Duran transfers heat to feet with custom cleats

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MINNEAPOLIS -- You know, if I threw 104 mph in the Major Leagues, I’d probably be pretty hyped up about it and want the world to know about it every now and then -- it only seems natural, right?

(Disclaimer: I do not throw 104 mph, so I don’t actually have a way to properly contemplate and contextualize this hypothetical.)

But the funny thing about talking to Jhoan Duran about his various velocity records over the years is how thoroughly unimpressed he seemed by his feats every time we surrounded him at his locker to talk to him about them. It’d seem like he’d just shrug it off every time, as if saying, “Yeah, sure, of course.”

Turns out, he gets some enjoyment from the firepower in that right arm after all.

Duran just chose to show it this year by getting a pair of custom cleats made for his home appearances at Target Field -- emblazoned with “104.4 mph,” “104.5 mph,” “104.6 mph” and “104.8 mph” in large white lettering on various places on the shoes, to show off his highest velocity readings from the 2023 season.

Heck yes, he throws hard -- and he wants people to know it.

“I love it when I do that,” Duran said. “I'm proud of it, because I put in hard work for that.”

The right-hander said the cleats are not only a homage to his velocity, but also to the immense spectacle of his WWE-like closer introduction at Target Field. That’s why, in a change from his similar cleats of last season, the flames on top of the fire-like red and orange background are black this year.

It’s so that those black flames can be accentuated by little white dots -- like the sparkles of the camera flashes that punctuate the stands of Target Field as the lights are dimmed and Duran jogs in from the bullpen with a remix of “El Incomprendido” blaring from the speakers.

He loves that entrance -- and his sons do, too. That’s why he custom designed the cleats to fit it.

“Yeah, that brings more energy to me,” Duran said. “When I see that, I put it in my mind, ‘Oh, I need to do a quick inning here.’ I feel like I have a lot of energy. I need to throw more hard. I need to throw everything more quickly.”

Duran designed them during the offseason with an artist known on social media as “Sneakers CustomRD,” who has also worked with other MLB players like Twins teammate Willi Castro and D-backs hitters Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Ketel Marte.

Duran said it didn’t take too long to design the shoes -- and he’s got more custom cleats on the way to match the Twins’ City Connect uniforms, which will debut in June.

Clearly, he’s excited about his supreme velocity -- so why didn’t he seem all that excited to make a big fuss of it last year, when he actually threw 104.8 mph in a game?

“I don't take it as something that’s a surprise for me, because I know what I do in the offseason to make that,” Duran said. “That's why it's not a big surprise for me.”

It’s not a surprise at all for him -- but very much worth celebrating.