Red Sox raise eyebrows with statements on Fanatics jerseys

The Boston Red Sox had a bit of a snafu with their newest Fanatics-made jerseys. But what really turned heads is the way they handled the PR side of it.

In classic Red Sox/Fenway Sports Group fashion, a pair of recent statements illustrated how the organization just can't get out of its own way when it comes to communicating with the public. The problem arose from apparent embroidering problems with their newest jerseys, manufactured by Fanatics, a company that has become no stranger to controversy with consumers. When your control over the market is high and the quality of your product is disappointingly low, you tend to look bad. See Comcast.

On top of ostensibly messing up the lettering on the Red Sox' newest jerseys, which led to an understandable fan backlash, Fanatics seems to have forced the Sox into absolving them of blame in their public statements on the matter. Evidence: the Red Sox initially released a statement saying the following: "As part of Major League Baseball's return to the 2023 jersey template, we approved a design for our home white jerseys that, once produced and seen in person, we felt could be cleaner in the spacing between the lettering and piping. In collaboration with MLB and Fanatics, we're adjusting the home whites to restore clearer separation. The updated jerseys will be ready for Opening Day."

Someone in Fanatics PR said, "Not so fast, FSG!" Because the Red Sox soon deleted that first statement and put out a new one, clarifying that they are the ones that messed up, apparently sending the wrong specs to Fanatics in the first place. Then they fell all over themselves with gratitude for partnering with the great and powerful and beautiful Fanatics.

The new statement reads: "As part of Major League Baseball's return to the 2023 jersey template, we approved a design for our home white jerseys, which Fanatics produced exactly to our specs. Once they were produced and seen in person, we felt there should be more spacing between the lettering and piping. In collaboration with MLB and Fanatics, we're adjusting the home whites to achieve this separation. The updated jerseys will be ready for Opening Day. We are grateful to our partners for their ongoing support."

And they couldn't even leave it at that: the Red Sox added a reply to their own statement reading: "To be clear, the original design was selected by the Red Sox. Fanatics executed to our specifications and has been an outstanding partner throughout. They deserve no blame and we are grateful to them for making the new jerseys in time for Opening Day."

Leave it to the Red Sox to somehow make themselves look arguably even worse than Fanatics, which these days is up there for the most distasteful corporations in the sporting world.

Fortunately, fans are smart enough to realize that Fanatics deserves at least a slice of the blame pie here. There was no one there running quality control on those jerseys at any point before they ended up in the hands of consumers? It strikes as a classic Fanatics move to either not notice the issues with the specs, or not care in the first place.

But for these two companies to bungle this whole thing in perfectly messy harmony.