No matter what he’s doing, the second Shohei Ohtani steps on dirt from the dugout, all eyes are watching the face of Major League Baseball.
And the foot that touched the dirt has a distinct “NB” written across the cleat.
It’s New Balance, the footwear and apparel brand that has grown into one of the most influential names in baseball.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXBUSINESS.COM
New Balance’s growth in the category is one that reached astronomical heights when Ohtani joined the brand in 2023, becoming a signature face of their baseball team. But New Balance has built a baseball portfolio that includes more perennial All-Star talent, including New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, and many more.
So, how does a company known primarily in the running community, and producing footwear commonly referred to as the “dad shoe,” evolve into a baseball staple working alongside the game’s biggest and brightest stars?
New Balance’s journey into baseball is a sports business masterclass that centers around a great product, a window of opportunity, and most importantly, staying true to core values in a family-run company.
“RUNNING SHOES ON SPIKES” MENTALITY
In 2011, New Balance recognized their window when looking to break into team sports. Down the road in Boston, the Red Sox, one of the most iconic franchises in MLB, were years removed from their World Series drought and back to their winning ways.
New Balance understood its strength was high-quality running shoes and performance footwear for the best athletes, as well as the everyday civilian. But Chris Davis, New Balance’s brand president and chief marketing officer and son of owner and chairman, Jim Davis, said the company was confident in itself to start producing what every baseball player needs.
Comfortable, high-performance cleats.
MLB OWNERS AND PLAYERS BEGIN CBA NEGOTIATIONS IN NEW YORK AS SALARY CAP FIGHT LOOMS OVER 2026 SEASON
“Our heritage in running, performance innovation, and craftsmanship gave us a credible foundation to enter the sport with a ‘running shoe on spikes’ mentality,” Davis told FOX Business in an exclusive statement. “We have always seen New Balance as the ultimate challenger brand, a brand that lives at the intersection of sport and culture. Our entry into baseball was not about chasing visibility. It was about bringing the most authentic parts of our brand into a new arena and earning credibility through product, performance, and genuine relationships with athletes.”
Those are the same values that drove New Balance to the top as a global leader in running and lifestyle, and they weren’t going to deviate from the gameplan. And as a privately owned company, New Balance had what competitors don’t: the luxury of patience.
While running shoes on spikes is the mentality, another New Balance core value with its product is athlete feedback. It’s crucial for the brand, and it knew listening to baseball players would ensure they were making products worthy of a switch away from traditional brands in the space. And the easiest place to look was down that road with the Red Sox, where a certain fan-favorite second baseman ultimately became a foundational piece of the baseball puzzle.
Dustin Pedroia, the 2008 MVP and four-time All-Star, was one of the first New Balance baseball athletes to join on as a partner, and he was the right one to do so. Evan Zeder, New Balance’s senior global director of sports marketing, credited Pedroia with helping set the foundation for what New Balance baseball is today.
“I think for us as a brand, Dustin was also just obsessed with his product and pushed us in really, really unique ways to make sure that he was always performing at the best,” Zeder, who joined New Balance after the baseball sector began, told FOX Business in a recent interview. “I hear from the product teams and the amount of times they would go back and forth with Dustin to perfect it and tweak where it needed here and there, he was just one of those guys who made us better.”
The back and forth ultimately resulted in Pedroia rocking New Balance cleats at Fenway Park, and as locker room banter went, the word started to spread about the newest cleat on the market amongst the highest of circles.
“One of the reasons we started baseball was because we knew we were going to make a great, quality product. But we also felt there was an opportunity to win the locker room,” Zeder explained. “I think that’s just as important. … Footwear is equipment and players could care less about perception of a brand if it’s going to make them better.”
The formal push into baseball came with the early 3000 and 4040 cleat lines aimed at college and minor leaguers, but having players like Pedroia in the mix proved to New Balance that the best in the game want to wear what they’re creating.
LEBRON JAMES’ AGENT RICH PAUL LAUNCHES NEW BALANCE BRAND
Now, how does it start to land the stars of the future?
FAMILY AT THE CORE
Before he was wowing fans in Cleveland with his switch-hitting skills, or becoming the new face of the Mets in Queens, Lindor was just a kid from Caguas, Puerto Rico, whose parents went to Al’s Sports Shop to put their son’s baseball equipment on layaway. They made sure their son had what he needed to pursue his passion for the game.
