The Philadelphia Phillies’ pitcher Michael Lorenzen made MLB history last week when he threw a no-hitter for his team wearing a customized pair of white Vans UltraRange Exos with spikes attached to them, writes Lindsey Adler for The Wall Street Journal.

Several years ago, Lorenzen decided to walk away from a Nike shoe deal. Being a native Californian, he felt sentimental about Vans, and wanted to wear them on the field.

While this may have been an unorthodox choice, since Vans are associated with skate and surf culture and the company does not make baseball shoes, Lorenzen decided to give it a go. So he reached out to a company called Custom Cleats in 2020 to make him a custom version of Vans outfitted with athletic spikes.

“I did a lot of skateboarding growing up in Orange County,” said Lorenzen. “So as I was progressing into my career, I really started to feel like I wanted to live out my roots.”

Now, those Vans will be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame as the game-worn item that will represent Lorenzen’s no-hitter.

Read more about Lorenzen’s no-hitter wearing a pair of customized Vans in The Wall Street Journal.

_______