Baseball is an important sport globally, and like every other sport, the equipment used to play baseball is very important in the game.
One of the most necessary pieces of equipment used in this sport and which is quite popular is the baseball bat. Most people know the baseball bat because it is a very crucial piece in the game, and without it, you cannot play baseball.
However, as the saying goes, the beauty of everything is in the details; some details are also as important in the baseball game as the bat.
One of these crucial pieces is the baseball glove;
Why Baseball Glove is Important?
The baseball glove is as important as the bat because, like the bat without the baseball glove, little or nothing can be done in the game. It performs different functions in the game because different types of gloves are used in the game.
There are various forms and types of baseball glove, including the fielder glove, the catchers’ glove, infield gloves, the first base glove, outfield gloves, and the training gloves.
With this list of different baseball gloves listed above, one will see how crucial the baseball glove is to the game and why it is as important as the baseball bat itself.
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As said earlier, there are different types of baseball gloves; all baseball players in a game where one form of glove or the other during a baseball match or training; however, only one name comes to mind when the name baseball glove is mentioned is the mitt.
History of Baseball Glove
The mitt is a large leather glove used in baseball; baseball players of the defending team wear it; this glove helps the player catch and field balls hit by a batter or balls thrown by a teammate.
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During the early days of the game, catchers catch the balls with their bare hands, painful if you ask me. However, as the game progressed, the mitt was introduced to the game.
However, the first mitt was not webbed, not like the ones we have today, so it was hard catching a ball with it. Although, it was used to swat the ball to the ground before picking it up, that way it helps a little with the pain the players feel when catching directly.
In modern-day, the mitt has been upgraded and remodified to suit the purpose for which it was intended; the production of gloves is, however, more efficient and precise in its job these days.
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How to Measure a Baseball Glove?
The main topic of this article is how to measure a baseball glove, but before we get on to that, a quick highlight of the different types of baseball gloves we have.
Types of Baseball Gloves
- Catchers mitt: The catcher’s mitt has extra paddings that funnel the ball into pockets and provide a target for pitchers.
- Infield gloves: This one tends to be smaller than the catchers’ mitt. They have a shallow pocket that allows the quick removal of the ball to allow a quick throw to a base
- First base glove: This does not possess individual fingers but is long in terms of length to allow them to scoop badly thrown balls from infielders
- Outfield gloves: This is also a long glove with a deep pocket to help catch a flying ball on the run and scoop the ball up from the ground without totally bending down.
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The gloves highlighted above are some of the gloves used in baseball. Moving on to how baseball gloves are measured.
Like the bat, the baseball glove must be measured to know if it will fit a player perfectly.
Measuring a baseball glove is also like measuring a bat’s weight; when measuring a bat’s weight, some standard rules and regulations have been laid down by the organization.
When measuring a bat, the player’s age and the league division are also very important; the same thing applies to baseball gloves.
The age of players and league is very important in picking and measuring a baseball glove for a player. Apart from using age and league to pick the right glove for a player, there are also different ways of measuring baseball gloves.
How Do You Know the Size of a Baseball Glove to Get?
As a player, you should know the size of the glove you use, and if you don’t, this article will help you find out how. In every baseball glove, the glove’s size is etched on the thumb of the glove or the pinky finger of the glove.
The manufacturers do not just produce gloves without measurement; the manufacturer measures their product from the index finger’s apex and moves down along the gloves until it gets to the center of the heel. That length is how the size of a baseball glove is determined.
As a baseball player, this mostly applies to novices in baseball. Getting the size of your glove is quite simple. Just check the thumb or pinky of the glove to get the size of gloves that fits perfectly to your hand.
This measurement style applies to most baseball gloves except the mitt; The catcher’s mitt is slightly different in measurement than other gloves because it is always larger than other gloves.
The catcher’s mitt case is measured by the circumference rather than the top to bottom measurement way of other gloves.
Baseball glove sizing is picked from the apex of the index to the center of the glove heel, while that of the catchers’ mitt measures the circumference around the whole mitt.
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Conclusion
As said earlier, there are different types of gloves and different production styles, so in choosing a baseball bat, all these should be considered, the size, the glove type, and style.
The measurement of the glove is picked from the index down to the heel of the glove; however, the sizes of gloves are on average and may not pertain to every single player, so before selecting a glove, you should pick on personal preference and also consider your comfort when picking a glove.
