Behind the Science: SQAIRZ Baseball Shoes

Whispers started back in early 2024 about a lateral movement into baseball from one of the most disruptive golf brands in the game. With a significant clinical study confirming the results of extensive field testing and Major League pros already training in SQAIRZ, the baseball world is about to get shaken up by the most innovative, biomechanically-informed footwear yet. 

"We redefined golf footwear with the most-studied shoes of all time,” says SQAIRZ founder and CEO Bob Winskowicz. “Now we’re applying that science-backed approach to baseball, and have already definitively proven that our shoes have a transformative effect on performance. We’re just a few months away from changing the entire conversation about baseball shoes.”

The physics behind SQAIRZ baseball shoes

Whether you’re swinging a bat or club, the basic physics are the same: you generate kinetic energy by pushing your feet into the ground, then drive those forces into the ball. To hit the ball harder and farther, you must increase your connection to the ground and eliminate technical inefficiencies that rob your swing of speed and power.

Your feet are immensely important throughout these movements, says Chad Miller, co-founder of Slugger Science and the Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Center. “We’ve developed assessments of players and drills that show how, biomechanically, the foot interacts into the ground,” he explains. “This translates into the player’s ability to efficiently transfer kinetic energy from the foot all the way out to the end of the bat.” 

The toe box design of SQAIRZ baseball footwear offers the widest foot base of any baseball shoe, with more space for the toes and ball of the foot. Toes can spread naturally, correcting alignment, improving balance, and increasing the energy transfer with the ground. Stability is further enhanced with an EVA foam midsole that provides responsive cushioning, a dual-density compression foam removable insole, and a high-tech heel stabilizer that runs from the heel to the arch for integrated arch support. A ComfortFlex microfiber upper, breathable textured tongue and collar lining, and SQAIRZ’s much-loved Sta-Put lacing system gently secure the shoe for the duration of the game. 

Early testing

When Chad’s team learned that SQAIRZ was developing baseball shoes, they leapt at the opportunity to test early prototypes—and couldn’t believe the results. “Simply putting players into a neutral platform shoe with a wider toe box, they were able to correct a lot of deficiencies and inefficiencies within their movement patterns,” Chad says. 

The team’s renowned experts include Allen Thomas, who spent two decades as the Chicago White Sox’s head of strength and conditioning, acclaimed former MLB player and former MLB hitting coach Dave Hansen, and trainer Heather Keepers, who worked with Chad as assistant coach at Georgetown College. They took SQAIRZ on the road, testing prototypes with players at the high school, college, and professional levels around the United States. “Exit velocities were jumping on average by 4.3 miles per hour,” Chad says. “When you translate that to distance, it's roughly eight feet per mile per hour. We’re talking about jumps of 40 feet in potential distance based upon exit velocity numbers.”

A landmark study

In early 2024, the fellowship program at the Kentucky Indiana Foot & Ankle Specialists (KYINFAS) announced the results of the first peer-reviewed clinical study of SQAIRZ’s baseball shoes. Spearheaded by Dr. Paul Klutts, the ten-month comparative study assessed 38 collegiate level players on the field using a pressure mat system, first wearing their regular training shoes, then SQAIRZ. An astounding 60.5% of the players improved exit velocity by switching to SQAIRZ. 

“What we found as physicians is that, from clinical and biomechanical standpoints, there is a correlation between increased ground reaction forces of the hind foot with batting exit velocity,” Dr. Klutts reported. “We are very proud of the fact that these findings are the first clinical baseball performance shoe study that has been published as a poster presentation at the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons International Scientific Conference."

Join the baseball revolution

Currently, nine Major League Baseball teams—nearly 100 players in total—are training in SQAIRZ, as well as athletes at six colleges. “When the shoes officially launch that will go up to about a hundred different college programs across the country,” Chad says. “From there, we hope thousands of kids are going to benefit from these shoes.”