Yesterday was supposed to be Opening Day. For baseball fans, having to wait even longer to hear the crack of the bat, the pop of a catcher’s mitt or the bang of a trash is excruciating. While the waiting is hard, here’s a consolation: Fanatics is halting its production of MLB jerseys, and is using the material to make medical masks and gowns for health professionals dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. They might even look a little familiar to Phillies and Yankees fans.
Fanatics executive chairman Michael Rubin discussed the plan in a series of tweets yesterday.
(Thread):
Woke up in the middle of the night last week with idea of converting our @Fanatics factory in PA that makes official @MLB jerseys into a facility that makes much needed masks and gowns and then donating them to help fight this horrendous virus. pic.twitter.com/r6FAxUdlgH
— Michael Rubin (@michaelrubin) March 26, 2020
Fast forward to today – @Fanatics and @MLB have halted production of all MLB jerseys and instead using that same fabric we make the jerseys with to make masks and gowns!! We have approx 100 associates working (extra distanced and in a very clean and safe environment of course) pic.twitter.com/E8ewI0REfn
— Michael Rubin (@michaelrubin) March 26, 2020
Rubin first looked into using the company’s Easton, Pa., manufacturing facility, and discussed the possibility of the project with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe and Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Once all parties decided that Fanatics had the capacity to take on the project, Rubin got in touch with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for him to sign off on stopping production of jerseys.
“I’m proud that Major League Baseball can partner with Fanatics to help support the brave health care workers and emergency personnel who are on the front lines of helping patients with COVID-19,” Manfred said. “They are truly heroes. Fanatics continues to show the creativity and flexibility that has defined them as a company. Those qualities are what drew us to partner with them in the first place. We hope this effort can play a part in coming together as a community to help us through this challenging situation.”
This is in line with what other apparel companies like Hanes, SanMar and Los Angeles Apparel have been doing to combat the issue of a shortage of medical supplies right now. The one thing that really stands out is, well, the pinstripes. These really are masks and gowns made with the exact same material used for Phillies and Yankees jerseys. Because of that, they are the same color scheme and designs, too.
Fanatics plans to make 1 million masks and gowns and distribute them immediately to Pennsylvania facilities, followed by facilities in New Jersey and New York shortly after.
“The COVID-19 crisis has compelled our country to be more collaborative, innovative and strategic than ever before,” Rubin said. “As the demand for masks and gowns has surged, we’re fortunate to have teamed up with Major League Baseball to find a unique way to support our frontline workers in this fight to stem the virus, who are in dire need of essential resources.”
Fanatics also said in a statement that the program will extend as long as masks and gowns are needed, even after the initial production of 1 million, and MLB and Fanatics would absorb all costs related to manufacturing the products.
We don’t have sports right now. And that’s a shame for those of us who look forward to Opening Day the same way we look forward to our birthdays. But, there are more important things at play right now. And for doctors working unthinkable hours in unprecedented conditions, having the tools necessary to fight the spread of COVID-19 is invaluable.
And if they can look down and see their beloved Phillies (or Yankees, I guess) pinstripes, and if that acts as a motivator for just a little while longer, then that’s worth it.
Even without sports, we have plenty of teams to cheer for. If that means I’m rooting for someone in Yankees pinstripes for the first time ever, so be it.
