Photo: Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz rocks customized Donkey Kong Jordan cleats against Blue Jays in Toronto
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz took the diamond inside Rogers Center in style on Friday night. Cruz rocked customized Donkey Kong and Super Smash Bros. Nike Jordan cleats against the Toronto Blue Jays in the opening game of their three-game series.
Take a look at his cleats here:
Oneil Cruz's customized Donkey Kong/Super Smash Bros. Jordan cleats feature the selection menu of the characters from the video game on the inside, with the iconic Nike swoosh symbol in red.
On the outer part of the cleats is an image of Donkey Kong, with Cruz's name initials at the front of the cleats. It also featured his name in full, as the right shoe had Oneil written on the inner side, while Cruz was present at the same place on the left pair.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 26-31 for the season after losing the opening game against the Blue Jays on Friday night. They sit in the fourth spot, eight games behind the table-topping Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central division.
The ballclub split their two-game series with the Detroit Tigers before heading to Toronto, and before that, defeated the Atlanta Braves in a three-game series at home in PNC Park.
Though Oneil Cruz went hitless against the Blue Jays on Friday night, he has been fairly decent in both aspects of the game for the Pirates this season. He has been mindful with his at-bats and has been electric in the infield on defense.
Oneil Cruz has come good with his at-bats for Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024
Oneil Cruz has been fairly decent so far with his at-bats and plate discipline for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2024 MLB season. He is batting with an average of .241, with seven home runs, 20 RBIs and .715 OPS so far this campaign. What can be improved in his stat line is the strikeout rate, as he has struck out 74 times in 199 at-bats this season while only generating 48 hits.
Oneil Cruz recently created MLB history in the Statcast era by smashing two base hits, each clocked in at over 120 mph in the same game. He achieved this feat on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in the series opener against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park. The Dominican's raw power and agility in the infield make him a complete package for the Pirates organization.