Baseball cleats buying guide: the six decisions, in order

The six decisions, in order

Parents usually start at decision six and work backwards, which is how a 9-year-old ends up in a narrow pro-model cleat that hurts. Run them in this order instead: stud type, cut, fit, width, surface, brand. The first four are the ones that decide whether he plays comfortably; the last two are preferences.

1. Stud type: molded, almost always

There are four kinds of sole and only two of them belong on a youth player.

Even where metal becomes legal, molded is usually still the right answer for a 13-year-old: it is legal on every field, safer on a slide and gentler on a growing heel. The full argument is on molded vs metal cleats.

2. Low, mid or high cut

• Low cut for almost every youth player. Lighter, cooler, and the ankle support argument for a mid cut is weaker than it sounds for a kid whose weight is low anyway.
• Mid cut for a kid who has rolled an ankle, or one who specifically asks for it. The New Balance 3000v6 Mid is the one we rank.
• High cut is essentially a football shape and rarely sold in youth baseball sizes. Skip it.

3. Fit on a foot that is still growing

A cleat is not a trainer. It is stiffer, it has no give sideways, and a bad fit shows up as blisters in week one and heel pain in month two. Three tests, done with the socks he will actually wear.

1. A thumb's width at the toe. Press down in front of the big toe with him standing. About a thumb's width of space is right. Less and he is already too big for them; much more and his foot slides forward on a stop.
2. No heel slip. Have him walk, then jog a few steps. If the heel lifts out, the cleat is too long or too wide, and that heel movement is the main cause of blisters.
3. No pressure across the widest part. Run a thumb across the ball of the foot. If the upper is already stretched over it in the shop, it will not break in; cleat uppers are synthetic and barely stretch.

The size charts, including the Little Kids and Big Kids numbering most brands use, are on the youth cleat sizing guide.

4. Width, the one nobody checks

This is where a lot of unhappy kids come from, and the listings themselves tell you. The retailer spec for the New Balance 4040v8 carries an explicit note that New Balance cleats “can be a little smaller and narrower than your standard athletic shoe” and suggests considering a half size up. Nike youth lasts also run narrow for many kids.

So if your kid has a wide foot, do not order a pro-model cleat unseen because a team-mate has it. Buy from a brand that publishes wide sizes, or try them on. The wide-foot list is on best youth cleats for wide feet, and if he is complaining of heel pain rather than width, read cleats for heel pain and Sever's disease before you buy anything.

5. Surface: do you need turf shoes too?

One pair of molded cleats covers dirt and grass and is accepted on most turf fields that allow cleats at all. A second pair of turf shoes becomes worth it when practice is on artificial turf or indoors, where many facilities prohibit cleats entirely, or when he is doing enough volume that you would rather not wear the game cleats out in the cage.

For a first season, buy one pair of molded cleats and nothing else. The turf list is there when you need it: best youth turf shoes.

6. Brand, last

Having got the first five right, the brand decides two things that genuinely matter and one that does not. It matters for the last shape, because New Balance, Nike and Under Armour fit differently, and for availability, because a cleat you can replace mid-season from a local shelf is worth more than one you cannot. It does not matter for performance at a youth level, whatever the kid believes about the name on the heel.

Three molded cleats that fit the brief

All three are molded, legal in every youth division, and sold in youth size runs. Specs on each card are quoted from the retailer listing they were read from, because New Balance and Nike both block automated reading of their own pages.

When to buy, and when to replace

• Buy as late as you can before the season. A foot measured in January is a different foot in April.
• Replace when the studs round off, not when the shoe looks old. Rounded studs slide, and sliding on a stop is how ankles turn.
• Replace immediately if the toe is splitting. The toe-cap area is where kids' cleats fail, and a split upper does not get better.
• Check the fit mid-season. Do the thumb test again in June. Plenty of kids outgrow cleats inside one season.
• Clean them after a muddy game. Caked dirt in the studs is both a traction problem and how cleats start to smell. The method is on how to clean baseball cleats.