Francisco Lindor's New Balance Gamble Is Paying Off

Just a few short months ago, MLB shortstop Francisco Lindor was in the midst of what looked like one of the worst seasons of his professional career. People were calling his contract with the New York Mets a financial disaster, and the team was looking at yet another disappointing season in the Steve Cohen era.

Fast forward to September, the Mets are right in the thick of the National League wild card race, and Lindor is arguably having the best statistical season of his life, comfortably in the MVP conversation. Back in May, Lindor was in Dumbo, Brooklyn shooting content for his new signature collection with New Balance, his footwear spot. Despite his early season struggles, the shortstop was all smiles, excited to be part of the sportswear brand’s continuously growing momentum.

“I'm blessed to be part of this New Balance wave,” Lindor said. “This crazy wave that's out there and to be with them since 2016. It's something that's special.”

Lindor signed with the brand in 2016, years before the New Balance resurgence that helped the brand challenge much bigger rivals like Adidas and Nike was in full effect. In 2021, he got his own signature cleat and off-court sneaker, joining the likes of Mike Trout and Bryce Harper as the only MLB players to have their own signature footwear.

Now, Lindor and New Balance are ready to introduce the Mets star’s first signature lifestyle collection, designed by Lindor himself and inspired by the energy of New York City.

“The new Lindor Signature Collection, when it comes to the apparel, it's about sports, but getting away from sports and being a little bit more in lifestyle,” Lindor said. “Being able to go from the clubhouse to somewhere else and wear my own stuff.”

The Lindor Signature Collection features a colorway of the New Balance Lindor 2 and a plethora of apparel including a jacket, fleece, cargo pants that convert to shorts, and more. It’s slated to release at Newbalance.com and select retailers on Sept. 12. While you wait for the drop, read Complex’s full interview with Lindor on the collection, his partnership with New Balance, and more.

What made you initially interested in signing with New Balance in 2016? What made me initially sign with New Balance? I just saw what was coming. I saw what the brand was all about—they're into family. Everything about them is family oriented, and that's who I am. I love my family, I love the people around me. And then they presented to me what they had in the moment and where they were going to go in the future. I'm a person that likes to innovate, that continues to grow and not just stay in one area. So I just fell in love with the brand. I fell in love with what they represented and I fell in love with the culture they had. 

How hands-on are you with the design of your collections?
I'm very hands-on. I've been in multiple meetings, seen multiple prototypes, whether it's prototype one that usually sucks, to prototype three or five, whatever, however many we make. I'm very involved throughout the whole process. I love being part of the process and they have allowed me to get my creative ideas out there. I'm not good at putting these things together. So I say what I have in my brain, usually forget about it, and then two maybe three months later they come back with something extremely cool.

You’re one of the more stylish guys in the league, how much do you and the brand take that into account when designing your product?
They have capitalized extremely well. First the culture, that's something that they have had for many years, but they continue to develop it. They're so fashion driven without forgetting the roots of being an athletic company. I love what they represent and what they have allowed me to do to cross bridges between baseball and other sports, and then going from other sports to the lifestyle world. And there's a lot of NB athletes that are family. You have Coco, you have Kawai, you have a lot of athletes that it kind of becomes like a little family and I love that. 

Can you talk a little bit about this new collection that you're shooting here today and the inspiration behind it?
The new Lindor Signature Collection, when it comes to the apparel, it's about sports, but getting away from sports and being a little bit more in lifestyle and being able to go from the clubhouse to somewhere else and wear my own stuff. That was definitely something that I really wanted, and I wanted players or non players to be able to wear on and off the field to go out to the mall, whether it's clubbing or restaurants, to feel comfortable with what they wear. And I went with neutral colors because usually it's the color that a lot of people gravitate to and they can feel comfortable with it. Also, I have heavier pieces and lighter pieces, so you can wear them from the fall to spring. I eventually want to get to a place where New Balance is being worn in many different places throughout the day.

You have your own signature line of footwear, one of the only guys in the league that can say that, how much does that mean to you?
To have my own shoes and my own collection is extremely special. It's a blessing. It's something that wasn't really on my mind at a young age, but then as I got older, it became part of my dreams. And once New Balance came on board, I knew it was going to be a reality. So that's something that I appreciate the New Balance family for. I appreciate everybody that has contributed to the designs that go into it. I'm honored. I'm blessed to be part of this New Balance wave, this crazy wave that's out there and to be with them since 2016. It's something that's special. I've seen them, I've seen them go from something that was cool to wear on the field to now. Everywhere I go, I see multiple people with New Balance. I'm blessed to have my own stuff, but I'm also blessed to be part of the New Balance family.

Do you ever notice guys that you're playing against wearing your own cleats? What's it like seeing other professional baseball players wearing a cleat that says your name on it?
It's funny because now that I'm in my tenth season of Major League Baseball, I'm starting to become one of the older players in the league. To see other players wearing my cleats, it's really cool and in a way makes me feel humble about it because I created something for not just shortstops, but for catchers, for outfielders, for pitchers, and to see outfielders pitchers, catchers infielders wearing it is amazing. It's really special. Hopefully one day I get to have my own brand. I can get kids, younger players, and other players that want to wear my own stuff.

New Balance has such a rich history in footwear. Do you use any archival designs to help inform your footwear and apparel?
For sure, that's the way fashion works, having something from the early ‘90s or ‘80s or ‘70s, bringing it back to life to today, and then adding pieces. That's something that I learned in my very beginning years of being with New Balance. To me, if everything looks brand new and trendy in 2024, that doesn't look right. You have to have something from different eras that you incorporate into style. And then that to me is fashion. Adding pieces from different times. That's how you create a fashionable outfit instead of just going to the rack and just getting everything from 2024 and then just wearing it.

Shohei Ohtani is obviously one of the biggest athletes on the entire planet and he’s also a New Balance guy. How well do you know Shohei, do you guys ever discuss New Balance?
Last year I saw him at second base. I just said congrats. When he first signed with New Balance, I said congrats, welcome to the NB family. I was happy to have him on board. And then when I saw him in person, I had to check out his cleats. He had something that was different that none of us had. So I told him they look really good and I'm looking forward to when he gets his own shoe. I think it's going to be one of the most popular cleats out there. 

Besides him, who else do you think is deserving of their own signature cleat? Well, there's a lot of players that should get their own cleats, their own signature line. I can see Mookie getting a branch in the Jordan world. I know Judge might be, I think he had something last year when he first signed with the brand. There's a lot of players out there that I know could do a fantastic job creating their own stuff.

Cameron Brink threw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium earlier this year and she was wearing Jack Harlow’s upcoming collab. What are your thoughts on how she represents the brand?
I think Cameron Brink represents the brand extremely well. She looks like she's into fashion. When she came to Citi Field, she was with her whole family. So fashion, family-oriented are two things that go hand in hand with New Balance, and she is going to be one of the faces of the WNBA. She's extremely talented and I saw her wearing the Jack Harlow the other day and she rocked them. I think she represents the family extremely well. She is going to do great things, and I think the WNBA needed somebody like her as well.

On top of just athletes, New Balance works with fashion legends like Joe Freshgoods, Action Bronson, Ronnie Fieg, et cetera. What's it like seeing the brand work with creators like that, who bring their own signature style to NB?
I was extremely happy when the brand started incorporating fashion icons to do collaborations. I mean, the Joe Freshgoods have been a big hit. Jaden Smith has been a big hit. You have Action Bronson, you have Teddy that's huge, you have Ronnie that’s huge, you have Jack Harlow. There's a lot of collaborations that I was happy with and I was pleased to see that NB was bringing a lot more people on board to create this culture around the brand.