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San Diego Padres slugger Fernando Tatis Jr. has collaborated with sports retail brands Xample and Surgeon to wear 50 custom cleats throughout the 2024 season. He has already donned three of those, and the latest one, the fourth, was in honor of the U.S. military.
The latest cleat pair were seen in the Padres' game on Sunday against the San Francisco Giants. The custom cleats were designed to honor defense veterans and active military service personnel.
The cleats are named "Thank You" and were made from the uniforms of two veterans, with a camouflage texture over the shoes. Xample released the first look of the shoes on their Instagram page.
"The Padres have worn uniforms to commemorate the military for quite some time now, and with Tatis wanting an idea for a custom pair of cleats, it only made sense for a custom pair of cleats to be made from the uniform of a service member," Jared Kenney, a military veteran and former US Navy personnel said in a news release.
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Fernando Tatis Jr.'s previous three custom cleats donned this season
The star infielder showcased the first custom cleat in the Seoul Series against the Dodgers. The pink and brown custom cleat featured Mugunghwa, which is the national flower of South Korea. It also included a monastery design on the back and a Korean-language phrase, paying tribute to the country's culture.
On Thursday, in their home opener, Fernando Tatis Jr. wore Jordan cleats that paid tribute to the late Padres owner, Peter Seidler. The cleats had his famous quote, "I believe in him."
“I feel they came out just perfect,” Tatis said ahead of the game. “It’s part of our story; he’s part of my story … Everything we’re doing this season is for Peter, and for the years to come, too.”
In the second game against the Giants, Fernando Tatis Jr. wore custom Tiffany & Co.-inspired Air Jordan 1 cleats on Saturday.
We have only seen four out of the 50 cleats expected to come this year. Each shoe has a special meaning behind it and it remains to be seen what this collaboration has for us in the near future.
