For MLB Player’s Weekend, adidas tapped into the creativity of the young athletes participating in the Little League World Series (LLWS) by giving them a blank canvas in the form of cleats. Each team was able to design a pair of cleats for MLB players that are members of team adidas.
Below are the design and inspiration details, along with photos of the cleats that were designed for Aaron Judge, Kike Hernandez, Justin Turner, AJ Pollack, Liam Hendriks, Kolten Wong, Joe Kelly and Ross Stripling. You can catch these athletes wearing the cleats during MLB Player’s Weekend, running from August 23rd to August 25th.
MLB Player: Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees – From California
Design Team: All Teams
Design & Inspiration Details: To highlight the “unity” theme, which was the inspiration behind the design for the 2019 LLWS uniforms, Aaron Judge’s cleats are signed by all 216 athletes participating in the LLWS.
MLB Player: Kike Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers – From Puerto Rico
Design Team: Caribbean
Team Hometown: Pabao LL, Curacao
Design & Inspiration Details: adidas’ iconic 3 Stripes feature both the Curacao & Puerto Rico flag. Additionally, both country flags are represented on the left cleat. The laces are colored blue and yellow to represent the Curacao flag.
MLB Player: Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers – From Los Angeles
Design Team: Mexico
Team’s Hometown: Guadalupe, Mexico
Design & Inspiration Details: adidas’ iconic 3 Stripes represent Mexico’s flag. The green and red colors throughout the cleats pay homage to Mexico and a sombrero on the right cleat is meant to represent Mexican culture. A hand-drawn portrait of Justin Turner and his famous beard is featured on the left cleat.
MLB Player: AJ Pollack of the Los Angeles Dodgers – From Connecticut
Design Team: Northwest
Team’s Hometown: Sprague LL, Salem OR
Design & Inspiration Details: The blue accents throughout cleats represent the blue colorway from the Northwest team’s LLWS jerseys.
MLB Player: Joe Kelly of the Los Angeles Dodgers – From California
Design Team: Midwest Region
Team’s Hometown: Coon Rapids, Minnesota
Design & Inspiration Details: The team went all-in with these, as they wanted the cleats to be the most colorful of the collection.
MLB Player: Ross Stripling of the Los Angeles Dodgers – From Pennsylvania
Design Team: Latin America Region
Team’s Hometown: Venezuela
Design & Inspiration Details: The team wanted these cleats to be bright to represent Latin culture. One cleat represents the Venezuelan flag; the other represents the colors of the Latin American LLWS jersey.
MLB Player: Liam Hendriks – Oakland A’s – From Perth, Australia
Design Team: Australia Region
Team’s Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Design & Inspiration Details: The Australian team wanted to underscore one of the two Australian players in the MLB, so the cleats feature an Australian flag along with famous food from Australia (vegemite, milo). The phrases “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” and “ Oi, Oi, Oi” emphasize the famous cheers at Australian sporting events. The green and yellow accents represent both Australia and Oakland A’s and the Oakland A’s logo is represented for Liam’s team.
MLB Player: Kolten Wong of the St. Louis Cardinals – From Hawaii
Design Team: West Region
Team’s Hometown: Maui, Hawaii
Design & Inspiration Details: The theme is centered around the baby blue and yellow colors of Hawaii’s LLWS jerseys. “Wonger” is prominently displayed to signify Kolten Wong’s nickname.