Okay let’s talk MLB tee sizing – it’s trickier than it should be, right? I finally cracked it after wasting cash on shirts that either felt like a tent or a straitjacket. Here’s exactly how I sorted it out.
My Initial Failures (The Disappointment Phase)
Let me tell you, I waltzed into my first MLB online store ordering spree feeling confident. “Eh, medium usually works,” I thought. Click, click, click – ordered a couple cool graphics tees.
Big mistake. The first package arrives, I rip it open, pull out that sweet logo tee… and instant disappointment. Felt like I was drowning in fabric. Okay, maybe this brand runs big. Returned it.
Next time, switched to a different graphic style from another MLB lineup. Ordered a Large, thinking “fool me once…”. Package lands, excited again. Slip it on… huh? This one felt tighter than my gym tee! Seriously, Medium was baggy, Large was sausage casing? How?
The Investigation & Measuring Quest
Enough guessing games. Time to actually get data. I grabbed shirts I love the fit of – a couple different brands. Laid them flat on the floor:
- Chest: Measured pit-to-pit across the front.
- Length: Shoulder seam straight down to the hem.
- Shoulder Width: Seam to seam across the back shoulder.
Wrote these numbers down. My “perfect” casual tee usually lands about 22 inches chest, 28-29 inches length for my height.
Then I hit the MLB stores and online product pages hard. Ignored the S/M/L/L labels completely. Scrolled down, looking for the “Size Chart” link – gotta find it! Not every item had one, which was annoying.
Shocking Discovery Time
Comparing my ideal measurements to the MLB charts blew my mind:
- Modern “Oversized” Style: A Medium sometimes gave a 24 inch chest! Way bigger than my ideal 22. No wonder I swam in it.
- “Classic Fit” Graphic Tee: That Large that squeezed me? Its chart showed a chest width smaller than my other Medium shirts. Totally different base sizing!
- Plain “Heather” Basic Tee: Yet another size chart! Its Large was closer to my ideal than the Classic Fit Large was.
So yeah, MLB has different blanks for different styles. The S/M/L tag is MEANINGLESS unless you know which chart it follows.
My Foolproof Process Now
Here’s what I do every single time, zero guesses:
- Find THE Style: Identify the exact shirt type: Oversized graphic? Classic graphic? Basic Heather? Performance tee?
- Dig For The Chart: Hunt down the official size chart for that specific product. Sometimes it’s tiny print near the bottom.
- Measure Yourself (Or Favorite Shirt): Know your numbers.
- Match THE Numbers: Compare your measurements to the actual inch/cm numbers on THAT chart. Screw S/M/L/XL labels.
- Consider Fabric: Cotton shrinks a bit, synthetic might not. I might size up for 100% cotton expecting a little shrink.
Ever since I forced myself to do this every time? Zero bad fits. It’s annoying they make it this hard, but following this beats returning stuff constantly. Now you know my method!
