Over the last 24 hours, I was told some MLB players are concerned about how much AI is showing up in the league’s graphics, especially the ones that show them.
Now, I am pretty open about how pro-AI I am. I use it all the time for all aspects of life. It is a great assistant for organizing thoughts and keeping me on schedule. Do I think people should be using it for graphic generation? Well, yes and no.
For me, I have no problem with it. I am not artistic, and The Skippers View isn't a moneymaker; we do it for the love of the game. (subscribe for free plz) So, yeah, we use AI when generating graphics. Frankly, I paid some people early on to do graphics, and they weren’t great. It also took a while and wasn’t cheap.
That being said, I am not MLB. They have billions of dollars and thousands of workers. I don’t think it is a problem that they use it, but they should at least take their time.
Here are a few examples
Brandon Marsh and the Field of Dreams Graphic
On August 13, the day the Twins and Phillies played the Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa, MLB.com ran a cover image of players standing in uniform by the corn. From a distance, it looked fine. Up close, it was a mess.
Brandon Marsh’s face was warped. One of the Twins jerseys misspelled the team name. And neither team actually did a cornfield photo shoot, so the whole scene was made up.
Think about that from Marsh’s side for a second. He’s a big-league outfielder, and the league’s own site released a version of him that looks like he wandered out of a horror movie. He didn’t pose for it. As far as we know, nobody asked him.
MLB’s Alleged AI Graphics Weren’t a One-Off
In early July, MLB’s Instagram promoted the Cubs-Cardinals Rivalry Series with graphics that had the wrong stats and listed Jordan Walker as a New York Yankee. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s RBI total was off too. Fans called it AI. Others figured it was a lazy template. MLB didn’t comment.
MLB Isn’t Hiding the AI. It’s Sponsored.
MLB hasn't addressed the examples above. Here’s the part that makes the “is it AI?” guessing game a little tough. MLB isn’t hiding that it uses AI tools. It’s advertising them.
In March, Adobe and MLB expanded their partnership, and Adobe became the presenting sponsor of Opening Day through 2028. Per Adobe’s own announcement, the deal gives MLB’s marketing teams Adobe Firefly Services and Custom Models, generative AI tools built to speed up asset production “in MLB’s iconic brand style.”
You could see it in October. On Oct. 11, @MLB posted a hype graphic of Garrett Mitchell’s catch at the wall that ended the Padres’ season, captioned “Made with @AdobeFirefly and @Photoshop,” then followed it with a making-of video.
Like, I guess that looks good? It is a good example of AI as an “assistant,” which I am a big advocate for, so I can’t be too critical. The time-lapses show a designer building each piece, with Firefly as one tool in the kit, not a button that spits out a Brandon Marsh with no eyes. And nothing ties the Field of Dreams image or the Rivalry Series slides to Adobe. MLB hasn’t said what made those.
But that’s kind of my point. The league now has a sponsor whose AI is built to make content in MLB’s style, and real players’ faces are going through that program. Mitchell and the other Adobe posts looked fine. Brandon Marsh didn’t.
If I’m a player, I understand why they would want a say in how their AI-generated likeness is being created.
The Players’ AI Avatar Deal With Genies
Important to point out that the players’ side isn’t anti-AI. In February, MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the players union, signed a licensing deal with Genies to create AI avatars of MLB players. A Genies spokesperson told Sports Business Journal the deal lets them make one for every player in the league.
So the issue isn’t AI itself. It’s the quality of the AI and what say players have in the creation.
Is AI Part of the MLB CBA Talks?
CBA talks are underway, and the current collective bargaining agreement expires December 1. The union proposals reported so far mostly focus on betting, like a ban on player prop bets. Nothing has officially come out about AI yet.
If the league keeps generating images of its players, there should be some basic rules. Who signs off? What’s off limits? What happens when it gets them wrong?
Look, I get why MLB does it. They post a ton of content every day, and AI is fast. But these are the faces of the sport. If you’re going to make them, get them right and accurately represent your stars.
So I’ll throw it to you. Should players get a say in how AI makes them look? Or do you just hate AI and want it out of everything?
Quality control is needed. There is also a learning curve with using AI graphics. I don’t know if every image needs to pass a players muster.
Brandon Marsh deserves better.