Everything was right but for the shoes.
Every time CC Sabathia looked down, he could see how wrong they were. Standing on the mound at Miller Park on July 8, 2008, his navy blue Brewers top and white pants were all correct. But on his feet, his Nike cleats were still bright red—leftovers of Cleveland, his home before the trade that, in just three short months, changed his career and the Brewers' fortunes.
"We tried to paint them and everything, but the paint kept coming off," Sabathia recalls now. "I kept looking down at my shoes and thinking, ‘I've got to get some new cleats.