Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin on MLB uniforms: ‘We’re doing everything as we’ve been told and we’re getting the s*** kicked out of us.’
March 1, 2024
Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin on MLB uniforms: ‘We’re doing everything as we’ve been told and we’re getting the s*** kicked out of us.’
38 comments
It seems like everything this organization touches looses quality control.
Edit: loses
Poor guy
Well what do you expect people to think when you cheapen and cheapen and cheapen the consumer product while increasing price? They’re going to see the dogshit jersey they just paid $400 for and equate that to the current on-field disaster. Whether it’s your fault or not, you’ve still earned every ounce of the criticism because you allowed that comparison in the first place.
Nike is definitely not getting enough heat for this
Bro just learned the importance of having a good reputation lol
“We’ve been making shit products for years! You should blame them for buying the garbage we intentionally produce and overprice to maximize profits! It’s not our fault!” – Michael “Chucklefuck” Rubin
Apparently it’s too much to ask to make a good product.
We’ve tried nothin’ and we’re all out of ideas!
I almost feel bad for him, but then I wake up
Yeah, your on field product is somehow worse than the atrocious fan merchandise. Fuck off.
Good
This is what I don’t get. There’s no way on earth a pro sports league doesn’t give exact specifications and then goes through a process of approving many iterations of samples. There is no one to blame but MLB
If fanatics dropped the quality after jr was approved then MLB should be saying that this isn’t what they ordered and demand it fixed or fire they ass
Want some cheese for that whine?
Fuck you, Rubin
Fanatics sucks. The NHL just switched from Adidas to Fanatics and everyone knows it’s going to be a shit show.
Oh! Oh no! Oh poor you! Let me sit in my apartment and feel sorry for you while you sit in your multimillion dollar mansion. Life has been so hard to you, it’s unfair!
What a bitch, own the damn problem and fix it.
The Classic ‘ THIS IS EVERYBODY’S FAULT BUT MINE’ CEO response
Where and when is the shit kicking of Michael Rubin take place? I ordered a ticket on fanatics for it and I got 6 tickets to see U2 at the Vegas Sphere instead.
“It’s not fair that the public is holding us accountable for shit quality! We were instructed to give shit quality!”
This is the very definition of “your reputation precedes you.” Fans aren’t giving them any slack because we all know the level of quality they offer.
Make better shit then, Michael.
Have you tried making good products? I remember buying a jersey from them and they sent it with the letters and name on upside down. Returned for a replacement and they sent another one upside down.
​
Fuck you Michael Rubin
Mlb shoulda just went to DHGate
If your company has a reputation for shit quality and poor/lazy design when your produce something like this it’s gonna be blamed on your regardless if you’re just doing what MLB (moving down logo) and Nike want.
I went to the Yankees Open House in December. They had a ton of Fanatics branded shirts for $8. Retailed for $24-$32. I bought 3, one had a tag on the shoulder, one had a graphic that did not survive a single wash, one was mislabeled size wise. I feel like $8 was too much. An experience like this is why when I first read Fanatics was making them I was thinking “of course they’re garbage”
I don’t know the whole story but based on years of experience I’m blaming Fanatics.
Billionaires sure do love to be the victim
We tried nothing man and we’re all out of ideas.
They’re basically throwing the ball back in Nike’s court. They’re both at fault, but Nike moreso.
Look, he’s right. Fanatics is executing a design delivered by Nike.
I’ve heard this guy speak. Completely full of shit. Platitudes. Sales speak.
Total fraud. He should just keep his mouth shut.
So were they told by Nike and MLB to manufacture off center lettering?
“Biggest thing I probably learned is if we’re involved in something, we need to make sure that everybody better be on board. … They got certain players on board, not all players on board.” Translation: we didn’t pay off all mlb players to talk nicely about our product and that subset we don’t have a contract with are making us look bad and it’s making me feel bad
If you didn’t want to get the s*** kicked out of you, then you shouldn’t have kept making laughably low-quality products!
Damn they told you to print the names and numbers on off-centered?
Fabric guy back again.
Fanatics CEO might have a leg to stand on if what he’s saying is the complete truth.
IF Nike and MLB are pushing certain specs for a garment and Fanatics delivered on it, ultimately it is on Nike and MLB for approving it.
IF Fanatics saw that there were issues with the overall quality and have relayed that information to both Nike and MLB, the blame should be passed to the parties that approved it .
All of these are big IFs. The hard thing is, without some CYA email receipts made public, no one is going to know who is to fully blame.
Fanatics could’ve raised a bunch of concerns over quality or they could’ve just told Nike/MLB that everything was going perfectly.
With most new high profile garments like this, there should’ve been a wear test process somewhere in their development calendar. This should’ve been tested by MLB players, or even just casual baseball players. They should’ve had no issues finding multiple people trying these out.
Then there should’ve also been fit models that try on the uniforms. They should’ve been able to visually see the sheerness of the pants.
There are so many QA steps in a garment development process that I can’t imagine that at every step, they checked these off as good.
My opinion is that the actual workers that had to deal with the development knew of these issues but the execs signed off on it. There’s just no way how these issues would not have been addressed at some point.
This may not be Fanatics’ fault, but because they have done such a horrible job at managing their brand they are the easy scapegoat.
I can’t think of a single actual paying customer that has been excited to learn that Fanatics is involved in… well… anything. The leagues have dumped untold amounts of money into building this thing and to this point they
… are an exclusive online retailer for nearly every league.
… a clothing line known for terrible quality
… a collectibles company that not only owns production but is trying to own resale markets.
