When you begin playing baseball, it is better always to have good gloves. But the problem is how do you know that you have got good gloves? So here are some tips to help you buy good baseball gloves. The things that you must consider are:
a) Price
It is not a rule that a pair of good gloves must be very expensive. There are gloves that will give you very good service and you will get them for under 75.
But more expensive gloves do tend to use better leather than less expensive ones. Also, remember with careful maintenance, the higher quality gloves should last longer.
b) Size
It is better to select a glove for the position you will be playing most often. Although age is also a factor, the position you play is the most important consideration in choosing baseball gloves. Check to make sure that the gloves fit comfortably on your hands. Allow room for batting gloves if you wear one.
Except for pitchers, all other players must wear a batting glove inside their fielder’s glove. The batting gloves will absorb most of the sweat from your hands, thus protecting the lining of your glove. Go for changing the batting gloves when it gets wet or rotted.
c) Quality
The leather of the gloves must be fairly sturdy. Stiffer gloves at first become a bit tough to break in, but once you become accustomed to it, then the gloves will be serviceable for many seasons. The softer gloves feel great at first, but many of them unfortunately wear out very quickly and may be difficult or impossible to repair.
The leather in the softer gloves is usually thinner and therefore weaker than that in a sturdier glove. These thinner, softer leathers tend to show signs of stress at the lacing holes in the web and fingers after you have continuously played for a few months.
d) Measure and then buy
All the baseball gloves such as the fielder’s gloves and first base mitts are always measured by starting from the top of the index finger of the gloves down the finger along the inside of the pocket and then out to the heal of the glove.
You should use tape for taking the measurement and you must measure from the highest point on the gloves and then lay the tape so that you can measure till the heel of the gloves. Remember professional baseball gloves are 12 inches in height.
e) Find the features that fit your game
Check whether the gloves meet all your basic necessities. Check the size of the pockets, which depends on the position in which you play.
Shallow pocketed gloves are for middle infielders and deeper pockets for outfields. Check for the webbing also because a closed web is for pitchers, outfielders, and third basemen and open webbed gloves are for middle infielders.
The other things that you should consider are what type of back do the gloves have, what should you prefer; open or closed, and what is the type of padding you’d like, and whether the gloves fit snugly into your wrist.
f) Materials
Gloves can be made of leather, offering good control and feel, treated leather, which is softened with chemicals for increased durability and helps the gloves to keep its shape, plastic and synthetic materials, which are good and less expensive.
Now you have got the tips. Follow these tips so that you can buy the best baseball gloves.
