How to Choose the Right Baseball Glove


Rawlings Playmaker Series PL195CB Baseball Glove (9.5-Inch)
Lowest Price: $10.52

Rawlings Player Preferred Series PP125CMB Baseball Glove (Right Hand Throw)
Lowest Price: $44.99

Rawlings Playmaker Series PM125 Baseball Glove (12.5-Inch)
Lowest Price: $33.03

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Baseball is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the United States. America’s pastime has even spread across the globe into places like Japan, Africa, and a little bit around Europe. More and more people are picking up baseball bats and baseball gloves to run out on the field and play this beloved sport.

If you’re new to the game and interested in purchasing a baseball glove, or if your son or daughter is picking up the game and you need to buy them a glove of their own, you need to learn which glove is right for you and your style of play before you spend any money. Allow this article to point you in the right direction and give you the guidelines you should use when you finally embark on your baseball glove shopping spree.

First You Need to Know What Your Position Is.

If you’re thinking of playing on a baseball team you should know that not every position is made equal. There are three main position types that you should consider before you make any big purchases. Those three archetype positions are: the outfielder, the infielder, and the catcher. Each position has a unique baseball glove designed especially for them.

The Catcher’s Glove:

A catcher’s glove is more like a giant mitten than a glove. It is designed to take the most amount of force possible because the catcher will be slammed with pitch after pitch at close range if the pitcher is doing his job right. For safety and comfort the glove is designed with a ton of padding that makes it difficult to catch baseballs in any position other than straight on. You wouldn’t want to be caught trying to catch a fly ball with a catcher’s mitt.

The Infielder’s and Midfielder’s Glove:

Taking a step out a little further from the catcher are those players on the bases. Anyone who stands in the dirt diamond is considered an infielder. The gloves on these guys are generally a little bit smaller than the outfielder’s gloves and they prefer to have closed webbing. These guys need to be able to catch and release the ball as fast as possible and most of the time will be catching a ball thrown or hit straight at them.

The Outfielder’s Glove:

Outfielders are the ones you can see picking up grass, bored out of their minds, during little league games. These guys are the athletes standing way out in the back of the baseball field that will be catching all of the fly balls and preventable home runs. The outfielder’s glove is usually a little longer than the infielder’s and it will have a deep pocket and open webbing.

Before you buy any type of glove you need to determine what position you’re most likely going to play. If you’re brand new, the glove you purchase will help the coach decide where to put you.

What’s Your Age and Skill Level?

So you’ve figured out that you don’t want to play catcher and you’re playing somewhere in the field. How old are you and how skilled are you? These two factors will determine all of the little features that go into your glove, and boy each glove has a truckload of features to choose from.

Just Starting Out: Age 5 – 8

There’s a myth running around the little league parents that says you should outfit your little-leaguer with a larger adult sized glove. The idea is that with a bigger glove he will be able to catch more balls and ultimately gain more confidence as a player. Don’t buy into this myth.

Instead, you should be looking for a baseball glove your child can actually close. You want them to be learning the fundamentals of the game at this stage of play, confidence can come later. You want to find gloves that have a nice Velcro tightening system, ones that don’t have any lacing across the top of the glove and ones that are made out of soft material like pigskin. You will find a lot of Mizuno baseball gloves that sport these features in their youth baseball gloves.

Getting Better All the Time: Age 9 – 12

Now you, or your child, have been playing the game for a little while. You know the gist of it and you know how the glove works but you’re still not strong enough to use the professional style gloves. If this is the case than you will want to look for gloves that have deep pockets and thumb extension features. The deep pocket will help your child hold onto the ball if it happens to fall in his glove and the thumb extension (an elongated sheath for his thumb) will give him the feeling that his thumb is longer and help him to close the glove properly.

You will find that a lot of Wilson baseball gloves have these features. Try to make sure that the baseball glove closes naturally and not from thumb to pinky. Remember, you’re trying to teach proper game play mechanics as you go along.

Almost Pro But Not Quite: Age 13 – 18

This is the stage right before college level play and it’s where your child is going to get the most serious about baseball in his teenage years. Maybe he’s playing on the High School team or just in a serious recreational league. When you go out to buy a glove for this stage you want to look for baseball gloves with pro-model patterns made from softer materials. The goal is to match the look and feel of a professional baseball glove without that difficult leather break in process.

You may find that many Rawlings baseball gloves are good for this stage. Sports Bag Blog did an article earlier discussing ways to break in your baseball gloves if you’re interested in taking that route.

How Much Should You Spend?

