Two of my biggest passions in this world are baseball and sneakers. No question. This is why New York Yankees’ outfielder Clint Frazier is one of my favourite players as he has the best on-field shoe game in the Majors. I love when my baseball and sneaker worlds collide, and will go to great lengths to make it happen. In 2019, I went to a Toronto Blue Jays game and got there early enough for batting practice, where then-Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell was roaming down the sidelines mingling with rival fans. Snell is also a self-proclaimed shoe fanatic, especially Air Jordans, so when he walked down the line to where I was I made sure to ask him what was his favourite edition of the Jordan 1s, one of the most iconic silhouettes in sneaker history. Being a sneakerhead, I was hoping Snell would pick a shoe that meant a lot to him personally, or maybe a pair that was underrated in the sneaker community. But instead, he answered by saying that his favourite 1s were the triple-white Off-Whites, and I was a bit disappointed. Yeah, no shit dude, you’re a multi-millionaire and these Off-Whites are one of the most expensive pairs of shoes you could ever buy. While this made me realize that professional athletes aren’t exactly like the rest of us, I appreciate any moment where baseball and cool shoes intertwine, which is why I was a huge fan of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s footwear from Thursday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals.

Vladdy's honouring a legend tonight 💥 #Jackie42 pic.twitter.com/m7VRAJ6Ypi

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 16, 2021

Vladdy wasn’t playing around, pulling up to Kauffman Stadium wearing some absolute HEAT. These are custom Air Jordan 10 cleats, in a clean Blue Jays colourway serving as a tribute to Jackie Robinson Day with his 42 on the tongue and heel. This is a silhouette I haven’t seen on the baseball field before; the most common Jordans among custom cleat-wearers are 1s, 4s, and 11s, which are also three of the most popular silhouettes in real life, but I love how Vladdy rocked a pair that doesn’t get a lot of love as a glimpse of the drip he has in his shoe closet. The fact that one shoe is an inverted version of the other makes these even more unique, and even though these aren’t an official colourway of the 10 the Jumpman logo on the right heel makes it look like Guerrero Jr. slapped some spikes on a pair he picked up from StockX.

Slim Vlad had the best cleats on the diamond last night, and he must have known that as he made sure that everyone got a good look at them. In the 7th inning, Guerrero Jr. swung at the first pitch and got all of it, sending this baseball to the moon before it landed in the deep centerfield bleachers.

KC barbecue is good.

This SMOKED meatball is better 💥 #PLAKATA pic.twitter.com/KtrT8CfG8I

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 16, 2021

He teed off on this breaking ball down in the zone, sending Royals pitcher Kyle Zimmer’s offering 456 feet through the Missouri night sky at an exit velocity of 112.8 MPH. This is the longest home run Vladdy has had in his big-league career, giving him quite the stage to trot around and flex his shoe game.

After posting modest numbers in his first two less-than-full seasons in the Majors, Vladdy has exploded on the scene this April like fans have expected from the young sensation since he bullied his way through the Blue Jays’ farm system. Guerrero Jr. ranks at the top of the MLB in several key hitting categories, depicting just how good he’s been at the plate to begin his junior year. He’s reached base in every game so far and has also played some solid first base, looking super comfortable at the position which I think has contributed to his calm approach at the plate.

Unfortunately, Vlad’s moonshot didn’t help complete the Blue Jays’ comeback after being down 7-0 in the fourth inning thanks to some suspect pitching and defense. The game went to the ninth with the Royals clinging to a 7-5 lead, and Guerrero Jr. came to the plate as the go-ahead run with a pair of runners on base and two outs, but he struck out to end the game. AGAIN, the home plate umpire made a terrible strike call in the Blue Jays’ last at-bat that had fans on Twitter shaking their heads and muttering expletives, and it seems like Major League umpires haven’t read my latest article telling them to wake up. However, the boys in blue have three more games to beat up on the Royals, and I hope they do since this matchup will forever remind me of that 2015 ALCS loss at the hands of the eventual World Series champions. Tune in throughout the weekend as the Blue Jays will send out their best starters in Matz, Ray, and Ryu.