CC Sabathia Given Custom Air Jordan 3s for Hall of Fame Induction

CC Sabathia was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame Sunday afternoon, and for the occasion, he wore a custom pair of Air Jordan 3s provided directly by Jordan Brand.

Ahead of the ceremony, the first-ballot Hall of Famer was presented with the sneakers in a wooden box engraved with his last name and number 52 on the surface and his numerous accomplishments on the inner lid.

The shoes themselves are mismatched, featuring a Nike Air heel stabilizer with branding and an inner tongue rendered in red on the left shoe and blue on the right. On both, the elephant print paneling is rendered in gold to match the uppermost eyelets and the tongue’s metal Jumpman badge. The rest of the shoes are then rendered in white to allow the specialized details to stand out.

Sabatha signed with Jordan Brand in 2007 and became known for wearing cleated Air Jordans on the mound, his favorite of which was the Air Jordan 11. When he won the World Series with the New York Yankees in his feet were clad in the Air Jordan 11 Concord. The pitcher was just the second MLB player to become a Jordan Brand athlete following his Yankees teammate Derek Jeter.

In further recognition of the honor, Jordan Brand posted a black-and-white image of Sabathia on the mound in a Yankees uniform along with a red Jumpman and red text reading, “legacy.”

During his 19-season career, Sabathia pitched for the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians), Milwaukee Brewers and Yankees. He won the 2007 Cy Young Award and was named to the All-Star team six times. With a career earned run average of 3.74 and 3,093 strikeouts, Sabathia accumulated 251 wins.

Earlier this year, Carmelo Anthony, the first basketball player beside Michael Jordan to sign with Jordan Brand, was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.