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It was inevitable, given Major League Baseball’s never ending quest for more revenue, that advertising patches would spread throughout the sport. Almost every team now has an ad prominently displayed on their uniform sleeve. But the latest “advancement” in player advertising takes things in an entirely new, unfortunate direction.

MLB announced on Friday that the league had signed a new ad deal with a company named STRAUSS, a workwear company based in Germany. Were it like any other branding deal between a professional sports league and a German workwear company, that wouldn’t be an issue. Except this partnership is going to negatively impact the look of Major League Baseball during the most important part of the season.

This postseason, and each postseason through 2027, all teams participating will have a “STRAUSS” advertising patch with the company’s ostrich logo on the side of their helmets. Every single team. 

This isn’t the first time that MLB teams have had advertising patches on the side of their helmet; the season-opening series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea, featured ad patches. 

MLB postseason ad patches

SEOUL – Ha-Seong Kim of the San Diego Padres bats during the 2024 Seoul Series game between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Gocheok Sky Dome on Thursday, March 21, 2024. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

MLB Makes Mistake With Ad Patches On Postseason Helmets

For every team, for the entire postseason, to have an ad patch on the helmet does not reflect well on the sport. The sleeve patches have been poorly received by fans, but can easily fade into the background. A helmet patch though, is noticeable on every close camera angle. 

The biggest issue though, is that it just looks bad. It looks unprofessional, not becoming of a big league team. It cheapens the look of major league teams on the biggest stage.

Throw an ad patch on minor league teams, sure, but to specifically target the postseason and the World Series? Players have already expressed their frustration; Yankees starter Marcus Stroman summed up the general reaction with a simple: “Awful.”

Yes, this will make baseball more money. For STRAUSS, a company most Americans have likely never heard of, it’s a strong way to introduce yourself to a new market. In the abstract, it makes sense. But in the real world for fans who watch the games, it’s infuriating.