HOUSTON -- Adam Jones recently procured the final pieces of an extremely rare shoe collection.
Just how exclusive is this footwear?
Even with a multimillion-dollar salary and the perks that accompany fame at his disposal, it still took Baltimore's All-Star center fielder four years and a shoe-sleuthing crew of 10 people to complete the extraordinary and special collection: Ten pairs of limited edition Doernbecher Air Jordans made by Nike.
"They're my prized possessions," Jones said.
Sure, he admires the look and the exclusivity of the sneakers, but that's far secondary to the meaning behind these kicks.
Their name is derived from the acclaimed Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon, where kids with illnesses from cancer to kidney failure work with Nike on the designs. The collaboration has raised more than $14 million for the hospital since its inception.
"Obviously I'll do anything for kids and having them feel that way, being able to create a custom pair of shoes that most of their peers wouldn't have a chance to do is truly a blessing for those kids."Adam Jones
"Everybody knows who Michael Jordan is and the impact that Jordan has, and by them going out there and doing this and having those kids feel extra-special is what it's about," Jones said. "Obviously I'll do anything for kids and having them feel that way, being able to create a custom pair of shoes that most of their peers wouldn't have a chance to do is truly a blessing for those kids."
One of the final pieces to his collection might be the one that means the most.
The Doernbecher 5s were created by Isaac Arzate, a basketball and baseball player who, at age 12, went into cardiac arrest during basketball practice. An undiagnosed abnormality was discovered and open-heart surgery followed. He designed the shoes in 2012 while in rehabilitation at the hospital. But before they were released, he died after a second heart attack.
The sleek black shoes feature Isaac's basketball and baseball numbers and have his initials and the dates of his birth and death on the tongue. A heartbreaking feature is a few words from a poem Isaac wrote the day before he died. The shoes also come with a small flashlight that emits a UV light, causing them to glow in the dark.
The Doernbechers retail from between $150 and $250, but they were going for much more than that with releases that were often less than 1,000 pairs. Jones acknowledged spending $2,500 on a pair.
"The shoe will never get made again, so I look at it as I'm blessed to be able to throw money away like that," he said. "I'm just blessed to find a passion. I like shoes. I like Jordans, so, hey, it's all part of it."