Here we are well into summer and the baseball races are heating up.  It takes me back to my childhood routing for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  My father interested me in them at a young age.

We did not live in the Pittsburgh area, so it was a real thrill for me when I was able to go to my first major league game during a visit to Pittsburgh when I was probably about ten years old.

I was a very shy kid and was a bit unsure when a man that was a “friend of a friend” of my father took me down to a runway that lead to the back of the Pirates dugout.

I could not go to the dugout, nor could I walk down this runway, but I could wait at the end of it and hope that a player or two might venture down our way at some point.

I did meet a couple of players in time.  One of them was Matty Alou.  Matty was very nice speaking to me and then headed down another hallway after we were done talking.

Some more time passed and the man who had taken me to this area told me that it was time to go back to my seat.  The shyness had gone for the time being, and I felt as if I could have stayed there forever, but I realized that is was now time to go.

As we were walking away, I heard a whistle.  Like any person who hears a whistle, I turned around to look.  You do not expect it to be directed at you, but you look out of habit.  Well, come to find out that the whistle was directed at me, and it was from Matty Alou.

Evidently Matty had returned from wherever he had gone and saw that wide eyed Pirate fan was leaving and wanted to wave goodbye.  He did not have to do so.  If he had not, I never would have known.  However, he did and that simple whistle and wave meant the world to me.

I always was a Matty Alou fan, but he took it to a whole new level that day.  I saw the inner character of Matty firsthand and realized that there was much more there than just a baseball player.  I remember it today like it was yesterday.

We provide some footwear styles that have some very apparent highly visible features, but there are other styles and/or features that are not so easily seen.

We provide steel toe men’s and women’s SlipGrips stock # 5332 and 532 respectively that have our well known SlipGrips rubber outsole design that is ideal for indoor working environments with liquid contaminants.  It is very apparent to see this feature.

These shoes also have a sturdy one piece sole so that there are not layers to possibly separate from one another.  Their soles also have a side reinforcement stitch that helps them stay attached to the uppers.  This feature is also very apparent.

What you cannot readily see in the 5332 and 532 styles is their extra thick polyurethane Comfort Max cushion insole.  The inner construction of the 5332 and 532 styles is purposely cored out so that this extra thick cushion footbed can fit inside of it and provide the wearer with extra direct underfoot cushion comfort for those long hours on the job.

Similar to Matty Alou, I believe that the best part of these 5332 and 532 styles is the part that is not so readily visible.  The core of Matty Alou as well as the core of these shoes is their best part.  I hope that you check one out if it is of interest to you and find its core to your liking.