Today is the birthday of Bryce Harper’s first signature cleat, the Harper One. In the above clip, Harper talks with WPW about the cleat, his inspiration (Steph Curry), and his goals for the cleat. The Harper One is available today, the black and gold “Unanimous Edition,” with more to come (keep reading for release details).
As far as the video, hearing Bryce talk about Steph Curry and how the Curry shoe played into the development was cool, but I was really impressed with Harper’s answer to my second question.
I asked him about the durability/comfort of the shoe, and knowing that Harper himself wears a hybrid metal/plastic combo, I was keyed in on that question since I was initially disappointed that the retail versions do not offer that combo—they are only metal. Harper knocked that question out of the park in my eyes:
“I really tried to tell them (Under Armour), these kids are going out there every single day playing on fields that are hard as a rock… I wanted them to go out there and say ‘Hey, the comfort of this cleat is amazing… my foot is on a foam mattress.'”
That quote tells me that Bryce was not only involved in the process, but he even brought his own insights from how he grew up playing. He knows that WE, THE BALLPLAYERS, don’t play on Big League-manicured fields with a dedicated grounds crew. He knows the fields we play on aren’t at that level because he played on those fields too, and he had our best interests in mind in the decision to go all metal. I really loved that.
