Categories: Uniforms

Phillies cream alternate jerseys appear to be different shade in 2024

PHILADELPHIA, PA – MARCH 30: Bryce Harper (3) of the Philadelphia Phillies defends at first base during the first inning of the game against the PAtlanta Braves on March 30, 2024 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

Philadelphia Phillies pitching getting pounded by a stacked Atlanta Braves offense wasn’t the only negative thing to come out of Saturday afternoon’s game for the team.

For the first time this season, the Phillies wore their cream alternate uniforms. And in the first year under Nike’s Vapor Premier template, the creams seemed to have a yellowish tint, like an egg bagel or a newspaper that had been left in your garage for a long time.

The cream jerseys were introduced as an alternate in 2008, paying homage to the primary uniforms that the Phillies wore at home from worn from 1946-1949. These alternates are worn for home day games at Citizens Bank Park. So some suggested that the reason the jerseys looked different on TV Sunday was because it’s typically sunny for games that they are worn on. But having covered the game, the difference up close is apparent, and it’s not because of a lack of sun.

In fact, here’s a picture of Nola wearing the same uniforms last May on a day that wasn’t sunny. There was clearly not the same yellow tint in 2023 that there appears to be in 2024.

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Perhaps even more noticeable than the seemingly different shade of cream is that the pants for the alternates — as has been the case for many of the lightly-colored Nike Vapor Premier uniforms produced by Fanatics — are see-through.

And, of course, the miniscule name plates that have become the No. 1 criticism of the much-maligned new MLB uniforms are also present on the new cream uniforms.

Players all throughout the sport — at least the ones not on the payroll for Nike — were vocal about their disdain for the new uniforms during Spring Training. That hasn’t subsided as the season has started, and certainly fans and media continue to keep the conversation alive as different alternate uniforms appear for the first time in the new template. The Phillies will wear their cream alternate uniforms again Sunday, so don’t expect the chatter about the yellowish tint to die down. Perhaps if there’s enough complaints, MLB, Nike and Fanatics will scrap this template after the 2024 season.