How To Break In A New Baseball Glove
A baseball glove is an essential investment for all players. You need to pick the right one that fits right based on your position and style for better performance. If your gloves make you feel comfortable, it gives you the confidence to play more consistently. Each baseball player has a special connection with their glove. From the first time you put it on your hand, the leathery smell remains memorable. However, it takes a lot of effort to get a stiff new glove into the bright game conditions. Every baseball player at any level should know how to break in their gloves before gam play. It’s hard to catch a baseball in a rigid or ill-fitting glove, and thus, breaking in a glove is the standard procedure to make it supple. Properly breaking the glove creates a snuggly fit, so it feels as if it’s an extension of your hand. There are various ways you can use to break in your gloves and customize your fit. Keep reading to gain more insights.
Why Does A Baseball Glove Need To Be Broken In?
One thing that makes leather a precious material is its durability and versatility. These gloves are made from very thick and heavy cow leather and are processed to offer shock resistance and durability. Further, the manufacturers use several chemicals to process the leather, making the gloves very stiff at the initial using stage. If you have ever tried to catch a ball with new gloves, you understand this better. The gloves are usually very stiff, rigid, impossible to squeeze close, and they don’t even fit well. Any time you try to grab the ball, it bounces off, so you can’t execute perfect catches. Hence breaking the gloves helps eliminate any stiffness to ensure that it’s comfortable to ensure that it moves well with your hand. Besides, it forms pockets that make it easier to hold the ball more securely so that it doesn’t slip off while throwing. Though it can naturally break-in, it takes a lot of time, but there are various quicker solutions. Based on the leather grade, the process can take from a single day to several weeks.
The Dos And Don’ts of Breaking In Baseball Gloves
There is a lot of misinformation out there on how to break in the gloves. It would be best to learn some safe practices of the process To be on the safe side.
Dos
Play Catch
It’s by far the best method that you can use. Start using it immediately and play catch with various people. Within no time, it becomes precisely how you want it, and it forms to the exact shape of your hand. Hence you will begin to feel just right while using the glove. Besides, you can throw the ball to your gloves repeatedly. During practice, use it to catch pop-ups by tossing the ball into the air and using it to field grounders. Practicing to catch a ball that travels much faster, the leather in the mitts begins to loosen up.
Use It More
Extensive play is the simplest method you can use to break in your glove. Wear it during practice and use it more often as possible. The more you use it, the faster it bends into your desired shape. It forms creases naturally each time you twist it, and with the continued application, the wrinkles deepen to create a pocket. Although it’s a time-consuming option, it’s worth it. It gradually reshapes your gloves while protecting them from damage.
Pound The Pocket With A Mallet Or Dumbell
You can also get a little rough with your gloves using a mallet to pound a pocket.
Besides, it will help soften the leather further, but avoid overdoing it. You can choose to hit it while it’s open, turned inward, or folded. Wear the glove and try bending your fingers and the hand periodically to form creases that will guide you in hitting. Next, put on the glove on your throwing hand and using a dumbbell or a mallet, gently strike the center and the pocket sections. Applying force in these stiff areas loosens the leather making it easy to open and close the glove for catching. Alternatively, you can lay the glove on a table with your palm facing downwards then keep straining the glove from behind. It slackens the gloves from the palm section all through to the fingers. This method gives you a chance to take out some aggression. Besides, you switch up the hitting with your friends or family members for better results.
Use A Bit Of Lanolin-based Cream Or Hot Water
You can also soften your leather gloves using baseball conditioning oil. Most manufacturers recommend the most appropriate creams to treat their gloves. Lanolin oil comes from sheep, and it’s the main product in most glove conditioners. It’s a good option since, unlike other options, lanolin doesn’t soak in leather, which can make your gloves heavier. Instead, it softens, protects, and preserves leather making your glove supple. If you wish to avoid applying additional chemicals to your gloves, you can use pure lanolin oil or hot water. Put a little amount of the cream or hot water on a sponge or onto ac clean cloth. Massage it in a circular motion using your fingers. Keep adding a little amount and rub it until you have covered all sections of the leather. Let the dry glove overnight on a calm surface. Using a dry cloth, wipe off any excess oils visible on your baseball glove in the morning.
Put A Ball In The Glove And Tie It Closed
Place a ball inside the glove, at the section you use to catch the ball, to shape it. Precisely it’s at the lower section of the webbing between the fire finger and the thumb. Next, use string or rubber bands and wrap them around the glove with the ball inside. Make it as tight as possible so that the ball lies snuggly in the glove without moving. Place it under your mattress in this shape and leave it for several days. Remove the ties after about two to three days, take out the ball, punch your fist into the pocket, open, and close it to shape the glove. The more you do this, the better your glove will become in retaining the ball, and the more it conforms to your hand shape.
