Fernando Tatis Jr. is channeling his inner Rocky Balboa in Philly!

The San Diego Padres are currently visiting the City of Brotherly Love as they take on the Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game series. Baseball’s “Cleat King” Fernando Tatis Jr. is back again and channeling his inner underdog with another custom pair of cleats for the occasion. Check out our Sneakers news for more upcoming releases and breaking content!

Fernando Tatis Jr. has been continuing his custom cleat series this season in collaboration with @xample and The Shoe Surgeon, detailing his favorite sneakers customized by various themes particular to where he’s playing. This next pair is 12 of 50 and titled “Stairs to Success.” As the Padres bounce back from a loss to the Phillies and currently trail in their second game, there’s no better time for Tatis Jr. to play the ultimate underdog and channel Rocky through his footwear.

The 1976 classic sports film features Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, a down and out small-time boxer from Philadelphia who gets his unlikely chance at the world heavyweight championship against Apollo Creed. Fernando Tatis Jr.’s cleats take the shape of an Air Jordan 1 and feature one-of-a-kind details to pay homage to the boxing legend.
images via Xample

The cleats mimick traditional Everlast Boxing Gloves and shorts while sporting red, white and black. The cleats were customized using actual Everlast gloves and shorts and includes yellow gold, signifying Rocky’s shiny gold training shorts. The “Stair To Success” cleats are anchored by red and yellow Nike Swooshes, which turn into a staircase, just like the one Rocky ran up during the famous training scene in the movie.

Using the font of the Everlast logo, ‘Tatis Jr.’ is written along the top of the cleat with shiny gold belt tassels hanging from the tops of the cleats, mimicking classic boxing shorts. Using belt plating, Tatis’ number 23 in roman numerals is displayed on the left cleat, with the ‘FTJ’ logo on the right cleat. A silhouette of Rocky Balboa is featured on the left cleat tongue, with the XAMPLE logo on the right cleat.

Finally, quotes from Rocky are included on the gold interior Nike Swooshes of the cleat, including “Nobody owes nobody nothin’ you owe yourself,” and “I stopped thinking the way other people think a long time ago.”

As always, the design was conceptualized by Xample’s CEO & Founder Nick Drbal. The shoes were brought to life by none other than The Surgeon, who creates some of the most exclusive and unique footwear on the planet and has been tasked with executing this cleat series.

Look out for these cleats all series against the Philadelphia Phillies and keep it locked with our Sneakers news for continued coverage of Fernando Tatis Jr.’s cleat series this season!