All posts with the 'Nike' tag appear below.

One of my favorite things about the MLB All-Star cleats is the fact that it’s the only day that players wear colorways that they couldn’t wear otherwise.  They’re able to disregard the “dominant cleat color” uniform rule and wear whatever they want, which means that we’ve seen a lot of white, grey, silver, and non-team colored cleats over the past few years. Even though I’ve always gravitated towards more conservative designs in baseball, I always look forward to seeing the bizarre colorways from the Midsummer Classic.

This year, there were so many All-Star PE’s that I actually had to split the ASG footwear into two posts (new releases post is here).  The top PE’s appear below.

It’s not much of a surprise that Alex Rodriguez wore a white PE of his signature cleat — he’s worn white Shox cleats at the All-Star Game for the past few years.  This PE featured embroidery on each cleat (the date on the shoe above, and “NEW YORK” on his other cleat), and additional views are available here and here.
(Photo by Nick Laham / Getty Images)

Albert Pujols wore the most attractive white PE in the game — they’re pretty simple, but they’re my favorite model from last night.  These featured a Nike Air Max MVP upper, a 5-Tool Zoom Air midsole, and a white MCS outsole.  Unfortunately, not too many photos of these were out there tonight… this is the only other decent view I could find.  If anyone has any better shots of these, please get in touch.
(Photo by Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)

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5 Comments / Jul 16.08 / MLB / by Mark

Over the past few years, companies have started using the MLB All-Star Game as a showcase for their new footwear and equipment. This year’s ASG carried on that tradition, and several new cleats were on display last night. (And just to clarify, even though this site is named PlayerExclusive.com, I’ll also be giving you a heads-up when new kicks hit the field or the court, PE or not.)

Here’s what we saw:

The most noticeable new model from last night was the Nike Air Max MVP. In addition to Joe Mauer above, these were worn by Ben Sheets, Dan Uggla, Edinson Volquez, Milton Bradley, Dioner Navarro, and Geovany Soto (Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday also wore PE’s of these, discussed in the All-Star Game PE post). The colorways worn by these players (all of which are in the 2009 Nike Baseball Catalog) will be available for purchase this fall, and solid colors will be available as well.
(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

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1 Comment / Jul 16.08 / MLB / by Mark

A ton of PE’s and new releases should be seen later tonight at the All-Star Game, but yesterday’s home run derby and afternoon batting practice brought us a few decent photos.  The best are highlighted below.

Chase Utley in an All-Star PE version of a new adidas model… these feature some custom embroidery on a tongue, but I can’t make out what it is.  Anybody get a closer look or know the name of these?  Please post in the comments section below.
(Photo by Nick Laham / Getty Images)

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5 Comments / Jul 15.08 / MLB / by Mark

Hello, and thanks for visiting PlayerExclusive.com.  Before I get into the details about what this site is all about, let me just tell you what will be featured on here over the next few months.  Later this year, PlayerExclusive.com will cover the PE’s worn in college football and basketball as well as in the NFL and NBA, but for now you’ll only be seeing the custom shoes worn in current sports.  As you can see, the first item being covered are the PE footwear and new releases being worn at the MLB All-Star festivities, but the Olympics, NFL training camps, NBA offseason, and daily MLB play will also be covered over the course of this summer.

The idea behind this site is to basically have a photo-oriented version of Uni Watch for pro/collegiate sports footwear — instead of following uniform elements, we’ll be following unique custom footwear (and occasionally equipment elements) from major American sports.  There are plenty of other footwear blogs out there, but they mostly cover retail sneakers.  Here at PlayerExclusive.com, we’re only concerned the about what’s worn on the field or on the court.  The posts made on this site will include game photos, close-up shots of custom footwear, and Photoshop renderings of PE’s.

Now, chances are that if you’ve found this site, you’re well-versed in footwear terminology, but for those of you who aren’t aware, a “player exclusive” (or PE) is special colorway of a shoe made for a specific athlete.  They often use different materials and technical components than general release models, and they typically feature custom embroidery and other personalized elements to make the product unique to the player wearing it.  PE’s will be the primary focus of this site, but news about new releases, brand signings, and other sports equipment will occasionally be mentioned as well.

This site is technically still being developed, so please just be patient for now. If you have any comments, suggestions, or if you’ve spotted something that you think should be featured on this site, please feel free to email me here (don’t worry–I won’t be sending you any spam).  Just include your name and I’ll be sure to give you credit.

Thanks… and by the way, my name is Mark.  I hope you’ll be visiting PlayerExclusive.com again soon!

3 Comments / Jul 15.08 / MLB, NBA, NCAA, NFL / by Mark