New glove reccomendation

[FlSoftball]

She uses a 12" a2000 currently and her complaint has always been it is tiny compared to the last glove that was a 12.5 Mizuno- for that reason she is leaning for a 12.5. Her motion hides the ball well she always holds the ball on her hip so hitters think they can pick the grip and as soon as she takes the ball into her glove she sets the grip and does not swing back out of the glove. She will usually sit and pick the pitchers pitches that set them on their hip

On a side not bill my wife had my daughter set to come to Nebraska from Florida for 4-5 lessons with you but cancelled as the Covid crap was shutting everything down- when you going to travel to Florida again?


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[Hillhouse]

Yeah, it's 2B in bunt situations and they field 1B just fine. I secretly loathe special "1B mitts" in fastpitch as they are usually not broken in properly and seem to drop more balls than they should.

In baseball, I get it, in softball I do not. As the players get older almost all of them can play 1B with success and most of them do not go out and buy 1B mitts.

Interesting take. I'm agnostic on it, but I'm usually a little perplexed at the upper levels when the 1B isn't using a specialized glove. While I agree that many don't break things in properly, I think that's true of all gloves. I would say that if someone is dropping balls at 1st base, the glove isn't the first thing I'd look at for whatever the problem is. It's entirely possible that's the case but, what kind of a moron would keep using the same problem glove game after game if it's not working and balls are being dropped? Hopefully a parent or a coach would have something to say to that 1st baseman and make some changes, or you get a new 1st baseman.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Was this a typo or did you actually mean that pitchers should have a small glove???

Not at all. A girl's hands are significantly smaller than a fully grown male's. Why anyone would want a peach basket on the mound is beyond me. I get wanting to hide the ball, but a closed web pattern handles that job just fine. You want a smaller glove to transfer the ball upon fielding bunts and ground balls quickly. Honestly, Bill and Sluggers are the only ones I have ever heard advocate for using a large glove on the mound, and while I respect their decisions, I wholeheartedly disagree. My daughter forgot her pitcher's glove at a lesson with Bill Edwards one day, so she thought using her 1B mitt would be fine. Coach Edwards spent 15 minutes explaining to her how the added weight of a larger glove or mitt was terrible for a pitcher and that he wanted his pitchers to learn to field the ball as if they were a shortstop. He felt the added weight caused their arms to fly open more than a lighter, smaller glove would.

A 1B mitt is designed to be stiffer in the fingers and form a V-shaped pocket to receive the ball better. Don't take it from me. Take it from Pete Vinci.

“Especially on backhand catches and scoops. Having the mitt move as one piece makes it easier to gain control of the ball. The pocket on a first baseman’s mitt forms a V-shape designed to funnel the ball into the webbing."

I have a 34" catcher's mitt and a 13" LA 1B mitt in my bag. I can assure you they are nothing alike. The 1B mitt has almost no padding compared with the catcher's mitt.

Like I said earlier, you use what she feels most comfortable with. These are only suggestions and opinions. If she can find a closed web in a 13" glove that she likes, go for it!

 

[LEsoftballdad]

For the record, I contacted our Wilson glove rep, who said they don't even make a fastpitch pitcher's glove larger than a 12.25, and that's the Monica Abbott model. Maybe the fact she's 6'3" necessitated a larger glove for her. Even the Cat Osterman model is only 12".

Rawlings, Nokona, and Vinci all make a 12.5" glove for off-the-rack purchases, but anything larger has to be a custom order.

 

[ANNASDAD]

While I wholeheartedly respect and value Bill's and Slugger's opinions, I have to agree with LE on this one!

Ultimately it's up to the comfort and confidence of the girl / player using the glove in question. Trying to think.....in the last five years I had one girl use a 13" glove on one of my teams, and it was a 13" dedicated 1B glove.

And while I definitely get the premise you two guys are trying to convey, I couldn't imagine putting a 13" or 14" glove on a female pitcher, just too heavy and unwieldy! I gotta say, 12.5" is as large as I'd go. And....I understand this is all personal preference, again it's whatever works for the girl using the glove!

As far as a dedicated 1B glove, I could care less. I've recommended a 12.75" Vinci RV1961 for girls who share 1B & OF more times than I can count! And as far as a glove being broken in incorrectly, that's a whole other subject matter.....

