Baseball glove question?

No need to break new gloves in any longer. Back in the day you really needed to do quite a bit of work to get it ready. No longer the case. Make sure size suits his age and position. I would think you're looking for something around 11.5-12.5 inches. It'll say it right on the mitt. For most 11 year olds, 12.5 will be too big and not allow them to feel the ball as they catch it. You can get a top of the line mitt for about $185.00-250.00. You can get a very good glove for 40-50.00. You can get crap for less than 30.00. I've bought some excellent gloves for my kids in the 40-50 range. Have them try it on because some may vary from mitt to mitt even if they are the same model.

keino wrote:

Sorry about another non-running question. I need to get a new baseball glove for my son. He is 11 now and out grown his first glove.

I remember something about putting a ball in the glove, tying string aroud it and letting it set for a while.

Is there more to this? Any other way? Thanks.

There's a range of opinion when it comes to breaking in gloves. The ball + string has always worked well for me. I think it's particularly helpful for kids whose hands are not yet large/strong enough to help the glove form its proper shape. However, this absolutely needs to be combined with a lot of use. I've also used glove oil, but in my opinion its value is negligible.

By some glove oil. Put the ball in it after alot of oiling and tie it . I bought a Wilson A-2000 and it needed a ton of breaking in.

You'll hear alot of differing opinions on how to break in a glove. My son is 12 now, and (for his age) quite a serious ballplayer. His Tournament team won the state sectionals last year, and are hoping to go further still this year. In fact, we leave Monday on an 8 day trip to Aruba where his team will compete against Aruban and other Carribean teams, prior to the start of the Little League season. Less expensive gloves are typically easier to break in as they are made of cheaper leather. Some are even offered as "game ready". These can serve well for a season or two, but tend to deteriorate quickly, and lose their overall form. Rawlings has a good mid-level glove in their Gold Glove Series. Mizuno also has a decent mid range glove in their MVP series, as well as the Wilson 750/1000 or Louiville/TPX Omaha.

At 11 years old, stick to an 11 1/2 inch glove. My son has gloves of different sizes depending on whether he's pitching, playing SS or 3rd base. Outfielder's and pitchers tend to use gloves measuring 12-12 1/2 inches, with most infielders in the 11 to 11 1/2 range. A good 11 1/2 will give him enough flexibility to go from left field, to 2nd base, to the mound comfortably.

First rub the mitt with glove oil, which is readily available. We like to use sheep's lanolin early on in the "break-in" period, and then treat with oil 1-3 times per year.

This method has been sure fire for my son's very hard to break in Rawlings Pro Preffered and Heart of The Hide gloves: Rub liberally with sheep"s lanolin (available from most drug stores). Place a ball in the "pocket" of the glove and tie tightly using rope, string, gauze.....whatever. Then place the tied glove into a pillowcase, and put it in the dryer for an hour with no heat. After removing, work the glove vigorously opening and closing it repeatedly in an effort to soften up the leather and creat a natural seam where the glove closes. Then place the ball back in and tie -up over night. Repeat this procedure the next day and again leave over night. Remove the rope, lightly apply a last coat of lanolin (wiping off any excess), and then start playing catch. All the while kneading and working to glove to form the pocket further and coax it to close where you want it to.

Aside from the dryer technique (which has worked wonders), oil and tie, and continue over the course of a couiple of days to pound out the pocket and work the glove opened and closed repeatedly.

My personal choice from years of play is the Wilson A2000. That's based on FEEL of the glove. When my two sons became serious about baseball, we went to Nashville Sporting Goods and spent over two hours (seriously) looking at, talking about and trying on gloves. Both chose their glove based on feel, although they initially worried more about the look and color. My oldest chose a Glovesmith Select 11.5 suitable for infield or outfield. The Glovesmith has a unique and extreme fold pattern that works well for his style of play. My youngest chose a Mizuno GP46, 11" which is strictly an open web middle infield glove with a traditional fold pattern. The Glovesmith breaks in fine although the outer leather is stiff like armadillo hide. The Mizuno is buttery smooth and just gets better every day with use. In fact I like the Mizuno better than any of my old A2000s. But whatever you choose, it needs to fit, feel right and suit his needs position-wise. Good luck!

i can not contribute much to this thread ,but if you were talking about WICKET KEEPING GLOVES now that would be just down my street.

