Boston Red Sox Players Wear Custom X-Men, Toy Story Cleats on Opening Day

By Timothy Adams

Boston Red Sox players Xander Bogaerts and Christian Vazquez wore X-Men and Toy Story cleats for the Opening Day of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. After a brief lockout, MLB made its return on Thursday, April 7 with packed stadiums filled with fans ready to cheer on their favorite teams and players. However, the opener between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees was pushed to Friday due to weather. The one-day delay didn't stop shortstop Xander Bogaerts from rocking his X-Men and Wolverine-themed cleats, with catcher Christian Vazquez choosing to go with Toy Story's Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

One side of Bogaerts' black cleats features the X-Men logo, with the other showing artwork of the talented shortstop popping wrist claws in an ode to Wolverine. The official Red Sox Twitter account shared the two photos with the caption, "Xander bringing the #OpeningDay cleat heat!" As for Vazquez's cleats, they came via ESPN staff writer Joon Lee. One cleat has Woody's cowboy aesthetic, while the other highlights Buzz Lightyear's spacesuit. The cleats worn by Vazquez were designed by Stadium Custom Kicks and Ari Solomon.

Los Angeles outfielder/starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani is the cover athlete for MLB The Show 22. He is the reigning 2018 AL Rookie of the Year and 2021 AL MVP, winning the award off of his stellar performances on the mound and in the batter's box. He's one of the rare players to both hit and pitch in the same game, compiling 46 home runs, 100 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases, while also having a pitching record of 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts. MLB The Show 22 debuted April 5th for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms, and is also available on Xbox Game Pass.

Marvel's X-Men franchise recently launched its Destiny of X era with new titles such as Immortal X-Men, X-Men Red, Legion of X, and Knights of X. "The journey of the Krakoan Age is far from over!" Senior Editor Jordan D. White said in a press release. "Our long-term plan that all our creators have been working on in our secret Council Chamber has only just begun to come to fruition. With the filling of the two empty council seats, the Reign of X has ended, and it's time for mutantkind to reach for their destiny!"

As for Toy Story, Captain America actor Chris Evans is voicing the real-life version of the spaceman in Disney Pixar's Lightyear, set to blast off into theaters on June 17th. 

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