CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds will be wearing special attire as they host the Kansas City Royals at the Great American Ball Park this weekend.
The Reds will be donning the cleats Aug. 16-18 as part of "Players' Weekend," a special weekend that aims to let MLB players showcase their own backstories and personalities.
On Aug. 12, patients and families from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital were invited to decorate pairs of cleats that the Reds players will wear during the weekend's games.
The children were asked to design the shoes based off of the players' interests, but were given full creative control over how they were decorated.
On Aug. 13, a group of Reds players met with the young artists at Cincinnati Children's Seacrest Studio, where they were presented with their one-of-a-kind cleats.
One pair of cleats designed included references to "Spongebob Squarepants," while others showcases bright colors and other fun designs.
One patient, who was designing cleats for Reds outfielder Stuart Fairchild, had one word of advice for when he wears his new, decked out cleats: "don't ruin them."
The Cincinnati Reds play Saturday at 6:40 p.m. and close out their series with the Royals Sunday at 1:40 p.m. The Royals took home game one of the three-game series with a 7-1 victory Friday.
To buy tickets to the Saturday or Sunday's game, visit www.mlb.com/reds/tickets.