Oil it up with glove oil and put a baseball in the web of the glove. Tie the glove with a string and put in under you or your sons mattress for a couple of days. That should get it started but the best way to fully break in a glove is to play catch with it.

"just down my street" I take it this is the British equivalent to "right up my alley".

Anyway, I disagree with something said here- I wouldn't put the ball in the web of the glove, but in the part of the glove (more towards the center of your hand) where you ideally want to catch the ball, and where it feels most comfortable. Not sure what position this is for, but my reasoning is that as an outfielder I would not want to always be trying to catch the ball in the web- "snowcone catches" are not what you are shooting for.

If at all possible, get a hold of gloves that are already broken in, and have your son try them to see what feels best. Then you'll know exactly where to place the ball.

Thanks for all the input. My father died when I was only 3 so very little if any of the time honored traditions were passed on to me from older brothers or uncles.

I have looked at gloves from 30 to 150 bucks and few I found were ready for action out of the sack considering my son's ability and strength.

I will use some of the ideas and thanks again.

I have a great Louisville glove from when I played in high school about years ago. Still in excellent shape after being used quite a bit in college.

For me one of the best parts about getting a glve was breaking it in. I never used a ball or anything like that. I always just worked on it in between plays, practice, etc...

Also it all depends on his position. It will take a lot less work to break in an outfield/first base/ catchers mit as opposed to someone who 2nd base or shortstop.

I would recommend getting a glove around $50-$80 range if he is really serious about playing. It isn't top of the line, but it will last a couple years until his hand gets to big. I've never spent more than $80 and only had problems with one glove. I had friends who paid more than double I did, and sure their gloves were better quality, but you gotta make sure it feels right.

Man I miss playing baseball

Play catch with him. Play a lot of catch with him. It will improve you, your son, baseball skills, as well as the glove. The glove is the least important thing here.

Another benefit of playing catch is that it will improve eye-hand coordination. Kids with decent eye-hand coordination will stand out in gym class, have confidence, and then stand out in other non-athletic areas. Confidence in athletics carries over into other areas. It shows that hard work produces results.

Speaking of young kids in sports, all these kids playing soccer is insane. They are getting eye-foot coordination, which is ridiculous. God gave us arms, hands, opposable thumbs, keen eye-sight, and the ability to reason. Soccer makes it illegal to use these God given abilities. You can't use your arms at all, how stupid is that? Also, you can't use normal offensive strategies because of the ridiculous "offsides" rules that prevent scoring. So, in conclusion, if your kid doesn't turn into a runner, baseball is a great alternative.

Now, go watch "Field of Dreams".

Ray wrote:

No need to break new gloves in any longer. Back in the day you really needed to do quite a bit of work to get it ready. No longer the case. Make sure size suits his age and position. I would think you're looking for something around 11.5-12.5 inches. It'll say it right on the mitt. For most 11 year olds, 12.5 will be too big and not allow them to feel the ball as they catch it. You can get a top of the line mitt for about $185.00-250.00. You can get a very good glove for 40-50.00. You can get crap for less than 30.00. I've bought some excellent gloves for my kids in the 40-50 range. Have them try it on because some may vary from mitt to mitt even if they are the same model.

Hey Ray, mitt only applies to a cather's and a first baseman's mitt. All other positions use gloves.

keino, you are embarking on one the greatest traditions in America

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I agree with the last poster, play lots of catch, when your son gets older and doesn't say quite as much , go play catch.

After your son does something and you have to get on him, wait a few minutes and go play catch.

If you have a bad day in the office and come home, instead of turning on the idiot box, go play catch.

