How To Choose A Baseball Glove

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Choosing a glove may be the most critical decision you make as a player. You can always use someone else’s bat if need be, only one person can hit at a time. But, you can’t use someone else’s glove, they’re using it. Also, by using someone else’s glove, your hand/finger size may alter the inside finger holes, making the glove feel uncomfortable or not fit right for the other person.

The older a player gets, the more persnickety he gets about his glove. That glove is now an extension of him as a fielder. There is not a better feeling than putting on a glove that fits your hand perfectly.

A couple things to consider when purchasing a glove, especially at the youth level. First, make sure the glove is the right size. An 11 inch glove is probably plenty big enough to play any position. There are major leaguers who will use an even smaller glove than that. With that in mind, make sure the glove is not too small either. The smaller the glove, the harder to catch. Second, make sure the players’ fingers fit. Most, if not all manufacturers, will make youth models. They do this to adjust for the smaller hand/finger sizes of the younger players. Buying an adult glove for your 10 year old may not be a good idea. Lastly, if you have found the model you like, try on a few of the same model gloves in the store. They all may have a little different feel to them. One may be softer, one may bend the way you like, one may be more broken in, etc.

Depending on your budget, composition of the glove is last consideration. Obviously an all leather, top end glove will hold up best. It will also cost the most and be the hardest to break in. Youth players do not have a lot of time to break in a new glove. Manufacturers have come out with a few new variations in their compositions recently. They will vary in price and weight of the glove, which means they will also vary in break-in time. Again, find the glove that fits your player best. Try on several different models and several of the same model once you’ve made your choice.

Then go play catch!

"Baseball gloves," © 2013 harryeggg, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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