VIDEO: Derek Dietrich Honoring His Grandfather on Cleats Against Pirates is Super Ironic
By Michael Luciano
Cincinnati Reds infielder Derek Dietrich comes from a baseball family, as his grandfather was Steve Demeter, who had a few cups of coffee with the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians in 1959 and 1960. In honor of his grandfather, who passed away in 2013, Dietrich is sporting a pair of custom cleats for Players' Weekend that features "7-29-1959" on the heel, as that is the day Demeter made his MLB debut. The other shoe in that pair features "5-08-2013", the day Dietrich made his debut with the Miami Marlins. An amazing gesture, of course...but is the King of "Let the Kids Play" taking a little shot at the Pirates' announcers in the process?
Do you remember back in May, when Buccos broadcaster John Wehner insinuated that Demeter would be disappointed with Dietrich's dinger pimping, going as far as to say he'd be "rolling over in his grave" at his grandson's antics? Well, Dietrich doesn't think that'd be the case, of course, and he's flaunting that family connection against those very same Pirates. Intentional or not? You make the call.
Dietrich will also wear a second pair of cleats that pay homage to his Best Buddies charity that he operates in Cincinnati. High marks for the old-school Reds logo and gold finish on both pairs of cleats.
"Dietz," who was just activated off of the IL, is hitting .207 with 19 home runs this season, but has cooled off considerably following a torrid start to the campaign.
It remains to be seen how the Reds will perform in their garish all-white jerseys, but Dietrich's cleats are already among the best pieces of swag we've seen.