As if it’s not enough for the UNC Tar Heels to be a perennial contender in the College World Series, they also get some of the nicest shoes out there. Case in point, the Nike Air Show Elite 2 North Carolina edition, a university blue-and-white version of the popular baseball cleat that also sports “Tar” across the left heel and “Heels” across the right, along with the interlocking UNC logo on the tongue. Hit the jump for a few more shots and look for UNC to lace these up in the 2012 season. Photos via @JaxonSC

Nike Air Show Elite 2 'North Carolina'

Nike Air Show Elite 2 'North Carolina'

Nike Air Show Elite 2 'North Carolina'

Today Nike Baseball (@NikeBaseball) hit us with the above teaser image, accompanied by the message “Coming soon: the next generation of Nike cleats.” Whatever we’re looking at, it seems pretty cool, and if Nike says it’s next generation then that must mean it’s really advanced. (This is the same company that made this uniform with this helmet.) To my untrained eye, it looks like a Lunar Huarache Carbon Elite with molded spikes, but only time will tell. Stick with NB for details, and hit the jump for the same picture, but enlargeable.

Next Generation Nike Baseball Cleats

As if it’s not enough that CC Sabathia is crazy-rich, and can afford any shoe out there, he’s also got a pipeline to shoes that, for the most part, money can’t buy. Check out the latest, an Air Jordan 11 ‘Space Jam’ baseball cleat that you won’t be seeing at retail any time soon (or ever, probably). The shoe sports the usual ‘Space Jam’ upper, even featuring Sabathia’s 52 on the heel, atop a grey cleat plate. Hit the jump for a couple more shots, and lets us know if this is one of the top cleats we’ve seen to date. Photos via phase2x.tumblr.com

Air Jordan 11 'Space Jam' Baseball Cleat

Air Jordan 11 'Space Jam' Baseball Cleat

Add one more to the list of folks who Know. The new Nike Mo Knows Saves t-shirt honors Yankees Closer Mariano Rivera and his recent acquisition of the all-time saves record. The shirt sports a Yankees-like navy blue with white and grey text across the front, as well as a Yankes logo, as well as white and silver text across the back, reading “602″ and “All-Time Save Leader.” Hit the jump to check it out, and head to spots like eastbay.com now to grab one.

Nike Mo Knows Saves T-Shirt (Front)

Nike Mo Knows Saves T-Shirt (Back)

Evidently B Weezy himself was one of the Nike Mag auction winners, adding a few thousand dollars to the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s coffers. Hit the jump for a full look at the Brian Wilson wearing the Nike Mag in the Giants’ dugout, and head to nikemag.ebay.com to bid on a pair of Nike Mags.

Brian Wilson in Nike Mag

Before Jon Lester was beating Yankees on the regular, he was publicly beating cancer. So while he steps onto the mound to do the former tonight, he’ll honor so many others attempting to do the latter by lacing up the Livestrong x Nike Air Diamond Elite–Jon Lester PE. The shoe sports the recognizable yellow and black of Livestrong, while also throwing Lester’s “31″ on the heel. Another unequivocal success from Nike Baseball, hit the jump for a few more looks, and look for Jon in these tonight at Fenway.

Livestrong x Nike Air Diamond Elite--Jon Lester PE

Livestrong x Nike Air Diamond Elite--Jon Lester PE

So you’re a Swoosh-signed MLBer who made the All-Star team? Then good news abounds. Not only were you in select company, being one of only 80+ players selected (seriously), but you came away with a beautiful pair of the Nike Trainer 1.3 Max “Fastest Show on Dirt.” The shoe continues the American/National, red/blue theme Nike’s cleats established during the game, going for a grey upper accented by alternating red and blue on each shoe. (“NIKE” on one is colored in red, blue on the other. Each shoe sports a red Swoosh and a blue one, but they’re transposed.) And of course this is the Trainer 1.3 Max (also occasionally known as the Air Max Trainer 1.3), so it features the best in lightweight breathability, courtesy of the composite leather and mesh upper, and superlative cushioning, thanks to the 360 Max Air unit. Hit the jump for a few more looks, but unfortunately expect these (at the time being anyway) to remain MLB PE’s. Photos courtesy of sneakernews.com

Good look at the ridiculously cool Brian Wilson All-Star cleats that the Giants closer sported in yesterday’s MLB All-Star Game. Last season MLB fined Wilson after he colored most of his shoes orange, apparently, according to B Weezy, telling him he had “too much awesome on [his] feet,” and that seems to be a recurring them. (The awesome, not the fine.) The Brian Wilson All-Star shoes are a custom pair of Nike Air Show Elite 2.

