All posts with the 'Reebok' tag appear below.
NFL PE’s: Week 1
One week down, seventeen to go. This is the first of many recaps you’ll be seeing after each week of NFL action, and we’ve got a lot to cover…
Larger views of each of these models are available after the jump.
First-Half Recap: Boston Red Sox
Up until this point, these recaps have been dominated by Nike… I’m happy to bring some attention to the other brands, and the Sox are one of the most diverse teams in the league in terms of footwear branding. The cleats below are the models that have been worn by Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Julio Lugo, Dustin Pedroia, and Jonathan Papelbon:
As always, larger versions of the above renderings can be seen in the PE Gallery… more info on all of these models (and a couple others) after the jump.
First-Half Recap: Arizona Diamondbacks
For the next thirty days, I’ll be doing first-half recaps of the PE cleats (and some footwear oddities) worn by all thirty Major League teams. These recaps will go in alphabetical order by team, so the Arizona Diamondbacks are the team of the day…
The renderings above are the models that have been worn by Orlando Hudson (Nike 5-Tools), Mark Reynolds (Nike Fuse), Justin Upton (adidas Diamond King), and Brandon Webb (Reebok Vero FL II). Larger views can be seen in the brand new Player Exclusive Gallery… I’ll be adding cleats from the other 29 teams throughout the month (and basketball and football galleries will follow). More info on these Diamondbacks models after the jump…
Red Sox-Yankees Weekend Series Cleats
Sox-Yankees games are great for many reasons, but one of the best things about them is that they’re all photographed like it’s the World Series, making for some great footwear shots. Here’s a couple good views of some recent cleats:
Here’s a better shot of the new David Ortiz signature shoe… he wore these during his recent rehab assignment, but they made their MLB debut this weekend. I’m guessing Reebok hasn’t made him a black version yet; he wore his black ‘08 sigs on Saturday.
(Photo by AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
UPDATE: This model is now available at Eastbay (thanks to rbkguy for pointing this out). It’s called the Big Papi 2M Mid II, and the product image can be seen here.
No Pony’s for Moss; Other NFL Kicks
Not too many custom cleats can be expected from the first week of training camp, but here’s the best of them:
Tom Brady broke out a new pair of Super Bads with a turf midsole and a Shark cleat pattern (similar to the midsole/outsole that he’s worn the past few years), but the really interesting thing in this photo is the absence of Randy Moss’ Pony signature cleats. Moss wore those Super Bad I’s, a Reebok model, and Super Bad II’s last year, but after all the hype about him signing with Pony, I’m surprised that he didn’t break out the new PE’s at camp (and I can’t imagine the folks at Pony are too happy). Thanks to Greg Riffenburgh for the photo.
(Photo by Damian Strohmeyer/SI)
David Ortiz Debuts New Signature Cleat in AAA
It’s a fair assumption that Reebok was hoping to debut their latest David Ortiz signature shoe at Monday’s All-Star Game, but since Ortiz was sidelined with a wrist injury, they never hit the field. However, he began his rehab assignment today with AAA Pawtucket, and here’s what was on his feet:
At first glance, it looks like these feature an synthetic leather / open weave mesh upper, similar what was used in Reebok’s ATR Vertical III and Sky Court BT basketball shoes. I’m looking forward to seeing a black colorway and a metal version of these as well, but I’m impressed so far. Additional views here, here, and here.
(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
2008 MLB All-Star Game: Player Exclusives
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)
2008 MLB All-Star Game: New Releases
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)
MLB All-Star Workout / Home Run Derby Photos
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)
Welcome to PlayerExclusive.com!
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!
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