Gary Sheffield, Jr
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Welp, the moment baseball fans have always dreaded: Patches will now be placed on jerseys. The San Diego Padres announced a Motorola patch will be stitched on their sleeves starting next season. Like the ghost runner extra inning rule, this needs to be gone ASAP.
MLB's first jersey sponsor:
The San Diego Padres and Motorola 📲 pic.twitter.com/VXpt486Pa6
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 19, 2022
Padres announce they will have Motorola patches on the sleeves of their jerseys starting next season. So it begins.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) April 19, 2022
Like everything, money is the driving factor behind all change in sports. This move to turn baseball players into human billboards was inevitable because as it’s an opportunity for corporations to get millions of eye balls on their adds without having to run commercials. It sucks, but it’s the truth.
A large part of why those of us still watching baseball do so is because of the history in this game. Most jerseys have remained similar to year’s past, however that’s suddenly gone south with Nike swooshes on Yankees jerseys and now Motorola patches on the way for the Padres. We did one hilarious reply out of a baseball fan unhappy with the move.
Now do this with politicians. It’s only fair. 😏
— Matthew Waite (@matthewswaite) April 19, 2022
“Now do this with politicians,” Mathew Waite replied. Hilarious, and completely true.
Baseball is most known as a sport of tradition that decided they’d do everything they could to become a cash cow the past couple years. These changes seem to run along the same timeline as commissioner Rob Manfred’s arrival. Go figure.
This stinks. History and tradition matter. So does a classic-looking uniform. I hope nobody ever buys a Padres jersey again. I mean, after all, who wants to walk around as a Motorola billboard?