Youth Baseball Cleats That Fit Orthotics: From Little League to Varsity

Baseball is gentler on young legs than soccer or basketball, but it has its own problems. A boy stands in cleats for hours on tournament weekends. He slides into bases that do not give. He plays on grass, dirt and artificial turf, sometimes in the same week. And somewhere between Little League and high school, he will ask for metal spikes. This guide is for parents of boys from tee ball through varsity. It covers what the injury research shows and how to choose between molded, metal and turf soles. It also explains how to pick a cleat for a wide, narrow, flat or high-arched foot. Finally, it shows when a custom orthotic fits in a baseball cleat.

Shopping for a daughter who plays softball? Read our guide to girls' softball cleats. For every sport a high-school boy plays, see our varsity guide for boys. A teenager already in men's sizes can also use our men's baseball cleat guide.

What the Research Shows About Young Players

Collins and Comstock (2008) studied two seasons of high-school baseball across the country. The injury rate was 1.26 for every 1,000 practices and games in that study, and the authors called high-school baseball relatively safe. The shoulder was the most injured body part, and the ankle was second. Ligament sprains were the most common diagnosis. Joseph and colleagues (2013) found that boys' baseball had the lowest rate of anterior cruciate ligament tears of the nine high-school sports they studied. So for a young player's legs, the main worry is the ankle. Sliding into a base is one way ankles get hurt, and it has been studied closely.

Sliding, Bases and Ankles

Hosey and Puffer (2000) watched ten college baseball and softball teams for a season and recorded every slide. There were 37 injuries in 3,889 slides in that study. In the three baseball teams, feet-first slides had a higher injury rate than head-first slides. That does not make head-first sliding safer for a child, and some youth leagues do not allow it. It does show how much force a slide puts through the ankle when the foot hits a base that does not move. Janda and colleagues (1988) compared recreational softball games on fields with bolted-down bases and fields with breakaway bases. There were 45 sliding injuries on the bolted-down fields and two on the breakaway fields in that study. Janda and colleagues (2001) later measured the forces and found that breakaway bases cut the load on the ankle at impact.

For a young player, three things help more than any cleat. Teach him to slide properly before the season, on grass, in sliding shorts. Ask whether the league uses breakaway bases. And if he has sprained an ankle before, add balance work. McGuine and Keene (2006) found that a balance program cut ankle sprains by about half in high-school athletes. A lace-up brace for the rest of the season makes sense after a sprain. Read our guide on ankle sprains.

Molded, Metal or Turf?

Little League bans metal spikes in its Major division and below and allows them in its Intermediate, Junior and Senior divisions. High-school baseball allows metal cleats under national high-school rules. Other youth leagues set their own rules, so check before buying. Molded cleats have rubber or plastic studs that spread the load across more of the sole. Metal spikes have thin blades on a stiff plate. They put more pressure under the heel and the ball of the foot. For a boy with heel pain, a stiff big toe or an orthotic, molded cleats are the kinder choice even after metal becomes legal. Metal spikes do not belong on artificial turf, and many turf fields ban them.

A turf trainer belongs in every baseball bag. It has a flat sole covered in short rubber nubs. It is the right shoe for practice on turf and for the batting cage. It also works for coaching first base on a hard infield and for the hours between games at a tournament. It is also the easiest baseball shoe to fit with an orthotic.

Heel Pain in a Growing Player

In a boy between about eight and fourteen, heel pain is usually irritation of the growth plate at the back of the heel. That is where the Achilles tendon pulls on bone that has not finished growing. Wiegerinck and colleagues (2014) found 3.7 cases for every 1,000 registered patients aged six to seventeen in Dutch family practices. Long tournament days in thin cleats, a hard infield and a growth spurt all aggravate it. James and colleagues (2016) randomized 124 children with this heel pain to a heel raise or a ready-made orthotic. Every group had improved about the same amount by the end of the year in that trial. A cushioned heel cup in the cleat, calf stretches and a turf trainer between games help most boys keep playing. Read more about heel pain that won't go away.

What to Look For in a Youth Baseball Cleat

Proper fit comes first. Klein and colleagues (2009) measured 858 preschool children and their shoes in Austria. Most wore shoes that were too short, and short shoes were associated with a big toe that angled outward. Measure both feet each season, fit the longer one, and leave about a thumb's width of room past the longest toe with his baseball socks on.

• A firm heel counter. Squeeze the back of the cleat. It should hold its shape and keep the heel down.
• Molded studs for younger players. They spread the load and are legal in every league.
• A protected toe for pitchers. A pitcher drags his back toe on every pitch. A toe cap or a tough toe area keeps it from wearing through.
• A removable insole. Lift it in the store. A glued insole makes an orthotic harder to fit.
• A low or mid cut, whichever fits. There is no good evidence that a mid-cut cleat prevents ankle sprains. Choose the one that fits his heel best.

