Tanner Smith was scrolling through shoes on his computer when he came across the Nike Dunk Bodega. The high dunk is covered in light brown leather, with each side of the shoe having rawhide tied outside of the heel counter, pull tab and collar of the shoe. Around the toe, there’s dark brown leather wrapped around white leather. The outer sole of the shoe looks like someone stepped in dirt, like on a baseball field. When Smith saw this shoe for the first time, he couldn’t turn away.
“It reminded me of the perfect baseball glove,” Smith said.
Shoes aren’t cheap, so he thought long and hard about spending the money on the sneakers. But, there was something about the shoe that stuck with him. He ultimately decided it was worth every penny, and the purchase started a hobby that turned into a lifestyle. As most sneakerheads know, once you buy the first pair, it doesn’t stop after that. Soon, you’ll have four or five shoe boxes at your door before you know it.
After receiving the Bodega dunks, he just couldn’t stop shopping. He became known as the shoe guy on the team. Even though baseball isn’t known for the cleats or shoes that players wear on and off the field, the idea of transforming Jordans or other shoes into cleats stuck out to him.
Fashion comes from inspiration, and as Smith was starting to get into sneakers, he looked for other players who expressed themselves creatively on the field. The first person was a family friend, Blake Rutherford, who was drafted in the first round by the New York Yankees in 2016 and is now in the Washington Nationals’ farm system. The second person was current San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson.
“Every picture that I see of him on and off the field is a pair of shoes that I’ve never seen before,” Smith said. “I’m just like ‘Wow, I’ve always wanted a pair of these.’”
Back in the 1990s, baseball saw a lot of signature sneakers. Ken Griffey Jr., Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders each had their own pair. Derek Jeter was one of the first athletes to sign with the Jordan Brand and 13 different shoes were released with his name attached to them. As those athletes started to retire, sneakerheads started to pay attention to sports where shoes were getting more attention, like basketball, and the cultural relevance that baseball had with fashion started to die out.
In 2014, Nike announced a partnership with Mike Trout for signature cleats, which makes him the first baseball player since the ‘90s to do so.
“Signature shoes give players a different sense of pride,” Smith said. “Sneakers are worldwide, and it’s in so many different communities. Shoes can be so personal, and if players can wear them on the biggest stage of baseball, it’s going to do tremendous things for fans.”
Fast forward to 2020, Nike signed a 10-year contract with Major League Baseball to produce on-field apparel and merchandise. The following year, both companies introduced the City Connect jerseys as a way to creatively represent the city and fans. It is the most dramatic change that professional baseball has seen with their uniforms since the late 1990s when teams wore the Turn Ahead the Clock jerseys.
“When we initially partnered with Nike, the incredible energy that we see at each uniform launch is exactly what we envisioned,” MLB Chief Revenue Officer, Noah Garden, said. “Nike continued to raise the bar working with our clubs on developing these unique designs, bringing each community’s story to life.”
Starting last year, Nike released a different pair of dunks for each team. It was a surprise drop for each participating team in the middle of the season as another way for fans to represent their team. “I love how Nike did that,” Smith said. “It brought a different spark to the game.”
As soon as the Los Angeles Dodgers pair was available, Smith got them. The rest of the team is filled with Giants, Mets and Phillies fans, so other players invested in their team’s shoes.
“It was really fun being able to mess around and wear our team’s shoes on the same day,” Smith said. “It brings a special feeling to our rivalry and connection. It’s just fun.”
On the days that everyone wears those Dunks, they have serious conversations in the clubhouse about what Nike should do next, or what’s the next team to get a pair.
“We’ve thought about this a lot,” Smith said while laughing. “We ultimately decided that the [Los Angeles] Angels should be next. Their City Connect jerseys turned out to be really cool, so if they did a Dunk in the same colorway, that would look sick.” After he said this, he leaned back in his chair, thought for a second and said “Or the [Miami] Marlins. They have a lot of cool colorways and vintage jerseys, so we thought that would be a cool collection.”
To start 2023, New Balance announced a long-term endorsement deal with Shohei Ohtani, one of the current faces of baseball. Even though they aren’t the biggest sportswear brand, some of their most popular sneakers, like the 550s or the 990s, have started to make a comeback. As some of these fashion trends are coming to life, sportswear brands, especially ones affiliated with baseball, are trying to follow suit because they see an opportunity players and fans have been waiting for someone to pursue.
Over the past few years, multiple MLB players have shared their opinions on how to appeal the game to more fans. Dallas Keuchel, a starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers, told Complex: “This is where baseball is lacking a lot. A lot is said about the time limit about baseball, but a lot of it has to do with how MLB markets their players. I feel like people are willing to watch a longer sporting event if there’s entertainment value in there.”
Carlos Correa, a shortstop for the Minnesota Twins and an Adidas athlete, supports fashion-forward thinking.
“I think that what [MLB] should do is let the players show their personality and show their swagger,” he said. “Every time they take the field, I think fans get more involved [when] they see some nice cleats and some swagger out there. They definitely love it. We want to be able to attract more fans to the game of baseball. I think what you wear helps a lot.”
Even though this sport is filled with traditions and unwritten rules, other professional sports leagues have seen repercussions of limiting an athlete’s creativity. In 1984, the NBA fined Michael Jordan $5,000 every time he wore the Bred Jordan 1s during a game since the shoe broke the league’s 51% rule. The policy stated that players “must wear shoes that not only matched their uniforms but matched the shoes worn by their teammates.”
The shoes had to be 51% white and in accordance with what the rest of the team was wearing. Nike happily paid the fine each time, and even created one of the most iconic advertisements around it. In 2018, the league started to allow players to wear whatever shoe they wanted, and the Bred Jordan 1s remain one of the most popular Jordans to this day.
As the sport gives its players more freedom and becomes more creative, Smith wants to be on the forefront of it.
“Allowing players to have as much freedom as they can is not only beneficial to the game, but to the individual,” Smith said. “It’s going to be vital moving forward.”
Once he reaches the big leagues, Smith wants to transform some of his favorite shoes into cleats, and eventually make his own signature pair.
“Just to be able to make my own pair of shoes with Nike would be so cool,” Smith said. “There’s so many different directions that I can go with, whether it’s a Dunk or a Jordan, and just put in time and my own special touch would be a dream come true.”
