Baseball Glove Care

The latest quick-turn baseball glove repair I did recently was just another case of glove neglect...probably from the start. Just a little baseball glove care right after the glove was bought and a little more during the playing season would have prevented the breaks that I was now repairing.

Of course, the breaks happened during the new high school season so glove downtime was a bad thing. And as I sat there repairing this glove it was clear that it never really had any glove care at all, probably ever. When I got the glove, the leather was stiff, the laces were hard and brittle in places and the glove was not far away from just coming apart. Sad thing is, it wasn't that old of a baseball glove and it was a fairly expensive brand name glove.

So here are some Baseball Glove Care Tips to consider for your new glove and your older glove so that you can keep your glove looking great and feeling great. But most importantly, you will avoid those nuisance breaks and tears that cause you to lose your favorite glove for a number of games while repairs are being done.

Brand New Glove

Brand new gloves are usually very dry and stiff. Left untreated after being at the mercy of water, dirt, mud, sun and heat during the season, the leather will start to break down. This will show up as early wear and tear on the glove...broken laces and ripped leather way before this normally might happen.

One of the most important things to do for your baseball glove is to condition it when it's brand new. This softens everything up...leather and laces. It also protects the leather against water, sun, heat and any other nasty environmental elements. It's convenient if the new glove is bought in the off-season so that the glove can sit after the conditioner is applied so that it can soak in better.
Probably the most important thing is to not use oils on your baseball glove. Use conditioners that are pastes and/or lanolin based. Oils, like neatsfoot oil, make your glove heavy and wet but even worse, oils can clog the pores in the leather and this will eventually weaken the leather and cause it to basically just disintegrate. You can see this in older gloves that were treated with oils and are falling apart.

Before The Season

Inspect the glove lacing and tighten any really loose runs and repair or replace any broken laces. This probably should have been done after the last season ended.
If nothing was done to the baseball glove after the last season, clean it and rub in some conditioner.
If the glove was cleaned and conditioned after the last season, maybe a light coat of conditioner could be applied if the glove seems a little dry.

During The Season

When the glove gets wet and muddy, get the mud off and let the glove dry out by itself...no ovens and don't leave it out in the sun to dry. Let it dry inside by itself. If you notice the leather feeling a little dried out because of a number of wet/dry cycles, just apply a light coat of conditioner at some point when you see this happening to your baseball glove.
Long dry spells where the glove experiences real hot, dry weather may require a light coat of conditioner at times. Clean off dirt and dust and apply conditioner.
Keep laces snug, like when you originally bought the glove.
Fix broken laces. This shouldn't really happen that often if you have kept the glove clean and conditioned. However, you should fix broken laces as soon as you can. It's a good idea to learn, or try to do this yourself both from a cost standpoint and not having to lose your glove for a few days or a week.

After The Season


Clean off as much dirt, dust and dry mud from the baseball glove as you can.
Tighten any loose laces.
Repair any broken laces or replace laces that you know may break the next season.
Store the baseball glove in a place that's not directly in the sunlight and not exposed to heat sources. You don't want to dry the glove out during the offseason.

Results

If you apply the baseball glove care tips above you can keep your glove looking and feeling great. The leather will maintain its color and softness. If you keep the laces snug and strong, the baseball glove will maintain the shape that it took as you broke it in to fit your hand when the glove was new. and you can avoid unforeseen breaks in lacing leading to downtime and the temporary loss of your favorite glove.

Mainly, the baseball glove lasts....and prevents you from going through the hassle of buying a new (and expensive!) glove and then going through the break-in process once again. And it's just one of those things...the longer you play with and have your favorite glove, the better you become with it.

Baseball Glove Care. Just Do It!

Do your own Baseball Glove Repairs. Learn how to repair, relace and restore your own baseball glove with "Fix That Glove". Save yourself time and money and avoid the hassle of losing your favorite glove for a few days or weeks.

Baseball Glove Repair

http://www.BaseballGloveRestore.com/

Chico Reese has been closely involved in youth baseball, softball and High School Baseball over the last twelve years. He also is known as "The Doctor" for his quick baseball glove repairs and restorations for many kids and adults throughout the summer.

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Baseball Glove Repair

Baseball glove repair would really not be a concern around this time of year if players and/or parents would just perform a little bit of "routine maintenance" on their baseball gloves right after the playing season is over and then maybe a little bit more right before the beginning of the next season. But this doesn't seem to happen that much from what I can tell.

So here we are...another High School Baseball and College Baseball season. I've already gotten a couple of baseball gloves in the last month or so that have broken. And it's the same thing...very, very dry leather and laces. The laces on one of these baseball gloves were so dry, hard and brittle that they didn't even feel like leather. The laces were so stiff that it was actually a little tough pulling these laces out of some parts of the glove.