 

[Towny9]

@Hillhouse you could rob home runs with that 14” glove! Haha. I always used a slightly bigger glove than most players at my position. I felt my transfer was sufficient and rarely the problem. My problem was occasionally the ball didn’t like staying in my glove!

 

[FlSoftball]

Appreciate all the comments- right now she is leaning at a 12.5 but brand yet unknown- she needs to see them and will be taking shopping both her current A2000 and her last glove which was a Mizuno 12.5". The reasoning is she really liked the size of the Mizuno but when you set the two side by side the Mizuno is easily 2" longer than the 12"A2000 so she wants to find something close to the Mizuno size- just can't see how one is a 12" and the other is a 12.5


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[ANNASDAD]

Rawlings Horween Heart of the Hide PRO1000-9HT Baseball Glove 12.25 Inch Right Hand Throw

Online Baseball Gloves and Baseball Bats for sale. In business since 1971. Find brands like Rawlings, Nokona, Marucci, Victus, All-Star, and many others to help you with your baseball equipment needs.

ballgloves.com

I still think this would make an excellent fastpitch pitchers glove! Most (the majority) of Pro1000's are 12" but occasionally Rawlings will make a 12.25" Spring Training Pro1000, in this case this is a Don Morton exclusive SMU.

Full Horween (liner included) so the durability is there, two-piece pitchers web ("9" web) to hide the ball, sorry guys it won't hide a girls arm all the way to her elbow! Pro200 family so the dual break heel will accommodate being worn TIP or traditional equally. It's only available in Tan, so if that's "old man or old school" boring, sorry!

 

[Hillhouse]

Not at all. A girl's hands are significantly smaller than a fully grown male's. Why anyone would want a peach basket on the mound is beyond me. I get wanting to hide the ball, but a closed web pattern handles that job just fine. You want a smaller glove to transfer the ball upon fielding bunts and ground balls quickly. Honestly, Bill and Sluggers are the only ones I have ever heard advocate for using a large glove on the mound, and while I respect their decisions, I wholeheartedly disagree. My daughter forgot her pitcher's glove at a lesson with Bill Edwards one day, so she thought using her 1B mitt would be fine. Coach Edwards spent 15 minutes explaining to her how the added weight of a larger glove or mitt was terrible for a pitcher and that he wanted his pitchers to learn to field the ball as if they were a shortstop. He felt the added weight caused their arms to fly open more than a lighter, smaller glove would.

A 1B mitt is designed to be stiffer in the fingers and form a V-shaped pocket to receive the ball better. Don't take it from me. Take it from Pete Vinci.

“Especially on backhand catches and scoops. Having the mitt move as one piece makes it easier to gain control of the ball. The pocket on a first baseman’s mitt forms a V-shape designed to funnel the ball into the webbing."

I have a 34" catcher's mitt and a 13" LA 1B mitt in my bag. I can assure you they are nothing alike. The 1B mitt has almost no padding compared with the catcher's mitt.

Like I said earlier, you use what she feels most comfortable with. These are only suggestions and opinions. If she can find a closed web in a 13" glove that she likes, go for it!

So, I can think of a lot of counter points to nearly everything you wrote but, I'll only post if there's an understanding that we're apparently going to agree to disagree. Quite often, an unintended "tone" is read into things when reading an email, a text, or a post on a softball pitching forum! So, I'll reply but I want to make sure there's no unintended tone being read into it. I think there's a lot of things that need to be said about the things you posted but, #1. I have to go give lessons now. and #2. I don't want that unintended tone to come out when 2 people have disagreements. A lot of times, the subjects of abortion, politics, religion, etc. are easier discussions than softball pitching!!!!!! lol.

So, that said, I'll do my reply tonight when I get home.

 

[Hillhouse]

@Hillhouse you could rob home runs with that 14” glove! Haha. I always used a slightly bigger glove than most players at my position. I felt my transfer was sufficient and rarely the problem. My problem was occasionally the ball didn’t like staying in my glove!

I think there's even bigger than 14". For some reason, I thought I'd heard about 16". But, personally I've only ever used a 14.