We’ve talked about all of the different glove types you can buy and what to look for in a glove at each stage of the game but sometimes it all just boils down to one thing: price. Here are a few general rules of thumb to go by when buying a baseball glove based on price:

Amateurs don’t need to spend more than $100 on their baseball glove. If you’re new to the game or just playing casually with some friends you shouldn’t spend a lot of money. You can find a lot of good discount baseball gloves out there, even some used baseball gloves, which will last you a long time and treat you well if you don’t play with them too often.

If you’re more of a professional player, or aspiring professional player, you’re going to want to spend a little bit more on your baseball glove. We recommend spending $180 to $400 on a good baseball glove if you’re serious about the game.

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Four Easy Steps to Breaking in Your Baseball Gloves

Baseball may be America’s favorite sport but it comes with one major drawback: stiff baseball gloves.


Rawlings Playmaker Series PL195CB Baseball
Lowest Price: $10.52

Rawlings Player Preferred Series PP130R
Lowest Price: $49.95

Mizuno Franchise GFN1153 Baseball Fielder’s Mitt 
Lowest Price: $54.99

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Baseball gloves are notorious for being difficult to break in, they come just before hockey skates on the “Brand New Ones Cause Blisters” scale and they can deter any good natured American from playing the game if not broken in correctly.

If you’ve recently bought a brand new baseball glove, whether it’s a one of the Wilson baseball gloves, Rawlings baseball gloves, or just one of the cheap baseball gloves, you are probably anxious to begin playing with it. Please take a few moments to read this article over and follow the steps provided. Properly breaking in your baseball glove will assure you the most comfortable experience possible when playing the game and a comfortable playing experience is always a little more fun.

Breaking in your baseball gloves doesn’t have to be a difficult procedure. There are four simple steps you can take to give your glove the best possible flex and most accommodating pocket size. Don’t worry, after reading this you won’t have to run over your baseball glove with your pick-up truck anymore.

Step 1: Condition the Baseball Glove

Conditioning your baseball glove is possibly the most important step of all. Baseball gloves, even youth baseball gloves and custom baseball gloves, are made with leather and other similar materials and will crack and tear during the breaking in process if not conditioned properly. You can soften the leather of your glove by applying glove oil or cream to the surface of the glove.

Most baseball glove manufacturers will sell specific glove oils for their gloves but you don’t really need to get the specific brand oil to be successful. Any glove oil will do. Simply apply a coating of glove oil to the entire surface of your baseball glove. You can apply it directly with your bare hands or use an application pad, just keep in mind that a little oil goes a long way.

After you have oiled up your baseball glove sufficiently, making sure to work the oil into all of the nooks and crannies of the outside of the glove and in the mitt, wipe it down with a dry paper towel to remove any excess oil.

You’re going to want to repeat this oiling process whenever you feel the glove is getting dry. After breaking in the glove you won’t have to go through all of the steps again but it is a good idea to condition your glove once or twice per baseball season.

Step 2: Shaping the Baseball Gloves

To shape your baseball glove you are going to need a few things. You will need two large rubber bands, a shaping ball (a wiffle ball or softball will do), and a covering bag. To shape the baseball glove simply place the shaping ball inside the pocket of the glove and secure it using the rubber bands. You want to close the glove over the ball with the rubber bands, using them to form an X on the back of the glove.

Once you have wrapped the ball in the glove place the glove inside your covering bag and leave it out in room temperature over night so that the oil can be absorbed into the leather.

Step 3: Breaking in the Baseball Glove

You need one of two things to break in the baseball glove. You can either use a rubber or wooden mallet to break in the baseball glove or you can use a baseball. I would recommend using the mallet as it is much easier to strike your baseball glove than it is to throw a baseball into the glove at the same force.

Take the rubber bands off of your baseball glove and remove the shaping ball you used. Put the baseball glove on your hand as if you were going to play a game of catch and take the mallet or baseball in your other hand. Now, simulate a ball striking the inside of your mitt by repeatedly smacking your hand with the mallet. This will create a nice pocket for your glove and loosen up the leather. You want to strike your glove for a good ten minutes. I usually do this while watching the Red Sox play on television.

Step 4: Play Catch with the Baseball Glove

Finally we get to the fun part. You’ve oiled up your baseball glove, you’ve shaped it, and you’ve smacked it with a mallet, now it’s time to go outside and play catch. Playing catch with your newly formed baseball glove completes the breaking in process in two ways: You will stretch and contour the leather to your hand as you open and close the glove to catch the ball and the force of the ball as it strikes the back of your mitt will deepen the pocket.

Play catch until you feel like your glove is adequately loose and broken in. Now you can keep playing with the knowledge that you have successfully and properly broken in your brand new baseball glove. If you read this article in hopes of learning how to break in your baseball batting gloves, I’m sorry, that’s a whole other story.

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