How Many Spikes Do Baseball Cleats Have? (Find Out Here)

ByShrot Reading Time: 5 minutes

Editorial credit: Conor P. Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com

If you plan on starting to play baseball for your local team, there is a piece of equipment that can make or break your baseball career. That equipment is your baseball cleats! But how do you know which cleats are baseball cleats? And how many spikes do baseball cleats have?

There is no set number of spikes on baseball cleats. Most baseball cleats have between 8 and 24 spikes. Molded cleats and TPU cleats can have between 8 and 24 spikes. The majority of molded cleats have 8 spikes. Metal pro cleats can have between 8 and 10 spikes, with the majority having 9 spikes.

Nowadays, if you go shopping for cleats, you will see many shapes and designs with varying spikes (or stud) configurations on the bottom of the cleat. Now you are probably curious about which cleats are for baseball and how many studs they are supposed to have, and the answer may surprise you, so let’s find out.

How Many Spikes Are On Baseball Cleats?

To answer the question of how many spikes there are on baseball cleats, one would need to know and understand the differences between available baseball cleats. Each cleat is designed differently and has a varying number of spikes (also called studs). Each category of cleat has a range of spikes. 

The Four Main Types Of Baseball Cleats

The four main types of cleats available on the market today are as follows:

Astroturf Cleats

Astroturf cleats, also known as turf shoes, are baseball cleats specially made for playing on astroturf without damaging it when running and making sharp turns.

This is achieved by decreasing the size of the studs, increasing the number of studs, and making the studs out of a softer type of plastic to increase the cleats’ traction on the ground.

Molded Cleats

Molded cleats, also known as molded rubber cleats, were designed to be comfortable and give the player an adequate amount of grip.

Molded cleats provide grip and comfort by molding three main pieces of the shoe sole out of different plastics and rubbers. Molded cleats are the preferred baseball footwear of younger players.

Metal Cleats

Metal cleats, sometimes called pro cleats, provide the most grip out of all baseball cleats. This grip is why they are the cleat of choice for the vast majority of pro baseball players, hence the name pro cleats. Metal cleats can provide more grip than any other cleat by changing the design of the studs from a circular shape to a flat spike that can penetrate the ground easier.

TPU Cleats

TPU cleats are a combination between metal and molded cleats. TPU cleats achieve better grip by adapting aspects of both types of cleats.

TPU cleats are similar to molded cleats, with the main differences being that the spikes on TPU cleats are shaped more like metal studs and made from TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) instead of rubber.

Astro Turf Baseball Cleats Have Many Small Studs

Due to the high-energy nature of the sports played on astroturf, turf shoes must be durable and perform well under less-than-ideal outdoor conditions. This means shoes made for astroturf have to have impeccable grip without tearing up the turf.

Astroturf baseball cleats maximize grip by using dozens of small stud-like pieces of rubber covering the bottom of the shoe. Rather than using sharp spikes, the many small rounded studs distribute the player’s weight evenly, preventing significant penetration while still providing a high level of grip to the player.

Turf cleats don’t generally look like your typical baseball cleats, looking more like a high-end trainer or running shoe.

Turf cleats are far more than running shoes, though. Their specific design enables turf cleats to do what your average running shoe can’t – provide superior grip on astroturf, whether wet or dry, by utilizing dozens upon dozens of small studs.

Stud Numbers On Molded Baseball Cleats Vary

There are far too many different molded cleat designs on the market to be able to say for certain what number of spikes each design of cleat may have. For example, the company New Balance has a wide range of molded cleats, with the majority of these cleats having ten studs.

The rounded shape studs on molded cleats make this design ideal for younger players to prevent injury from spikes.

However, some designs strive to offer more grip leading to some molded cleats with up to 24 studs. It is reasonable for one to say that most of New Balance’s molded cleats have ten spikes or studs, but the reality is that their molded cleats can have anywhere between 8 and 24.

How many studs are on a baseball cleat? The answer is complicated even more when looking at all the other companies that offer molded cleats. Another aspect that makes it hard to answer this question is the fact that you can’t get the same number of studs that fit on a size nine cleat to fit onto a size five cleat.

How Many Studs Do TPU Baseball Cleats Have?

TPU cleats have many of the same troubles as molded cleats when it comes to determining how many studs they have. This is because all TPU cleats are classified as molded cleats.

Like molded rubber cleats, TPU cleats have many different designs. Some designs have as few as eight studs, while others have as many as 24.

Metal Baseball Cleats Have The Fewest Spikes

Metal baseball cleats have come a long way from the dress shoe with spiked plates riveted to the soles they once were. Nowadays, metal cleats have studs protruding out of the sole. With the studs being a permanent part of the sole, designers were able to find the perfect placement and number of studs for maximum traction.

Once manufacturers found the perfect placement of the metal studs, the efficiency and traction that this design gave the player caused most companies to standardize this new design. This research makes metal cleats the most uniform of all baseball cleats, with a maximum of 10 studs and a minimum of 8 studs depending on the brand.

Conclusion

At the end of it all, you have learned that baseball cleats don’t have any set number of studs and that there are four main types of baseball cleats with different amounts of studs.

You have also learned that molded cleats and TPU cleats can have anywhere from 8 to 24 studs, metal cleats can have between 8 and 10 cleats, and that turf cleats are closer to running shoes than your typical type of baseball cleat.

References

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