If your lucky, when your son comes home from college and you miss him more then anything in the world . after you hug him and tell him you love him, he will say "Dad lets play catch".

"(more towards the center of your hand) where you ideally want to catch the ball, and where it feels most comfortable."

I disagree. Outfielders are absolutely supposed to catch the ball in the web of the glove. That's why Outfielder gloves have huge webs as opposed to an Infielders glove. The closer to the palm the harder the glove and more chance it will pop out. For second basemen and SS's this is ideal in order to turn a double play quickly however for an Outfielder or First Basemen you always use the web to catch the ball. I know because being a left-handed so these are the two positions I've played all my life.

are you dumb, ray? wrote:

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Hey Ray, mitt only applies to a cather's and a first baseman's mitt. All other positions use gloves.

Must be your age son. When I was a kid they were all mitts. Guess what? They used to use wooden bats and leave those mitts on the field when they came to bat.

old man by the sea...

your post ment more to me than you can imagine. April 2nd is fast aproaching and it's a private anniversary for me. Given my sons birth date, on that date it is one more year that my son has a father that I never had.

I play catch with him all the time which led to this post. The glove he now has is just a beginner from T Ball and he needs a better glove. The ball usually pops out despite him making a text book catch. He needs the reinforcement of doing the correct mechanics with a succesful catch.

This weekend I will be taking him shopping for a new glove. I have gift certificate from coaching his BB team that I will use for his new glove.

I plan to use some variation of the suggestions posted.

Again, thanks to all that have replyed.

keino,

thanks for the kind words, baseball has a special place in my heart. When my son was 12 I bought him a Wilson A-2000, I think it was over $150.00 then and people thought it was way too much to spend on a 12 year old, but he was serious about baseball and we worked on breaking that glove in for a year and it was pure joy. He is still using that glove today for his college team. You seem to have that special spirit that a Father gets from spending real time with a son and bonding over the great game of baseball. Thanks for sharing.

Baseball was my first sport's love. If I'd been as good at it as I'd wanted to be I may never have become a runner. That might be for the best as maybe I'd have died of a heart attack by now had I never run.

Both of my sons picked up my love of the game and I've had a great ten years or so coaching their baseball teams. My oldest is a very good player who has now replaced baseball as his top sport with running but who still plays. My youngest can't get enough of the game and is a pretty decent left handed pitcher.

Anyway, to the original question, I've found that using the glove is the best way to break it in. If you get it well in advance of when games or tryuts start and play catch several times it will be fine. Catcher's mitts can take more breaking in than a regular mitts/gloves (we used the words interchangeably other than for first basemen and cathers who used "mitts.")

If you want to do more to break it in than just play catch, local lore calls for putting a ball in it, right at the spot where the webbing and the palm meet, then putting it under something really heavy overnight. The extreme version of this is to park one of your car's tires on it, but a couch or bed will do. We also have the "oil it" approach.

It's also possible, as someone else mentioned, to get a glove that is already broken in.

Anyway, good luck with it all and if you have half the fun with your son and the game as I've had with my kids you're a truly lucky man.

if you're son is still young I'd go with a middle model (like 50 bucks or so). Playing catch, the oil method, and all that really helps break gloves in. Also like was said you want to be developing the "pocket" in the glove. This is where you should be catching the ball. This is generally just below the webbing and forms a pocket for the ball more or less (i'm blanking on how to describe this right now).

There is also this stuff you can buy that allows you to cook / bake gloves in the oven. You lather the glove up with this foamy type spray and bake them in the oven for a set amount of time and the glove comes out broken in quite a bit. I've done it a few times because I play ball as my main sport and run XC / indoor track and it works really really well.

I think it's called hot glove or something like that. I can't remember right now.

My last piece of advice would be to go for a glove that fits your sons hand and allows him to play well in a variety of positions. At his age he's still playing all over the field and having fun with the game. No need to go out a buy a professional grade shortstop glove (or any position) until he get a bit older and develops his own seriousness for the game.