Strasburg fields his position with a Nike Diamond Elite Pro glove and Nike Huarache 2K4 low cleats.
Stephen Strasburg is the hardest thrower in baseball. According to Fangraphs.com, Strasburg’s four-seam fastball has averaged 95.7 mph in 2012 to go along with a 94.7 mph two-seam. To compensate for that lost mph on his two-seamer, Strasburg manages to move the ball 8.8 inches left-to-right. Filth. And just when you’re gearing up for one of those, he’ll throw you an 80 mph slurve that moves 8 inches right-to-left while dropping 7.1 inches.
Some early returns (pro highlights start at 2 minutes, and please please please mute it—the song is a travesty):
Strasburg wears a Nike glove. Although Nike is as well-represented as anyone when it comes to batting gloves or cleats, their baseball gloves are scarce in the MLB. Strasburg has worn a Nike Diamond Elite Pro since college and continues to today. He shares the web with C.C. Sabathia, and we can’t find it anywhere online. Check it out:
Screengrab from MLB.tv
Screengrab from MLB.tv of Strasburg versus Chris Johnson.
There are a few Diamond Elite Pro gloves available online, but there are none that are really that similar to Strasburg’s model, though the 1200 was his old leather, and he likely still wears a 12″. It is clear that Nike hand-makes these gloves for their pros, and doesn’t share the wealth.
As for his cleats, they are the Nike Huarache 2K4 lows, and the exact colorway IS available online! I was pretty pumped to find this, and of course there are many more color schemes available.
Here are the links:
Nike Diamond Elite Pro 1200 (Strasburg’s older model, not his current glove)
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[…] it looks most similar to, though we know that this is a 100% custom made glove, just for Felix (see Strasburg). The Pro Precision series is difficult to find online, and from what we’ve read, […]
[…] it looks most similar to, though we know that this is a 100% custom made glove, just for Felix (see Strasburg). The Pro Precision series is difficult to find online, and from what we’ve read, […]