Strauss-sponsored MLB playoff helmet stickers anger baseball fans

Playoff baseball angers fan bases from coast to coast with questionable strike zones and annoying managerial decisions. But nothing expressed anger more clearly than the MLB batting helmet sticker featuring Strauss.

Three weeks ago, the MLB announced that it had agreed to a four-year partnership with the German workwear company, making it not only the league's “official workwear partner” but also selecting it as the first brand to benefit from a CBA carveout in 2022 benefits that makes this possible The league sells helmet sponsorships in the postseason.

Strauss, who did not respond to a request for comment, will also be a helmet sponsor for the minor leagues beginning in 2025.

The MLB wild-card round, which ends Thursday night when the Milwaukee Brewers host the New York Mets, sparked the ire of fans when they first saw the helmet stickers. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees, the most storied team of all, are preparing to begin their sponsorship playoff campaign against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.

Fans unsettled by the change should get used to the new-look partnership, which runs through 2027. But that doesn't mean they like it. “It's a company that most people have never heard of, and it kind of came out of nowhere,” marketing consultant Bob Dorfman said in a telephone interview. “It was a deal that was done a month ago. The same thing happened with the first patch on a jersey, the first stadium naming deal, everyone was outraged about it, and then you give it six months and it's like it's been there the whole time.”

Anjali Bal, an associate professor of marketing at Babson College, said Strauss may not have fully understood the nuances of the U.S. sports audience. “I think from Strauss's perspective they are really following a plan that they have followed with other sports companies in Europe because of course it is a German company,” Bal said in a telephone interview. “And in many ways I think it was a misjudgment of the American market. I saw a lot of comments like: “You know, we’re not football, are we?” Because as we all know, football has a lot of sponsors on its jerseys.”

Bal also said that prominence of the logo on a traditionally uncluttered part of the uniform played a significant role in both fan outrage and, as Strauss intended, brand awareness.

“When we talk about sponsorship, the most important thing we want to think about is where it will be seen,” Bal said. “We're talking about the helmet that can be seen in every close-up and every shot. This is why Bauer plays a very strategic role in the NHL because Bauer wants to be associated with the success of the game. From that perspective, this was a good choice for (Strauss). It's obviously noticeable.

Even if MLB and Strauss decide to make changes to the helmet decal, it is unlikely to happen this year. In the four-round postseason, Strauss could appear on as many as 47 national television shows. Strauss logos will also appear on the batting helmets of 120 minor league baseball teams starting next year, attracting attention in more than 8,000 minor league games annually.

For a company that entered the U.S. market just a year ago, gaining such a presence, especially on such a prominent sports property, is a blessing.

“MLB made this decision for money reasons, no question about it,” Bal said. “And the reason Strauss is making this decision is because they see this as a really good opportunity for themselves to buy a significant piece that will stand out and it won't be as cluttered with other messages as we usually see “other parts of the jersey or on the shoes or whatever it is.”

Jacob Feldman contributed to this report.