Back in May, Detriot Tigers closer Francisco Rodriguez became just the sixth pitcher in MLB history to accumulate 400 saves in his career. Francisco entered an exclusive club, joining Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith, John Franco and Billy Wagner.
Of course, a feat of such magnitude deserves a worthy celebration. So to commemorate his accomplishment, Rivera donned some custom-made shoes that mark his achievement with the number “400” marked on the shoes. The “400” on them also possess a neat little feature: they light up. Apparently, they officially lit up once the closer clinched his 400th save.
The '400' on Francisco Rodriguez's @Jumpman23 custom cleats commemorating his 400th save light up 👀 #Tigers #KRod pic.twitter.com/EnCQJdIhcy
— Matthew Stucko (@MatthewStucko) May 25, 2016
The red, blue, and yellow stripe with the stars on the toes were made to represent the Venezuelan flag. It also appears that these special shoes have already found a home to someone special in Rodriguez’s life. Via FTW:
Too bad someone special already has dibs on them: Rodriguez’s mother, Isabel.
The 73-year-old matriarch, who still lives back home in Venezuela, is actually his paternal grandmother, but she is who raised Rodriguez, so if she wants the shoes, she’s getting the shoes.
“The only reason I’m here is because of her,” Rodriguez told ESPN.com.
It’s very nice to see that these amazing shoes are going into very good hands.
