Fernando Tatis Jr. debuted two new custom cleats during the last week….
The San Diego Padres are contending in the NL West standings and will continue their race against the Los Angeles Dodgers for the rest of the season. Fernando Tatis Jr. currently leads his team in home runs (8) and has been looking good doing so, as he’s been wearing a new custom pair of cleats for each series the Padres’ play. Continuing our coverage of his 50-cleat series this season, let’s take a look back at what Tatis Jr. debuted over the last week. Check out our Sneakers news for more upcoming releases and breaking content!
Throughout this season, Fernando Tatis Jr. has teamed up with XAMPLE to conceptualize custom sneaker-inspired cleats to wear for each series this season. Taking cues from Tatis’ personality and baseball journey, the shoes are brought to life by The Surgeon, who creates some of the most unique custom sneakers and sneaker art on the planet.
Fernando Tatis Jr. debuted this custom cleat on May 12, 2024 for Mother’s Day in honor of his mother, Maria Tatis. He gave her and all the Padres’ Moms out their the best gift of all with a 4-0 home win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The cleats, titled “MARIA,” are a custom Nike Jordan 1 cleat created using several shades of hot and soft pink over glossy leather. Equipped with hot pink along the laces, ankle, and sockliner, the words “Maria” and “Tatis” are featured on both white tongue tabs. The base of the cleat is done in white, while the heels feature Tatis’ #23 and his FTJ logo showcased on the back. A closer look reveals custom art on the shoes’ insoles, featuring photos of Maria Tatis on her wedding day when Tatis Jr. was just eight years old.
Finally, popular bible verse Psalm 23:1 is written in white gloss at the top of the back of both cleats in Spanish (Salmos 23:1). All in all, these were a great tribute to someone who means the most to Fernando Tatis Jr. both as a man and a baseball player. He certainly made her proud when he rounded the bases for a home run in the Padres’ shutout victory.
The next cleat in the series was debuted by Tatis Jr. on May 13 against the Colorado Rockies and he’s just finished wearing them as the series concluded. The Padres were swept and Tatis Jr. didn’t play his best from the plate during that series, but he certainly had the freshest footwear throughout. The latest pair, titled “Electric 1s” is a Jordan 1 silhouette inspired by the ever-popular Air Jordan 4 “Lightning.”
On cue with the Air Jordan 4 silhouette, this custom features nubuck leather along a sleek yellow base. The side panel features the same webbing from the Air Jordan 4 while the black Nike Swoosh features custom electric artwork throughout. The midsole is seen in white and the base of the cleats are set in black. We see a “Lightning” logo on the left tongue, followed by Tatis’ #23 on the back left cleat. The right tongue features the XAMPLE logo, with the same back heel sporting the FTJ logo
We’re starting to see Fernando Tatis and The Surgeon get creative with some of these pairs and they knocked it out of the park once again with these last two. To see what he’ll be rocking next, following our Sneakers news for continued coverage on Tatis Jr.’s custom cleats all season!
Dominik Zawartko is a sports writer for ClutchPoints, primarily covering UFC, sneakers, and the NBA. He attended Michigan State University and now resides in Chicago.
