You can argue about how they’ve spent their money, but the local trope of cheapskate owners is borne out of frustration from having never made the World Series rather than reality. Ask Paul how indiscriminate spending last off-season worked out for his Mets.
Nike/Other Apparel Companies, Broadcast/Streaming Outlets and Advertisers/Sponsors are in charge of sports now. The sports themselves are not in charge. I think Paul Lukas has been warning us about this for 20+ years.
Think about all the money Nike, broadcast sponsors, and now GAMBLING sponsors pay to be the official X of the leagues. Of course they have tremendous influence on the leagues, it is no different than campaign donors and elected officials. Large corporations control everything now, and the public doesn’t fight back because marketing and “keeping up with the Jones” mindset have brainwashed us into being unable to live without their mostly superfluous products.
Even if that’s true, what is happening is so shortsighted by all parties involved. This is a multi billion dollar business, with free advertising from any number of media outlets. It can’t be that expensive to outfit a few hundred players perfectly, relative to the money they are making off them. Even if they paid for a master tailor to customize each player’s uniform, they could make that back just by people thinking that the uniforms are well-made and buying them. Instead, the narrative is now that Nike (and Fanatics, whether or not that’s accurate), are putting out a shoddy product, and I would imagine that would hurt merchandise sales.
bat boys are teenagers to guys in their 20s now
Thanks to Darren Baker
In recent seasons the Cubs have employed a bat boy who has a full beard.
that was marla collins back in 84 ;)
And in April, the bat boys are still in school. Adult personal fill in for them.
” their cheapskate owner not paying for the unis until the absolute last minute”
I don’t know how the contracts work, but I always sort of went on the assumption that since Nike PAYS MLB (and other leagues) to be their uniform provider, that means the teams would then not be purchasing uniforms. Right?
No. MLB pays Nike (as do all other professional leagues).
The situation is the opposite for colleges, where the uniform suppliers actually pay the schools (the schools in turn give the maunfacturers perks — such as free premium tix to games, sole rights to all school gear for sale in the student store and elsewhere, signage, ads, etc.)
Nike pays MLB for the contract and the right to have the swoosh on the uniforms. The teams then buy the individual uniforms from Nike/Fanatics.
Bad deal for MLB (and other leagues).
Big European soccer clubs sign lucrative contracts with their respective uniform suppliers. Manchester United’s current deal with Adidas sees them pay £90.6m per season.
No offense to the Mariners or any big league teams for this but. I understand what they are used to and entitled to in the CBA. But In high school and in college We had a Tailor do all of our uniforms. Its not that hard for the players or the Team to bring someone in to do this. If it was a matter of time though I get it.
The whole MLB season so far has just been a Simpson’s meme of Nelson Muntz pointing and saying “Ha Ha”. Nike, MLB, and so many individual teams just committing self-own after self-own, and because it all relates to uniforms, the malarkey is maximally visible to fans in a way that, say, financial mismanagement isn’t.
Bat Boy will never get his pants back after that game.
Miller might wear the Batboy’s black pants again…a one in 5 chance that his spot in the rotation comes up the next time the Mariners have a Friday home game.