Getting an Orthotic Into a Baseball Cleat

Baseball cleats are usually deeper than soccer cleats, and many have an insole that lifts out. A slim orthotic often fits, especially a three-quarter-length one. A bulky device lifts the heel out of the counter, which is a recipe for blisters. Bring the cleats and the turf trainers to the fitting. If the insole is glued, we can often build the device to sit on a thinned insole.

A flat foot alone is not a reason for an orthotic. Wenger and colleagues (1989) followed 129 children with flexible flat feet in corrective shoes, heel cups, custom inserts or nothing. The arches improved in every group, and the treated children did no better than the untreated ones in that trial. An orthotic earns its place in a baseball cleat when there is a problem to treat. Heel pain, an arch that aches after long days and pain under the ball of the foot all count. See our guide to flat feet in children.

Match the Cleat to Your Son's Foot

Wide Feet

Most youth baseball cleats come in one width. New Balance sells its youth 4040 rubber-molded cleat in medium and wide on its own site, though some retailers carry only the medium. Check the box for the width before you leave the store.

Narrow Feet

A narrow foot slides in a cleat built for a broad one. Lace to the top eyelet with a heel-lock loop, and choose a firm heel counter.

Flat Feet

A flexible flat foot is common and usually does not hurt. If it aches, a firm heel counter and a slim orthotic help more than any cleat sold as supportive. A stiff flat foot that does not form an arch on tiptoe needs an examination.

High Arches

A high-arched foot lands hard on the heel and the ball of the foot. Molded studs and a cushioned heel cup help, and metal spikes make it worse.

Loose Ankles

No cleat holds an ankle in place. A lace-up brace and a balance program do, and so does learning to slide.

Travel Ball and Rest

Many boys play spring ball, summer travel ball and fall ball in the same year. Jayanthi and colleagues (2015) compared 822 injured athletes aged seven to eighteen with 368 who were not injured. Training in a single sport was linked to more injuries and more serious overuse injuries in that study. Playing more hours a week than the athlete's age in years was linked to serious overuse injuries as well. A real off-season, or a winter sport, rests his feet as well as his arm.

Youth Baseball Cleats to Try

No shoe company pays for placement here. No brand sponsors this article. Every cleat here is our own pick, based on the features above and on what we see in the office.

We do run a separate website, footshop.cc. Patients kept asking where to find the products we talk about in the exam room. So we built a separate site that keeps the links in one place. It includes links to Amazon and other retailers. Every affiliate link over there is disclosed where it appears. If you buy through one of those links, we earn a small commission. It costs you nothing extra. We run it as a convenience for our patients, not as a condition of care. You are free to buy any of these cleats anywhere you like, at whatever price you find, with or without our links. Our advice is the same either way.

Medical footwear is not part of that. Prescription shoes, inserts, boots and braces are never on our affiliate site. They are not a shopping link, and we will not treat them like one.

Wide Feet

• New Balance 4040 (youth, rubber-molded): sold in medium and wide on New Balance's site, which says it works for baseball or softball. Some retailers stock only the medium, so check the box.

Average and Narrow Feet

• Mizuno Wave Lightrevo (youth, molded): one medium width.
• Under Armour Harper (youth, rubber-molded): one width.
• Nike Alpha Huarache Keystone (big kids', molded): one width.

For every cleat on this page, lift the insole in the store. If it comes out and the orthotic sits flat with his heel still inside the counter, you are in business. If it is glued, bring the cleat to our office, and we will design the orthotic around it.

What to Check Every Season

• Measure both feet standing, at the end of the day, in baseball socks. Fit the longer foot.
• Check the league's rules before buying metal spikes.
• Put his orthotic in the new cleat at the store. If his heel lifts, try another cleat.
• Check the studs and the toe. Worn studs change how the foot lands, and a pitcher's toe wears through first.
• Pack turf trainers for practice, the cage and the hours between games.
• Ask about heel pain, blisters and black toenails. Boys tend to hide all three.

When to See a Podiatrist

Bring him in for heel pain that lasts more than a couple of weeks. A limp, swelling or night pain needs an examination too. Come in after a sprain that is still swollen after a week, or for an ankle that keeps rolling. A slide that leaves him unable to walk on the foot needs an X-ray. So does pain on the top of the foot that gets worse as he runs. If he already wears orthotics and has grown a size, bring the orthotics and his cleats. Our pediatric foot care page explains how we see young athletes. Our custom orthotics page explains how we make devices.

More reading: everyday athletic shoes for kids and foot care for athletes.