Glove Care

Glove Care 

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I'm puzzled at the lack of care some players have for their baseball gloves. A well broken-in baseball glove can not be replaced. Bats can be replaced. Gloves are unique. So it's time I offer my suggestions to care for your glove.

Part I. - Selecting a Glove

It's really difficult to suggest that parents go out and spend $200 to $400 for a quality glove for Little Leaguers. Fortunately it's not necessary. If I have any suggestions for buying gloves for young (12 and under) players its this. Most glove makers have either youth models and/or brand series of gloves that are made of very soft leather. I highly recommend them. For example the Rawlings Gold Glove series costs about $80 to $90 and is made of very soft leather. This means that the glove will be “game ready” and need very little breaking-in for the player. Lets face it, most little leaguers are not going to play enough games to break-in a professional level glove within a few years. If the player is really young or really small, its important to get a good youth model that is easy to close. That's the key, a glove that a young player's hand fits well and that he or she can easily close. I'm often asked what size glove. For the young player, I think any glove around 10" (less than 11-1/4 inches) is fine. More importantly is how his hand fits inside the glove. Make sure it's small enough to; well fit like a glove. What about the web? If you can, get a glove with an I or H web. Why? For young players its because they can see through the web. I've seen many times when a young player holds his glove up in front of his face to catch a thrown or fly ball and can't see. An I or H web, gives him a chance to see, if he uses the "hide your face behind the glove" technique of catching (not recommended).

Part II. - Breaking-In Your Glove

There are no shortcuts to breaking in your glove. I have to highlight that statement. Before I go any further here are what you should never do:

1. Oil your new glove (I'll explain later).

2. Microwave your new glove.

3. Drop your glove in a bucket of water or anything else.

4. Put your glove in the oven.

5. Sit on your glove, drive over your glove, sleep on your glove, or anything of the kind.

6. Do not throw your glove against a wall.

What you should do:

1. Play catch and lots of it. One great idea I ran across is to use a pitching machine to play catch. It can throw harder, more accurate, and longer than most people and all of those things help break in a glove.

2. Pound your glove. You can buy or make this. Get a baseball and attach it to the end of a handle like a bat handle or the handle of a hammer. Use this to pound the pocket of the glove for hours on end. Just keep pounding away and just in or around the pocket. Good thing to do while you are watching TV.  Alternatively,  while watching TV just throw the ball into the glove - throw it hard.

3. When you are not breaking-in or otherwise using your glove put a softball in it. During the break-in months, I put a softball in the pocket and a baseball underneath the softball. I then wrap the glove with rope or anything else that will keep it wrapped around the two balls on the inside of the glove. 

4. You should rub glove lotion only into the leather that covers your palm when the glove is on. .You may want to do this once a month for the first 3 months you have the glove. You want the tips of fingers on your glove to be stiffer so no lotion there. 

5. You will want the glove to be like a "book" and easily to flip open and shut, so a little lotion rubbed right at the bottom of the glove (the bottom is the part down by your wrist) and especially where the crease should be to flip open.

Part III. - Care for your glove.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that leather is a skin. If you treat it like you would your own skin then you'll probably have a glove that stays in game shape for many years.

1. Do not leave your glove out in extreme conditions. In the winter, take your glove inside. In the summer do not let it sit in the sun for days at a time. If your glove gets wet, dry it; if it gets dirty, clean it.

2. Always store your glove with a ball (softballs are best) in the pocket.

3. Never lay your glove down on its side. Lay it on its back or better open and face down.

4. Clean your glove of mud and dirt. Occasionally use warm water and a little glycerine hand soap. Make sure you get most of the soap off the glove with a moist towel. Let the glove air dry. You should clean it with warm water and soap at the end of the season and maybe 2 to 5 times during the season. Never put the glove away muddy.

5. 2 or 3 times a year you're going to want to put lotion in the pocket of your glove. Notice I didn't say oil but lotion. Look for glove conditioners or lotions that are lanolin based. Again, it's something you would put on your skin. Is shaving cream okay? Actually, lanolin based shaving cream is okay. Condition your glove using your fingers. Dab your fingers in the conditioner and massage it deeply into the pocket of your glove. Keep massaging it in. Take your time massaging the conditioner into the leather. When you're done wipe off any excess with a towel.

6. Every now and then pound the pocket of your glove to keep it shaped the way you like it.