Finding a Perfect Baseball Glove
Spring is in the air and it’s time to dust off the old baseball glove to play catch. Don’t have a glove? Everybody needs a baseball glove to play catch with. Whether you play Little League, adult leagues or just want to play catch with someone – you’re going to need a glove to play America’s Pastime. Here’s a quick guide to picking out the right glove and how to care for it.
Because there are many different sizes, types and quality of gloves, you first need to decide if this will be strictly for leisure or for actual game play and if for game play, which position you’ll be playing. Material-wise, never buy a glove made of “Pleathe
r.” Gloves not made of actual leather will begin to breakdown within one year, with or without heavy use. A good genuine leather glove that will last ranges in price from $29.99 to $500. Nokona, Wilson, Rawlings, Reebok, Nike, Mizuno, Shoeless Joe, Worth, Akadema, Brett Bros., and Roy Hobbs all make great gloves of all shapes, sizes and quality. Once you determine which position you’ll be primarily playing, it makes picking out the right glove easier.
Specialized positions, such as the catcher and first baseman have gloves that are customized for their positions. Catcher’s gloves, also called, mitts or “puds,” are heavily padded to protect your hand from fastballs and a first baseman’s glove or mitt has a wider surface in the pocket to help you keep your foot on the base as you stretch to make a catch. Outfielders generally want the largest glove they can get to help them catch that long fly ball; usually 12 inches to 13.5 inches. Catcher’s mitts, first basemen mitts and outfielder’s gloves should all be broken in so that when you catch the ball, the glove shuts around the ball – trapping it in the pocket. This will give the gloves the classic laying flat look that we associate with a glove being broken in.
An infielder’s glove is in a class by itself. For an infield player, time is everything and how quick they can get the ball out of their glove to make the throw. A smaller glove, anywhere from 9.5 inches to 11.75 inches is what a shortstop, second or third baseman will choose. Breaking in an infielder’s glove is also very different from any other glove. You don’t want an infield to lose its initial shape when new. Since a good infielder will catch or field all balls hit to them with two hands, the glove doesn’t need to close around the ball – only stop it and roll into their hand for a quick throw.
Taking care of your glove is an absolute must. Rubbing your glove down with a good glove or saddle oil will ensure that the leather stays supple and the strings don’t become brittle. Before you oil the glove, wipe the glove down with a cloth run under hot water to clean off any dirt. Once the glove is dry, lightly rub the oil over every exposed piece of leather. How often you oil your glove depends on how much dirt and water get on it as well as how dry the climate is where you live and play. If you take good care of your glove, it can last your entire life.