Family means so much to Lindor. He loves his wife, his three children, his teammates and everyone else in his life. After all, you don’t get the nickname “Mr. Smile” without having that welcoming nature.
When Lindor’s deal was up with Under Armour following Cleveland’s loss in the 2016 World Series, he told some New Balance reps to speak with his agent about a potential next endorsement.
New Balance had been on his radar thanks to teammate Corey Kluber, who would wear them on the mound during his starts. Lindor also got to see tons of different cleats at the All-Star Game that season. New Balance got the call, and they had a vision for Lindor that didn’t just include adding him to their roster – they wanted him to be the new face of their baseball brand.
“They showed me the vision, they showed me where they were headed, and what their brand was. It was amazing,” Lindor told FOX Business. “On top of that, I think probably to me the thing that got me more interested in the company was how family-oriented they were. I went to Mr. Davis’ car garage, hung out there for a little bit. Then, I got to meet Chris [Davis] and his sister – everybody. To me, that was very unique.
“Usually, a lot of companies are very corporate, and you meet the person trying to sign you and that’s it. It felt very family-oriented and that’s kinda how I am. That’s kinda how I live my whole life.”
“I was so proud to hear Francisco describe New Balance as a family, but I was not surprised,” Chris Davis added. “Our conversations are rarely just about baseball. They are about family, friends, style, life, and the fact that we are both proud ‘girl dads.’ That personal connection reflects how we approach our athlete relationships and vice versa.”
Lindor officially signed with the brand in 2017, and that relationship ultimately led to what every professional athlete dreams of having: a signature shoe. It’s where the next evolution for New Balance came, and Lindor played a vital role.
DESIGNING OUTSIDE THE BOX
Lindor knew when he signed on with New Balance that their bread and butter were “very camo-ish, black and white and grey” colorways for their cleats. That wasn’t his style, and he made sure to express that to the design teams. Like any family, though, compromise and understanding each other’s side is always best, and Lindor appreciated New Balance wasn’t trying to fit him into their previous baseball mold.
The Lindor 1 was being built, and Lindor couldn’t believe how much he was involved in the design process. At the same time, New Balance was enthralled by how much Lindor wanted to help design his shoe.
“I’ve never seen someone more invested and in tune with his product than Francisco, because he not only wants to make sure it’s performing the best, he wants it to shine on the shelf. He gets that part,” Zeder said.
Lindor added: “I don’t want to be one of those guys that’s, ‘Yeah, I have a signature shoe and don’t know anything about it.’ I love designing, I love creating things, I love fashion, I love colors. I love anything to do with apparel. That was part of the talks. I wanted to be involved in the whole process – I want to be one of your guys.”
When the Lindor 1 dropped in February 2021, it was just as colorful as the seafoam green curls he sported on his head at the time. Since then, New Balance has dropped the Lindor 2 and 3, the latter of which blends the brand’s FuelCell running-shoe tech that works in a baseball cleat as well. The colorways continue to be vibrant and unique, while New Balance’s identity shines through in its innovation and attention to detail for the athletes.
While Lindor’s signature lines became hot commodities, from Al’s Sports Shop, where his shoes still sit on shelves today, to all over the globe, New Balance didn’t stop there.
Being on the baseball map, they saw the opportunity to land one of the game’s best players to ever step foot between the lines. The question was whether they could land him.
SHO-TIME
Babe Ruth is one of the most mesmerizing figures in sports history, but even he probably wouldn’t believe his eyes if he saw Ohtani play the game today. In nine years, he’s won four MVP Awards. He became the first player to ever hit 50 home runs while stealing 50 bases in a single season – a feat many believed impossible. Ohtani does all of this while owning a dominant, elite-level arsenal of pitches when he goes out on the mound.
Simply put, there’s no one like Ohtani in baseball, and New Balance fully recognized that when given the chance to speak to him about becoming the new face of their baseball brand.
“For him, for someone who’s as maniacal about his performance and so obsessive with every little detail, we wouldn’t be in the conversation if we didn’t have the reputation of the product with him,” Zeder said about the opportunity with Ohtani and his representation.
“Shohei wants to make sure that every detail is dialed in for when he’s out there playing.”
