Big Papi is prepared to look good in Reebok pink

Reebok International Ltd., the Canton-based athletic footwear and apparel brand, has unveiled the latest in jock couture - baseball cleats with pink accents.

The cleats are part of a Mother’s Day initiative to help raise awareness and money for breast cancer research, and during Major League Baseball games on Mother’s Day this Sunday, many players will don pink cleats, with a select number of the game-worn cleats to be auctioned off post-game to benefit the Avon Foundation for Women, Reebok said in a press release.

Among Red Sox team members expected to wear the pink Reebok cleats are manager Terry Francona as well as David Ortiz, Jonathan Papelbon, and Tim Wakefield, Reebok said.

The photo that tops this post was provided by Reebok, now a unit of the German sporting goods company Adidas-Salomon AG. Reebok is the official footwear supplier of Major League Baseball. The photo shows Oritz, his mighty dogs encased in tony pink cleats.

“Reebok has been a supporting partner of the Avon Foundation for a number of years, and breast cancer awareness is a cause that has become an integral part of who we are as a brand,” Chris Waldeck, Reebok’s director of cleated and equipment, team sports, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)