Chicago Cubs Opinion: Let Ben Zobrist wear his cleats

I’ll be honest with you. I don’t see a need for MLB to levy a fine on the Chicago Cubs’ Ben Zobrist. In fact, how can something so dull receive a fine like this? Am I missing something?

Here we are, just over a month into the season. The Chicago Cubs have struggled a bit. But that’s not why I’m here. I have plenty to say about the Cubs, but that’s for a different time. This is about the MLB’s decision to place a fine on Ben Zobrist if he continues to wear his black cleats. Seems just a bit mindless? Well, it is.

Cleveland Indians’ Mike Clevinger also received the notice in the mail about his cleats, which took on a ‘bohemian inspired’ look. But like Clevenger said, they aren’t out there to distract him. “There’s no hitter that makes it to the big leagues that a cleat is going to distract him,” Clevinger told the media Friday. “If the hitter’s looking at my cleat while I’m pitching, he’s not hitting.”

The story

This is a long response written by Zobrist. But in essence, it’s quite fitting to his cause. Zobrist wants to push the young players to look into the league for what players like Ernie Banks and Stan Musial played for. He doesn’t want them to find the flexibility of the color of his shoes, but for what the flexibility of what it will want him to find in the color of his shoes.

The fact that the MLB said that they would be ‘willing to negotiate’ in the player’s footwear says something about where this came from. It says that Zobrist was noticed on May 2 before breaking the rules–but that doesn’t seem to hold much weight.

Next: Who played on both sides?

There are many rules that need to be adhered to, that much is true. But when it comes to the player’s cleats? If it isn’t excessive, why bother with it? If a player wants to wear pink, blue or orange for a reason, let him take it up with the league. But to simply wear black cleats?

That’s a place that I can’t seem to get down with. Let him wear them. Fine him if you have to. But you would be smart not to do it.