I can’t think of a single market where anyone says “oh good – Fanatics is involved.”
38 comments
It seems like everything this organization touches looses quality control.
Edit: loses
Poor guy
Well what do you expect people to think when you cheapen and cheapen and cheapen the consumer product while increasing price? They’re going to see the dogshit jersey they just paid $400 for and equate that to the current on-field disaster. Whether it’s your fault or not, you’ve still earned every ounce of the criticism because you allowed that comparison in the first place.
Nike is definitely not getting enough heat for this
Bro just learned the importance of having a good reputation lol
[Fanatics Team](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d7/65/a5/d765a5658b93ac764c7281018674bc82.gif)
Boo hoo.
“We’ve been making shit products for years! You should blame them for buying the garbage we intentionally produce and overprice to maximize profits! It’s not our fault!” – Michael “Chucklefuck” Rubin
Apparently it’s too much to ask to make a good product.
We’ve tried nothin’ and we’re all out of ideas!
I almost feel bad for him, but then I wake up
Yeah, your on field product is somehow worse than the atrocious fan merchandise. Fuck off.
Good
This is what I don’t get. There’s no way on earth a pro sports league doesn’t give exact specifications and then goes through a process of approving many iterations of samples. There is no one to blame but MLB
If fanatics dropped the quality after jr was approved then MLB should be saying that this isn’t what they ordered and demand it fixed or fire they ass
Want some cheese for that whine?
Fuck you, Rubin
Fanatics sucks. The NHL just switched from Adidas to Fanatics and everyone knows it’s going to be a shit show.
Oh! Oh no! Oh poor you! Let me sit in my apartment and feel sorry for you while you sit in your multimillion dollar mansion. Life has been so hard to you, it’s unfair!
What a bitch, own the damn problem and fix it.
The Classic ‘ THIS IS EVERYBODY’S FAULT BUT MINE’ CEO response
Where and when is the shit kicking of Michael Rubin take place?
I ordered a ticket on fanatics for it and I got 6 tickets to see U2 at the Vegas Sphere instead.
“It’s not fair that the public is holding us accountable for shit quality! We were instructed to give shit quality!”
This is the very definition of “your reputation precedes you.” Fans aren’t giving them any slack because we all know the level of quality they offer.
Make better shit then, Michael.
Have you tried making good products? I remember buying a jersey from them and they sent it with the letters and name on upside down. Returned for a replacement and they sent another one upside down.
​
Fuck you Michael Rubin
Mlb shoulda just went to DHGate
If your company has a reputation for shit quality and poor/lazy design when your produce something like this it’s gonna be blamed on your regardless if you’re just doing what MLB (moving down logo) and Nike want.
I went to the Yankees Open House in December. They had a ton of Fanatics branded shirts for $8. Retailed for $24-$32. I bought 3, one had a tag on the shoulder, one had a graphic that did not survive a single wash, one was mislabeled size wise. I feel like $8 was too much. An experience like this is why when I first read Fanatics was making them I was thinking “of course they’re garbage”
I don’t know the whole story but based on years of experience I’m blaming Fanatics.
Billionaires sure do love to be the victim
We tried nothing man and we’re all out of ideas.
They’re basically throwing the ball back in Nike’s court. They’re both at fault, but Nike moreso.
Look, he’s right. Fanatics is executing a design delivered by Nike.
I’ve heard this guy speak. Completely full of shit. Platitudes. Sales speak.
Total fraud. He should just keep his mouth shut.
So were they told by Nike and MLB to manufacture off center lettering?
“Biggest thing I probably learned is if we’re involved in something, we need to make sure that everybody better be on board. …
They got certain players on board, not all players on board.”
Translation: we didn’t pay off all mlb players to talk nicely about our product and that subset we don’t have a contract with are making us look bad and it’s making me feel bad
If you didn’t want to get the s*** kicked out of you, then you shouldn’t have kept making laughably low-quality products!
Damn they told you to print the names and numbers on off-centered?
Fabric guy back again.
Fanatics CEO might have a leg to stand on if what he’s saying is the complete truth.
IF Nike and MLB are pushing certain specs for a garment and Fanatics delivered on it, ultimately it is on Nike and MLB for approving it.
IF Fanatics saw that there were issues with the overall quality and have relayed that information to both Nike and MLB, the blame should be passed to the parties that approved it .
All of these are big IFs. The hard thing is, without some CYA email receipts made public, no one is going to know who is to fully blame.
Fanatics could’ve raised a bunch of concerns over quality or they could’ve just told Nike/MLB that everything was going perfectly.
With most new high profile garments like this, there should’ve been a wear test process somewhere in their development calendar. This should’ve been tested by MLB players, or even just casual baseball players. They should’ve had no issues finding multiple people trying these out.
Then there should’ve also been fit models that try on the uniforms. They should’ve been able to visually see the sheerness of the pants.
There are so many QA steps in a garment development process that I can’t imagine that at every step, they checked these off as good.
My opinion is that the actual workers that had to deal with the development knew of these issues but the execs signed off on it. There’s just no way how these issues would not have been addressed at some point.
This may not be Fanatics’ fault, but because they have done such a horrible job at managing their brand they are the easy scapegoat.
I can’t think of a single actual paying customer that has been excited to learn that Fanatics is involved in… well… anything. The leagues have dumped untold amounts of money into building this thing and to this point they
… are an exclusive online retailer for nearly every league.
… a clothing line known for terrible quality
… a collectibles company that not only owns production but is trying to own resale markets.
I can’t think of a single market where anyone says “oh good – Fanatics is involved.”