The condition of your baseball glove during and after a season will somewhat depend on where you live in the country. In the southeast and southwest you probably aren't going to see a lot of snow, ice and mud. Your glove may face very strong sun and heat, though.

The baseball gloves that I have just repaired were used in the northeast part of the country which can be terrible for leather. The leather can see snow and freezing temperatures. The baseball gloves will definitely get wet and muddy. This mud and water gets ground in sometimes day after day. This water eventually strips the leather of its original oils, softness and color. Then, summer comes. The sun beats down on the glove and dries it up even more. The laces become stiff, weak and brittle. They eventually break. Sometimes parts of the glove, like the eyelets and leather holes, rip. This even happens on the good, expensive gloves that are not cared for.

All of these things can mostly be avoided. Simply try to implement some of the following tips:

Clean off your baseball glove during the season when it needs it. Just a warm, damp cloth will do. Don't soak the glove. You're just trying to get some of the dirt off.

During the season, if the glove has seen a lot of water and then a lot of sun, you should rub in a little bit of conditioner (not any kind of oil!) and let it soak in. This will restore some of the leather's oils, softness and color.

Most importantly, give your glove a good cleaning and conditioning after your season is over. Wipe off all of the dirt and then after the glove dries rub a good coat of conditioner into the glove. Sometimes you may have to do this two or three times if the glove soaks up all of the conditioner right away. Wipe off any excess conditioner. Your restored glove will look and feel new during the off-season.

Tighten up loose laces and definitely repair broken laces or laces that you have a good feeling will break the next season. Do it now while you have the time.

And then, right before the beginning of your next season, inspect your glove again, tighten things up if necessary, put a light coat of conditioner on. There you are! Almost a new glove again.

Believe me, these simple baseball glove repair and restore tips work. I have taken care of a catcher's mitt for three years now...and yes, it's up in the northeast where a catcher's mitt takes water and mud in great amounts in some games. But this glove, after three years, feels great and looks great. The laces and leather show no signs of weakness. This is all because I religiously follow the tips above.

The kid who's glove I fixed the other day...the real dry one, says his glove looks and feels new again. He actually likes the all-black laces better than the original gray ones too. I hope he takes care of it now. But I bet I see it again someday.

And I bet I'll repair a good number of gloves starting around now. These are all of the gloves from last season that were just thrown in garages or basements with no after-season conditioning or tightening or repairing of laces.

So that's where I'll come in...again. Baseball glove repair and restore. I do it all of the time and never once have I advertised this. It all started with one glove, as a favor, and word got out. That was about six years ago and I'm still repairing gloves today.

So try to keep in mind some of these baseball glove repair and restore tips. Your glove will always be in great shape and you'll prevent those unexpected breaks during a game...and there will be no "down time" of your favorite glove.

Do your own Baseball Glove Repairs. Learn how to repair, relace and restore your own baseball glove with "Fix That Glove". Save yourself time and money.

Baseball Glove Repair

http://www.BaseballGloveRestore.com/

Chico Reese has been closely involved in youth baseball, softball and High School Baseball over the last twelve years. He also is known as "The Doctor" for his quick baseball glove repairs and restorations for many kids and adults throughout the summer.

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Evolution of Baseball Glove Manufacturing and Today's Current Brands

Baseball mitts are a common part of a baseball players' equipment. These special baseball gloves are made of different types of leather. Mitts can be only worn by the catchers or by the first basemen. It is very important to know that mitts are gloves that are made without fingers.

In the beginning of baseball, catchers used to play with bare hands. However, today catchers wear mitts. Doug Alison that played in the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1870 was the first player, who had mitts on his hands. However, there are some speculations that Charles Waite was the one who used them first.

In 1920, Bill Doak made a suggestion how to improve baseball mitts. After that, they were made with and a pocket. That pocket helped the catchers to catch the ball much easier. This new design became widely used in manufacturing new baseball mitts. However, after a while, baseball mitts were produced in bigger size. Bigger mitts made a huge step in the history of baseball. Catchers were able to catch the ball with one hand in comparison to earlier periods, when they had to use both their hands.

Nowadays, the baseball rules determine the shape and the size of baseball mitts. Modern baseball mitts are made to be precise and efficient. Manufacturers create different types of baseball mitts in order to answer to various needs. The best quality baseball mitts are made out of heavy leather. There are indeed many types of mitts. Baseball mitts come with extra padding. Their unique shape of a claw helps the catcher catch the very fast balls. Baseball adult sizes vary from 32 to 34 inch.

