Advertisement

Rays' Evan Longoria teams with New Balance on new sneaker

 
Published July 21, 2015

ATLANTA — Rays third baseman Evan Longoria has created plenty of lasting memories on the field and at the plate, topped by his Game 162 wild-card clinching home run.

Now he has helped create a sneaker being launched this month, the Evan Longoria x New Balance 530, which features several design elements he suggested. Photos were released Tuesday.

"I think it turned out great," Longoria said. "It was really fun to do. It was a year-and-a-half communicating with them. It was cool to be a part of, and something that I was honored that they even let me do."

Some of Longoria's suggestions were to make the shoe black (his most common clothing color choice), to include denim material in addition to the suede (since he prefers wearing jeans) and to make it comfortable given his past foot problems.

New Balance said it added speckle to the sole to resemble infield dirt, used a sheepskin lining "for a baseball-glove like feel" and highlighted the 3 in the 530 lace-keeper because it's his number.

About 1,000 pairs are being made and sold online for a suggested retail price of $159.95, available first on May 30 via privatesneakers.com.