Thanks to Derek Jeter, MLB’s 3,000 Hit Club now has a 28th member, with Jeter recently becoming the second player (after Wade Boggs) to get his 3,000th hit by clubbing a home run. To celebrate, Jordan Brand immediately put together a tribute video, seen here, and now they’ve released a commemorative t-shirt. The shirt reads simply “3000″ across the back, with the front featuring Jeter tipping his helmet. The shirt is now available on eastbay.com for $25.

Jordan Jeter 3000 Hits T-Shirt Navy

Derek Jeter picked up a hit last night, putting him three shy of 3,000 the milestone for which elite hitters strive. With the Yankees heading back to New York for a homestand, Jordan Brand has put together a series of commemorative gear for Jeter, which you can expect him to wear while picking up that historic hit in front of his home crowd. On his feet, he’ll sport the Jordan Jeter Cut DJ3K cleat, which features a blacked-out look contrasted by celebratory gold on the accents and outsole. Additionally, the insole is covered by a copy of the contract Jeter’s father made him sign before he started high school, establishing ground rules and values to ensure Jeter did things the right way.

Actually holding the bat that gets Jeter his 3,000th hit will be the Jordan DJ3K batting gloves, which again feature a black/gold colorway with a quasi-elephant print apparent on the wrist strap and back-hand.

Finally, JB also hooked Jeter up with the Jordan Cut DJ3K Trainer, featuring the red and white (and that celebratory gold again) of Michigan’s Kalamazoo Central High School, the alma mater of Derek Jeter.

It must be nice to be CC Sabathia. In addition to pitching for the most popular baseball team in the world and making absolutely silly money, his contract with Jordan Brand ensures he is regularly hooked up with shoes the likes of which most of us can only dream. Today, it’s Sabathia’s Air Jordan 11 Concord Turf Trainer, beautiful iteration of the iconic hoops shoes that takes the classic upper, replaces the heel “23″ script with Sabathia’s number 52, and places the whole thing atop a turf-specific outsole. Hit the jump for a few more looks, and expect these to retail never. Photos via jordansdaily.com.

I was out the other day and I saw a guy wearing Nike cleats. I wasn’t at a baseball game mind you—just out and about in Portland and this dude was wearing spikes with his regular gear: jeans, t-shirt and what have you. I only mention this because the Nike Air Max Diamond Elite–Matt Holliday PE is really dope and, apparently, you don’t have to actually be on a baseball diamond, soccer pitch or football field to wear cleats anymore; a neighborhood bar is as good a place as any. So hit the jump to check out more looks at Matt Holliday’s latest shoe—which deftly mixes white leather, red patent leather and navy accenting over the upper, all sitting atop a Max Air-infused midsole—and hit spots like eastbay.com to grab a similar pair of cleats (albeit without the Holliday personalization) to play ball in, or to just wear to church.

Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie is known as something of a sneakerhead, so what would someone like him bring out to the mound? Well, the Air Jordan 1 cleat, arguably the best baseball spikes we’ve seen. It’s basically the Air Jordan 1 Max Orange/Black-White from a couple of years back, what with the nylon upper colored in nearly-red orange and black, but of course has a cleat-laden outsole for the MLBer. Unfortunately I wouldn’t expect these to hit stores anytime soon, but we can always hope. Photos via LHP on niketalk.com.

I feel like, of all the Nike technology out there, Shox most easily lends itself to baseball cleats. Although I’ve got no real reasoning to back that up, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. Troy Tulowitzki did, as he’s been lacing up the Nike Shox Fuse 2–Troy Tulowitzki PE of late. The shoe sports a black and silver synthetic upper, contrasted with Rockies-purple near the toe and on the Shox and inner-lining and a “2Low” logo across the tongue. It’s not likely you’ll be able to luck into Tulo’s edition of the cleats, but you can grab the general Nike Shox Fuse 2 at retailers nationwide now, including Eastbay.com.

Derek Jeter debuted his tenth signature shoe from Jordan Brand during last year’s postseason (tenth sig; Seriously), but now that he’s sporting it night-in and night-out during the regular season, Jordan Brand has graced us with a more complete preview of the rather neck-breaking cleat. The Jeter Cut’s design is based on the physical traits of a diamond, sensible what with the geometric shape he plays on for a living, and the tongue features the Jeter plate logo. Also notable is that each individual spike actually sports its own Swoosh. While this shoe won’t retail for a few more months, you can grab the Jeter Cut Trainer in stores now. And for the sake of comparison, how does this stack up against the Air Jordan 11 “Concord” Baseball Cleat sported by CC Sabathia.