Different companies make baseball gloves or mitts. Some well known manufacturers of baseball equipment are Wilson, Nokona and Rawlingsgear. Wilson's mitt, which is universally known by its original stock number A2000, was constructed in 1957.Wilson's offer all type of gloves for different positions. Above all, they brought to the market their new A2000 Showcase.

Nokona's had many years of experience with leather. Their radical innovations helped them to produce unique and quality gloves for each position. For instance, their Bloodline series offers high quality materials and the best fit. However, some other companies produce gloves for various positions in baseball. One of them is Rawlings. Moreover, Rawlings is also successful in producing youth gloves.

Though all mitts are made of leather, different companies choose different leathers to make the gloves. Buffalo, kangaroo, or cowhide leathers are usually used in their production. The gloves are machine made, though custom made gloves are also available. Ordered gloves, are made by hand, so their price is significantly higher. All of them come in different range of prices, from very cheap to expensive ones.

A type of a glove that you are going to choose depends on few factors. First, there is the difference between youth and adult mitts. Then, there are different types for each position in baseball. The price is also an important factor while purchasing a baseball glove. Each extra spent dollar on the glove is always good investment.

Quality softball and baseball equipment

http://baseballmitts.org

http://nokonaglove.net

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Buying a Discount Baseball Glove

Baseball gloves can be pricey additions to the game. For beginners, cheaper gloves available at discount retail stores are probably the best. For those who wish to advance their game, or for those who already play pro-or-semi-pro baseball, they certainly want the higher- end models. For anyone who wants to buy a baseball glove, it is usually the case that they want discount baseball gloves.

You can find discount baseball gloves in a variety of places. The Internet is certainly one of the best avenues to find discount baseball gloves. With the growing worldwide marketplace, there is, without a doubt, no shortage of discount baseball glove suppliers. A simple Internet search for "discount baseball gloves" will produce more results than you can sift through in a day.

One of the best ways to find discount baseball gloves is by looking for outdated or discontinued models. Many stores will have regular clearance sales to eliminate excess or overstocked merchandise as well. You will likely find excellent deals on baseball gloves by being at the right place at the right time. You can also email companies to ask about any upcoming specials or sales; most will be happy to tell you.

Another wonderful tool in finding discount baseball gloves is Ebay. Ebay is the largest online marketplace with millions of users and hundreds of thousands of sellers. Sporting goods is one of the most popular categories, by far. You can find great deals on baseball gloves, even custom baseball gloves, on the Ebay Web site. If you find a really great seller with really great deals, you can expect to save 50% and sometimes more on high quality baseball gloves. A little research can certainly yield tremendous savings.

If you're just starting out in your baseball career it is probably best to look for discounted or used baseball gloves. Doing so will allow you to get a feel for what style and size fits you best and save you the time of breaking in a brand new glove.

Baseball Gloves Info provides detailed information about custom and discount baseball gloves, as well as baseball batting gloves, baseball glove reviews, and advice on how to break in baseball gloves. Baseball Gloves Info is the sister site of Baseball Bats Web.

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A Brief History of the Baseball Glove

Baseball has long been praised as America's favorite pastime. Baseball gloves have been used for nearly as long as the baseball game has existed are a very integral part of the sport.

The first baseball gloves were used in the 1870s and are very different from the baseball gloves we use today. Prior to the late 1800's, the sport of baseball was much more rugged than what we are accustomed to today; players were expected to catch or knock the ball with no protection. One can only imagine the injuries sustained from this practice.

Early baseball gloves were fairly simple as compared to today's standards. The basic idea was to create a glove that would pad and protect the players' hands and provide a cushion for catching the ball. Surprisingly, the first gloves were designed so the player could knock the ball to the ground and not necessarily catch it. History's first baseball gloves were made from pieces of leather sewn together to fit over a player's hand. Not nearly as padded, thick or advanced style-wise, early baseball gloves are on display at many sport and baseball museums across the country.

The first players to use baseball gloves were often taunted and teased as being "too soft" or "sissies" because they did not want to catch the ball with their bare hands. It is difficult to understand the resistance and fun-poking of the late 19th century since baseball gloves are a standard item used in modern games. Eventually, however, the use of baseball gloves became more accepted and a safety standard in the sport.

The history of baseball gloves is a colorful one with many advances in comfort and safety. The evolution of baseball gloves has helped to shape the game and many cannot imagine the sport without them.

Baseball Gloves Info provides detailed information about custom and discount baseball gloves, as well as baseball batting gloves, baseball glove reviews, and advice on how to break in baseball gloves. Baseball Gloves Info is the sister site of Baseball Bats Web.

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