Francisco Lindor Reps Puerto Rico with New Cleats

It comes as no surprise that New York Mets superstar Francisco Lindor has his own official pair of cleats. The Puerto Rican shortstop has been racking up accolades and turning his fans attention away from realizing they are paying $19 for a can of beer since entering the MLB in 2015.

Baseball may be boring, but Lindor is not. A player with this kind of draw needs a shoe to match his eye-catching style of play. Enter New Balance; the footwear company has made Lindor the first Puerto Rican MLB player with a signature pair of cleats.

Now you may be thinking: “New Balance? You mean those waspy joints worn by frat boys and Kawhi Leonard?” As a fashion label, you want to avoid reviving dead memes at all costs. Nothing will hurt your bottom line more that viral tik tok asking, “no really, what ARE those?”

New Balance is doing their damndest to change that image. Signing the first Puerto Rican player deserves special consideration, plus shoes are a big f****** deal to both hypebeasts and fans. If your team isn’t good enough to receive championship rings, at least you have one player good enough to get a shoe deal.

NB knew it had to come out swinging, and lucky for them, Francisco has an artist’s eye for detail. He knew exactly how to pay homage to his home country.

“My favorite flower it’s called amapola, in the hibiscus. It’s one of the national flowers of Puerto Rico. I have it in [a] tattoo…I was like, I kinda want this flower, you know. It represents me, it represents Puerto Rico.”

Lindor posted a video on his instagram detailing the personal touches that went into the shoe’s design.

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A post shared by Francisco Lindor (@lindor12bc)

Not too bad for a first timer. The potential is definitely there for future editions, and maybe even a traditional sneaker. The story is nice, and they also come in black. With Bad Bunny’s Adidas collab and now Lindor, Latinos are proving that they’re the ones driving fashion trends in mainstream America.