A botched rendition of the national anthem wasn’t the only controversy to come out of Major League Baseball’s 2024 all-star festivities.

On a Tuesday evening deep in the heart of Texas, during a game meant to showcase the best talent baseball has to offer, something unthinkable happened. Something unexplainable. Something that made some people very angry. MLB’s American League and National League all-stars… wore some ugly uniforms. (Gasp!)

Look, I’m going to be 100% real with you, dear reader. Normally, I couldn’t care less about the threads professional baseball players are donning on any given day. And considering we’re talking about uniforms designed to be worn for literally one single game that, in reality, has virtually no impact on the outcome of the MLB season, my care levels are reaching record lows. But there’s a lesson to be learned here, and I’ve resolved to do my best to talk this thing through.

Because the thing is, even though I’m not what one would consider the biggest uniform fanatic in the world, many people follow this stuff like it’s a full-time job. And let’s just say a lot of these people (and some of the more casual uniform observers, included) did not fancy the 2024 MLB All-Star Game uniforms.

Despite MLB’s best efforts to sell these designs as having a “distinctive Texas flair,” the only thing “Texas” about this Nike/Fanatics collab was the western-ish font and the single star placed upon each cap. Maybe it was the “sandy base” and coral sleeves of the AL jerseys or the navy and aqua blue NL uniforms. Neither had many features resembling the usual threads worn by the host club, the Texas Rangers. In fact, neither uniform looked anything like those worn by any of the other 29 ball clubs, which was one of the reasons why everyone was so upset about it.

Breaking With Tradition

For over eight decades, the players participating in MLB’s annual All-Star Game each wore their own uniform. There were no special-edition jerseys, no “National League” or “American League” stamped across their chests, only a brilliant ensemble of designs, fonts, logos and color styles that made for a chaotic yet aesthetically pleasing tapestry on the diamond.

This lack of uniformity also made it easier for viewers to identify and connect to the individual all-stars themselves. After all, the players are there representing their team more than the league their team belongs to, and fans absolutely love seeing “their guys” rocking the local team’s colors. Dave Parker in the bumble bee black and yellow of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Andre Dawson in the powder blue and red and white trim of the Montreal Expos. Rickey Henderson in the bright yellow and green of the Oakland Athletics. Frank Thomas in the black jersey and gray pants of the Chicago White Sox. Derek Jeter in the timeless New York Yankee pinstripes. Now that was the Midsummer Classic.

So when MLB decided to ditch this long-standing tradition and incorporate specially-made all-star uniforms starting in 2021, the response was less than enthusiastic. Even its own players weren’t crazy about the new idea, comparing that year’s iteration to “jumpsuits” or outfits you’d see worn at “slow pitch softball.”

“We can do better. We can do better, man,” shortstop Tim Anderson told the New York Post at the time. “We need the players’ input next time.”

“(They’re) kind of boring,” pitcher Mark Melancon told the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin. “I don’t like it. I like to see everybody’s personal uniforms, show all the teams’ different colors. I’m not sure why they went this route.”

Ironically, not much has changed after four years and four different designs – including Hollywood-inspired attire in 2022 and Seattle-themed threads in 2023. The prevailing sentiment among fans and players alike, it seems, is that the old way was superior and the new uniforms aren’t quite catching on.

“If we could change back to that, I think it would be really cool,” former NL-MVP Bryce Harper told Shaikin before the 2024 All-Star game.

An Experiment In Branded Marketing

It all begs the question: Why is MLB doing this? Why go through all the trouble of designing and fabricating a new uniform every year just to have the folks at home and your own players treat it as if it’s the last shirt remaining in the Wal-Mart clearance bin?

Well, for one, the league is having no trouble selling them.

Whether this is a product of scarcity, novelty or actual consumer taste is a debate for another day. But the real reason this whole endeavor came about in the first place, according to Shaikin, is a direct result of MLB’s recent equipment contract with Nike. In 2019, the entities agreed to a ten-figure deal that also tasked the sports apparel giant with helping baseball attract newer, younger audiences. MLB’s chief revenue officer explicitly cited Nike’s “expertise” and marketing brand power as the key drivers behind the decision to forfeit some creative control.

Thus, the great All-Star Game branded marketing experiment was born – albeit, without any input from the people who’d be wearing the actual uniforms (the players). The results so far have been shaky, at best.

I get it, making money is a good thing for MLB. (I don’t think I have to have an MBA to draw that conclusion.) And being able to offer up fresh apparel every year for fans shopping at a “once-in-a-lifetime” event is an effective way to do just that. But there’s something to be said for keeping your core audience happy and invested in your product. Sure, you might make a few quick bucks in the short term, but in the long run, you could end up tarnishing your reputation among even your most loyal fans.

Therein lies the lesson for other brands that may find themselves stuck in the same pickle: Stick to what you do best. There’s nothing wrong with trying new things and pushing boundaries when it comes to content, but at the end of the day, giving your audience what they truly want is the most important content strategy of all. That’s true for both branded content and brand publishing. The most effective way to achieve SEO success and climb up those SERP rankings is to get to the bottom of what products and information your customers are looking for.

That’s not to say that experimenting with new products and ideas isn’t ever worthwhile. But it must be done in a way that doesn’t sacrifice brand reputation or stray away from its central identity.

In MLB’s case, it’s about recognizing what resonates more with the average baseball consumer: The American League and National League? Or any one of its 30 franchises and the uniforms associated with them? To his credit, it looks like Commissioner Rob Manfred might finally be realizing the answer.

If only the league had asked itself that question in the first place, it could have avoided hitting a few unnecessary foul balls. (Sorry.)

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