Footwear Friday: A closer look at New Balance’s Men’s 4040 Low Metal Baseball Cleats

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We’ve taken an informal poll around the office at Baseball Express HQ, asking some of our equipment experts the most important thing to keep in mind when buying new cleats.

The unanimous answer: Fit.

Without a good fit, even the most advanced cleats become useless. A poor fit will affect your running mechanics, hampering your performance as your cleats literally hurt you more than help you.

Long-term use of poor fitting cleats will cause more than just calluses and blisters. It can lead to Achilles tendinitis and Plantar fasciitis, both of which will require extensive recovery time. With younger athletes, poor fitting footwear can lead to development problems.

By finding well-fitted cleats, you can keep those problems from ever coming up.

New Balance makes that easy with its new Men’s 4040 Low Metal Baseball Cleats. Our selection of 4040s has the traditional sizes (from 7-16), but it also allows players to choose a size based on their foot width (narrow, medium or wide).

That takes the guesswork out of buying cleats. It means the end of buying a size or two too large in order to accommodate wide feet, or sacrificing toe space in order to get fitting shoes for narrow feet.

Every pair of New Balance 4040s comes with a custom, comfortable fit.

The New Balance 4040s also include a resilient engineered elastomer, designed to provide shock absorption. That makes for a responsive, comfortable ride.

They weigh 13.3 ounces apiece, so there will be no wasted energy on the basepaths and in the field, and most importantly, no injuries caused by your cleats.

They’re available in five different color combinations, including Dustin Pedroia’s camo.

Get a pair for $89.99 at Baseball Express.

Related: Shop our entire selection of New Balance baseball cleats and shoes.

Save $25 when you buy a new pair of Reebok Men’s Zig Pro Cooperstown Baseball Cleats

Our selection of recently reduced items continues to grow, and we just added Reebok Men’s Zig Pro Cooperstown Baseball Cleats to the list.

You can now get a pair of Zig Pro Cooperstowns for $89.99, a $25 discount from their original retail price.

By now, you might be familiar with Reebok’s ZigTech technology. By increasing the surface area in the “zigs” of the shoe, there is more area for the shock to disperse. The result is a springy, comfortable ride.

The Zig Pro Cooperstown Metal Cleats feature a set of metal spikes underneath the EVA zig outsole, which provides lightweight cushioning and flexibility for muscle efficiency. The cleat’s reinforced toe area makes this a great set of cleats for pitchers.

For comfort: The upper is soft synthetic leather with mesh, and the PlatDry collar lining keeps your foot cool and comfortable. The anti-microbial footbed keeps your cleats nice and funk-free.

These baseball cleats usually retail for $114.99, but you can get a pair of Zig Pro Cooperstown Low Metal Baseball Cleats for $89.99 at Baseball Express.

Related: Shop our entire selection of baseball cleats.

Footwear Friday: A closer look at Nike’s new Air Huarache 2K4 Low Metal Baseball Cleats

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We’re fans of an old Vince Lombardi quote. It goes, “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.”

Nobody starts at the top of the mountain. It takes hard work and a consistent dedication to self-improvement before you can call yourself the best.

That’s what Nike’s been up to in the last 20 or so years in making the Nike Air Huarache 2K4 Low Metal Baseball Cleats.

Nike introduced the Air Huarache line in the early 1990s as a basketball shoe for the University of Michigan’s Fab 5. They were immensely popular, but that didn’t stop the engineers at Nike from continuing to evolve and build on what they had.

They used the technology from the Air Huaraches to create a baseball cleat, which has been one of the most popular styles of cleats over the past few years. But they didn’t stop there.

The new Air Huarache 2K4 Low Metal Baseball Cleats are the next step in the evolution of Air Huaraches.

They feature full-length encapsulated air for unsurpassed comfort and a springy bounce in every step. That reduces the wear and tear on your leg muscles and joints, which allows you to play longer with less fatigue.

The TPU heel counter keeps these cleats durable, and Nike’s 9-cleat configuration is designed for performance. A good cleat should provide superb traction on both dirt and grass, and its grip should allow a player to push off and stop on a dime. Nike’s 9-cleat configuration accomplishes both.

Nike’s Air Huarache 2K4 Low Metal Baseball Cleats feature lightweight Nubuck construction in the upper, which drops its weight to 13.2 ounces per cleat.

They’re available in six different colors, perfect for matching to team colors.

Get a pair for $84.99 at Baseball Express.

Related: Shop our entire selection of Nike baseball cleats and training shoes.

Footwear Friday: A closer look at New Balance’s Men’s 4040 Low Metal Baseball Cleats

 (Click for big.)

We’ve taken an informal poll around the office at Baseball Express HQ, asking some of our equipment experts the most important thing to keep in mind when buying new cleats.

The unanimous answer: Fit.

Without a good fit, even the most advanced cleats become useless. A poor fit will affect your running mechanics, hampering your performance as your cleats literally hurt you more than help you.

Long-term use of poor fitting cleats will cause more than just calluses and blisters. It can lead to Achilles tendinitis and Plantar fasciitis, both of which will require extensive recovery time. With younger athletes, poor fitting footwear can lead to development problems.

By finding well-fitted cleats, you can keep those problems from ever coming up.

New Balance makes that easy with its new Men’s 4040 Low Metal Baseball Cleats. Our selection of 4040s has the traditional sizes (from 7-16), but it also allows players to choose a size based on their foot width (narrow, medium or wide).

That takes the guesswork out of buying cleats. It means the end of buying a size or two too large in order to accommodate wide feet, or sacrificing toe space in order to get fitting shoes for narrow feet.

Every pair of New Balance 4040s comes with a custom, comfortable fit.

The New Balance 4040s also include a resilient engineered elastomer, designed to provide shock absorption. That makes for a responsive, comfortable ride.

They weigh 13.3 ounces apiece, so there will be no wasted energy on the basepaths and in the field, and most importantly, no injuries caused by your cleats.

They’re available in five different color combinations, including Dustin Pedroia’s camo.

Get a pair for $94.99 at Baseball Express.

Related: Shop our entire selection of New Balance baseball cleats and shoes.