As Chris Davis put it, “you cannot fake winning in sport,” and New Balance was doing that with its growing group of athletes across the nation. So, Zeder said the conversations with Ohtani ironed out what the brand had in store for someone of his global recognition and superstardom, but also how their product would keep him performing at his expected elite level.
Ohtani eventually saw New Balance as the right avenue for him, and the multi-year deal was struck in January 2023. It has since expanded to include a personal logo, signature apparel line, and of course, specialized footwear. The Ohtani Signature Collection is the embodiment of what New Balance knew it could achieve in baseball.
“He is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete with extraordinary global influence,” Chris Davis said. “However, his fit with New Balance goes far beyond talent. He embodies humility, discipline, excellence, and a team-first mentality, all while carrying himself with a sense of joy and ease that makes him incredibly compelling.”
New Balance’s baseball story is what they pride themselves on, because at the end of the day, what family doesn’t love sharing the best moments of the ones they love?
STORYBOOK BEGINNINGS
For New Balance, marketing strategies don’t just revolve around selling a product. The company wants to tell the story of each athlete they work with, and baseball has provided unique avenues to do so in impactful ways.
For Lindor, they released “For Queens” in March 2025, highlighting the shortstop’s connection to Mets fans to spotlight his Lindor 2 drop. He took the 7 train, the common mass transit vehicle to get to Citi Field, where he stopped into businesses and interacted with the Flushing community. Even though it was “cold as hell,” as Lindor put it, the end result and the experience was worth it.
Then, how about Raleigh walking through a rainy Seattle, a common occurrence in the Pacific Northwest, and producing a snapback that read, “When it rains, it dumps” across the front to honor his unique nickname, “Big Dumper,” following his historic 2025 campaign.
No matter the athlete, no matter their status in sport, New Balance wants to tell their story, and do so in a way they know will resonate with specific fan bases.
“We have always viewed our athletes as part of the New Balance family, not simply as endorsers,” Chris Davis said. “They are partners, collaborators, and extensions of the brand – individuals who reflect both our values and our ambition.”
Those stories are also ones that Curtis Granderson, the 16-year MLB veteran, still talks about today. While it may not have been in a snazzy commercial or social media hit, that family nature New Balance has was felt in full force for an MLB All-Star always looking to give back where he could, and was a main reason he signed on with the brand after realizing what they could do outside of providing him comfortable equipment.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy devastated the tri-state area, where Granderson was playing for the New York Yankees. He wanted to help out where he could, and after speaking with schools in the area, he was told the students needed new backpacks that were wrecked or lost in the aftermath of the natural disaster.
“New Balance was like, ‘Hey, how many backpacks do you need?’ We got the backpacks, and we were able to be in New York that winter to hand out so many backpacks to so many schools. That was one of the first big things we did, and from there, it just continued to scale,” Granderson told FOX Business.
As Davis said, “When an athlete feels genuinely heard and supported, the relationship becomes rooted in trust and mutual commitment.” Granderson, and many more New Balance athletes, still feel that impact today.
SWINGING FOR THE FENCES
Did New Balance know that its quiet entrance into America’s Pastime would transform into having athlete representation across every MLB team, and global superstars on its roster of partners, including the face of baseball? Maybe not.
But it does know there is still so much more that can be done, as another crop of talented players comes with each passing season. They announced the addition of Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, and most recently, Chicago Cubs phenom Pete Crow-Armstrong as well.
There’s also Kansas City Royals’ Jac Caglianone, the franchise’s top prospect who was called up in June 2025 and has been in the big leagues ever since. He’s also been a New Balance cleat-wearer since he was 12, as the multi-width option the brand offered came in clutch.
“My problem growing up was I had a really wide foot, and the Nikes, the Adidas, they ran way too narrow for me and they were just uncomfortable,” Caglianone told FOX Business. He and his dad eventually found the cleat for him, and today, he’s a brand partner who understands the significance of being part of a family that houses the game’s best.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXBUSINESS.COM
“It’s super special to be able to wear the same shoe that the face of baseball is wearing with Ohtani,” he admitted. “It’s really special. Just the family they’ve created, it’s been a lot of fun.”
And once again, family is brought up. The baseball family at New Balance will continue to grow, and while the brand will never stray away from its staples, including the ol’ “dad shoe,” it knows where staying true to your values and beliefs can get you.
Like the Babe, New Balance called its shot, and it’s fair to say the ball still hasn’t landed yet.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Read the full article here