Get The Glove Steamed
You can also mold your stiff leather glove into suitable size through steaming. The good news is, most stores selling the gloves offer this service. Still, you can do it yourself by following some simple steps. First, you apply a conditioner to the glove and be sure to coat and cover all the surfaces. Also, it would be best to use an extra amount at the laces to protect them adequately. Generally, the conditioner contains a combination of vitamins and other chemical components that restores the leather quality natural lather scent and enhances its color. Let your glove sit for some time to soak up the conditioner, then wipe it dry.
Next, toss the baseball into a steamer at 150 degrees. Alternatively, place a rack above a pot of boiling water several inches higher to avoid splashing. Put the glove on the frame and cover it with a lid or a bowl to trap the steam. Depending on how soft you want it to appear, you can let it sit in the moisture for about three to five minutes. Steaming relaxes leather making it easy to bend your baseball glove. Remember to maintain the required temperature since an increase or a decrease can damage the leather materials. Now turn your stove off, take out the glove and wipe it with a dry towel. By now, it should feel much more flexible. The final part of the procedure is to hit the glove with a mallet to shape it. First, fold it into halves with the thumb section on top. Hit the areas close to the thumb working towards the center to bend the material. Depending on your preferences, you can hit it more near the webbing to create a deep pocket or towards the palm if you prefer a shallow one. Remember to hit near the pinky side of your glove. By now, the glove should open and close much more effortlessly.
Don’ts
Bake It In An Oven Or Microwave It
Although it’s rigid, the leather material that makes baseball gloves can’t withstand high temperatures in the oven or microwave. Although heat makes the glove more malleable, excessive temperature causes lasting and detrimental damage. The heat goes beyond softening and breaks down the leather. Soon, the laces will dry out and break. Overall, the gloves also become too hard to use. Even worse, when left unattended, the glove may cause fire, especially if it has a metallic part.
Drive A Car Over It
Other players will choose to run a car over the glove to fasten the breaking in process. After spending a substantial amount of money on your glove, you can’t afford to run it over with a vehicle weighing several pounds. It will result in some irreversible damages. Note that excessive force can flatten the glove or fold it so that it loses the round shape. Hence, it can no longer receive or retain the ball.
Cover It In Oil
Some people may also choose to soften the leather with oil rather than conditioner. It’s OK to do it sparingly, but covering the glove with oil may increase the glove’s weight, slowing your reaction time. Additionally, it may soak into the palm padding, making it slippery and hard to use. With time, it breaks down the leather to the point that your glove will begin to deteriorate faster than it should, reducing its lifespan.
Other Tips For Breaking In Baseball Gloves
After you learn how to shape your new gloves, use the tactics below to care for them to promote durability.
Store The Glove Indoors, Not Car Or Garage
The key to storing leather is keeping it dry and clean.
Note that high humidity and excess temperature destroys leather. Rather than storing your gives in an unheated garage, it would be best to keep the gloves inside the house. Store it in a cool, dry shelve at room temperature and constant humidity level. Again, check and ensure that the glove is completely dry before storing it. You can wipe it with a clean and absorbent cloth or leave it to dry out naturally. However, avoid using a blow-dry or placing it near a furnace since the heat can crack the leather material. Still, it’s not a good idea to store it in a car trunk. Sometimes the car gets very hot while under the sun, and the temperature fluctuations result in some detrimental effects on leather.
Only Use Minimal Amount Glove Oil
If you choose to use oil to break in your baseball glove, do it sparingly. Remember that even the products designed to soften the glove can damage it when used excessively. Hence, don’t get tempted to use the entire bottle for faster results. Besides, you don’t have to apply it in every corner of the gloves. Apply a light coat on the critical areas like the pocket or the spaces between the fingers. If you can see some oil streaks or globes on the glove, then you have used too much. Use a dry cloth to suck out as much as you can.
Don’t Use Shaving Cream In Place Of Lanolin Cream.
Avoid using shaving creams on your leather baseball gloves. Back in the days, the shaving creams contained lanolin oil, but today, they have too many chemicals. These artificial compounds aren’t well-conditioned to treat leather, and they can even pull out moisture from your gloves. Besides, the chemical compounds can quickly weaken and breakdown leather fibers causing faster deterioration. Hence, your glove won’t last as long as it would naturally.
Conclusion
There are no shortcuts to breaking in your baseball gloves. The process may take some time, but eventually, you will have your fit. Different people will offer some desirable alternatives to speed up the process. Be cautious of such methods since they can do more harm than good to your glove. Remember that gloves are an integral part of your baseball kit, and using the wrong softening method can damage them beyond repair. The best way to do it is by using the gloves frequently. Get into as ay catching rounds as possible during practice, and eventually, it will break in ready for the next season. Also, remember to use oils and conditioners sparingly and store the gloves in the house. Try out a combination of any methods mentioned above, and good luck with your new glove.