Does anyone know how much the teams charge for this? I’m not a fan of the corporate patches on the uniforms, and I wonder if they’re pissing me off for $50,000 or $5,000,000. If the latter, I can understand why they don’t care what I think.
From the link above:
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Athletic reported last season that the average MLB jersey patch deal is worth between $7 million and $8 million per year.
The Los Angeles Angels were so intimidated by Wood that they intentionally walked him four times in yesterday’s game.
James Wood becomes first since Barry Bonds to be intentionally walked 4 times in a game
Thank you. I guess it’s a good deal for the team owners. I will say, though, I’m no more inclined to buy a Nintendo something or other just because they have a patch on the Mariners uniform. If anything, I’m less inclined.
In fact, it’s hard to make out the product/company on some of the uniforms. Unless they go big like MLS, it seems like a waste of money to me. But, I’m sure they’ve researched it
I think the purpose of that kind of sponsorship is just to remind you that they exist and are still somewhat relevant. And in that case they seem to have succeeded.
The Kansas City Royals have been wearing the ‘QT’ Quik-Trip logo since the start of the 2024 season. I like Quik-Trip; they have clean stores, friendly employees, and they seem to have good business practices. But the fact that the Royals are wearing their logo does not influence me one iota when I decide where I will fill my gas tank.
Speaking as an ad guy: absolutely this. The sponsors are not putting their logos on jerseys to drive consumers to make a purchase right now; not all advertising and marketing is purely focused on driving a transaction or a choice. They are doing it to build and maintain top-of-mind brand awareness, and (hopefully) generate positive associations in fans’ minds between their favorite team, and the brand.
OTOH, it appears that MLB’s two most woebegone teams this year – the Rockies and White Sox – don’t have uniform sponsorships, which is probably for the best for everyone concerned.
The Dodgers patch is kind of meta. It’s Guggenheim Baseball Management which is the ownership group that owns the Dodgers. Do they pay themselves?
Depends on which corporate subentity they want to show a profit, and which they want to show a loss.
In baseball ownership consortia, the money flow to the team is usually minimized, so you’ll have things like stadium parking rights or local broadcast rights going for a pittance so that the team can cry poverty in salary negotiations. (Agents know this trick these days, but lots of journalists will take the bait.)
On the other hand, baseball teams are permitted certain deductions in the tax code, which may help offset other gains, so sometimes the consortia will flow money into the team to be able to take those deductions.
It’s quite a racket.
I knew it was some kind of tax/accounting scam but we’ll probably never know the exact nature of it.
You should see tennis!
Battle of the minor league ballparks tonight with the A’s at the Rays
George Springer reached base by catcher’s interference today. Again. I swear he must be the career leader in that right now. He pulls that every three or four weeks.
I have no idea where to find that information.
Well, if you trust AI, here’s what I received when I asked the questions about this season and career.
CoPilot and ChatGPT both agree that it’s twice this season. Here is the response from CoPilot:
As of June 30, 2025, George Springer has reached base by catcher’s interference at least twice this season:
- On April 7, his swing struck Red Sox catcher Connor Wong, resulting in interference and an injury that sidelined Wong for several weeks.
- On June 18, Springer again reached base via catcher’s interference during a game against the Diamondbacks, with the bases loaded—bringing in a run for the Blue Jays.
So, today would presumably be the third time this season.
CoPilot also tells me that Jacob Ellsbury is the career leader…with 30! Pete Rose had 29. Then Dale Murphy with 12.
Springer has “at least 7”. Now we know it’s at least 8, I guess.
That doesn’t sound right to me. I just have nothing to refute it.
In the past I never saw catchers interference. Now that framing is such a big part of being a catcher CI has been much more common. Part of framing is to get as close to the plate as possible in order to block the umpire’s view of the bottom of the strike zone.
I remember when Ellsbury got his thirtieth (woohoo) and the announcers mentioned that he was the career leader. Ells had 12 in 2016 alone.
Adding to the fun, a player can decline the call. Here’s a link to when Ellsbury took that option, confusing the hell out of everyone:
Just to clarify; only the MANAGER can decline the call, assuming the offense didn’t safely gain a base for all runners and the batter.
Here is an NBC Sports article on that ‘feat’.
Yeah, and I’m guessing it’s a rare decision because most umpires would make the interference call before any further play unfolds.
What I’d like to know is why? Are players like Ellsbury and Springer standing farther back in the box than anyone else? Is there something unusual about their swings? Is it entirely on purpose?
Not quite following you here. AIUI, the play continues until the ball is dead, at which time the umpire makes the interference call. Only then can the manager decline the call. And, according to the linked story, he can only decline the call if the batter did not reach base, and all runners did not advance at least one base.