3N2 CEO Blog » Baseball

Neftali Feliz – Rookie of the Year!

Sean — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:22:58 +0000

Yessir. Congratulations Neftali on winning Major League Baseball’s AL Rookie of the Year for 2010!

For those of you who are unaware, Neftali is a rookie closer for the Texas Rangers who rode a record setting season to a World Series appearance against the Giants. Neftali Feliz is 3N2 baseball. He is a fantastic talent that is called upon to perform in clutch situations, and succeeds in spectacular fashion. We are very proud of what Neftali has been able to accomplish thus far in his career and feel he can truly become one of Major League Baseball’s all time greats.

The partnership between 3N2 and Feliz began almost 3 years ago, right around the time that the 3N2 brand was relaunched. We have grown with Neftali through his Single A ball at Clinton and Double A ball at Frisco. We knew he had an All Star caliber skill set but I must be frank in that I did not expect him to accomplish what he has so early in his career. Some of the highlights from this season:

· All Time Rookie Saves Leader

· American League All Star

· American League Rookie of Year

· Closed out the Yankees to win the ALCS

· Recorded a save in the only win against the Giants in the World Series

We take our partnership with Feliz seriously and know that not any cleat will work for a player of Feliz’s caliber. Our baseball cleats are purpose built to perform and Feliz confirmed that 3N2 footwear excels at the highest level of baseball.

Throughout Feliz’s young career he has worn both the HAMR and a prototype of our 2011 Viper, which he wore during the end of the regular season and this year in the playoffs.

So again, thanks Feliz for taking us on this journey with you and we look forward to working with you over the next three years and beyond.

Read more about Neftali Feliz’s recent 3N2 endorsement extension.

The 3N2 Vipers are on the Boat

Sean — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 23:31:09 +0000

Perhaps one of the worst kept secrets at 3N2 is that we will be releasing a new flagship baseball cleat in 2011, the Viper. The Vipers are currently crossing the ocean en route to the Port of Miami and we’re like kids at Christmas. Counting the days. First, it’s a thing of beauty. We succeeded in marrying a super sleek design with our trademark top grade materials and the result is a world class spike the looks and performs like a champ. More importantly, however, is that it is the culmination of nearly two years of testing and refinement.

Neftali Feliz competed in the Viper for the Texas Rangers this year so it has seen significant field time at the highest levels of the game, and proven itself more than up to the test. It is a highly durable and super lightweight spike that provides the comfort, support and performance that 3N2 is known for.

There has been a good deal of buzz surrounding the shoe, and as such Eastbay snatched it up as an exclusive item. This means that it will only be available for purchase via Eastbay. I’ll keep you up to speed regarding the how’s, where’s and when’s, but expect to be able to purchase on Eastbay.com on January 1st, 2010.

If you haven’t seen the Viper, you can get a sneak peek on our Facebook page.

Baseball Spring Training in Arizona

Sean — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:55:46 +0000

What a great time of year. The weather is warming up, buds are breaking and spring training is in full swing. I’m writing this post on a flight to Arizona to meet with current and prospective 3N2 players and help facilitate one of our annual 3N2 photo shoots. Our player photo shoots help provide the player images you see on the 3N2 website and in Product Catalogs. Our 2011 catalog will go to print in less than 4 weeks – just in time for the retail pre-book season – and many of the photos from Arizona will make their way into the pages.

I missed the Arizona trip last year as I crashed a scooter the day before my flight (thank goodness for helmets – please wear them). This year, I vowed to stay off any two-wheeled toys in lead up to this trip.

Marty Graham, our President and Director of Player Relations, has done a great job solidifying the ranks of the 3N2 player line-up for 2010. Marty has long been a baseball stats junkie and working closely with players is a role he is perfectly suited for.

This year, many of the big-name baseball brands dropped a significant portion of their endorsed players, which produced a surplus of quality players without deals. This depressed the value of the player endorsement deals, which really helps smaller companies like 3N2.

Our cornerstone guys, Neftali Feliz and Michael Taylor, are suiting up for the Texas Rangers and Oakland A’s respectively, while new addition Reggie Willits is playing for the California Angels. We have also added a handful of other strong, big-league guys to our roster. Check our roster page on the website for the full roster.

In addition, there are a couple of other big names we are still pursuing and hope to have further clarity before the season starts in April.

I will be feeding updates from Arizona through our 3N2 Facebook and Twitter pages so please become a fan if you have not already!