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Spikelangelo: Why I Have High Expectations for the Future of Baseball Footwear

ua spine highlight

Editor’s Note: In regards to the author, I just want to let you know who we’re dealing with here.  Will stepped in to rescue his starter in the 4th inning, then cruised through 3 scoreless vs. the Yankees AA affiliate.  He then wakes up the next morning and wastes no time getting to work on some fresh content for WPW.   This is a guy you want on your team.

I’m going to say something that might shock you… Thank you Under Armour for the Spine Highlight baseball cleat.  Thank you Bryce Harper for wearing it.  I know I might have lost credibility with some of our readers just by saying that.  You think its ugly, you think its loud, you think its excessive.  But let me explain.

Its been years since we have seen a cleat of this “stature” in the mainstream. I’m a 90s kid, back when stove-top cleats were normal. If they didn’t lace up under your knee cap then you weren’t in style. From David Justice to Barry Bonds to Frank Thomas, the higher the cleat the better.

The cleats today are far more advanced than the cleats of those days though.  With the Spine Highlight, Under Armour has crafted a cleat so well that you are not sacrificing weight for fit. The CompFit sleeve allows for incredible flexibility while providing an almost ace bandage like feel. When asking my teammate what he liked most, he told me it felt like an extension of his leg versus a low top feeling like an addition to his foot. Also, the forefoot traction presents 6 cleats which he really loves as a hitter helping him torque and drive in his swing.

Seeing such a loud cleat pushes the envelope of what we can hope to see in the future. Lets be honest, anything Bryce Harper ( wears is going to be in demand for a very long time, and he hasn’t been shy about pushing the envelope (Griffey, anyone?).  Case in point: you will see these cleats featured in the Under Armour All-America game on August 24th, paired with some traditional pants-up throwback uniforms. But the pants won’t be the only throwback, just ask these guys:

The Un-hip Hipster

Source: The Un-hip Hipster

barry-bonds-cleats

Source: 30 Year Old Cardboard

Source: 30 Year Old Cardboard

One comment

  1. hey will im am very interested in gloves im wondering what glove you use thank you and i love all the cool cleat info you are giving us i am now tracking you in the minors while your on the road to the show

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