another glove thread (catcher's mitt)

[soozyQ]

Hello hello, it's that time again! Actually it's well past that time, because my Liberty Advanced mitt is on its last leg (just sent it off to get patched) and I am short on time for a break in! Senior in college catching mid-60's mph and looking to play my last season. My chances of getting decent playing time are slim, but I'd love to get a mitt that can last me well into my adult life. Also trying to use up the last bit of credit I have on justgloves.com, so that's where my choices lie (unless convinced otherwise).

I'd rather not purchase another Liberty, because it gets decently floppy and is a little heavy. Would love something lighter! Any preferences between the HOH and A2000? Do y'all think I can use a baseball mitt for catching softballs? Also what would be best for a 3 month-ish break in time to be ready for spring?

Last year I posted a thread on purchasing a new fielding glove, which I was foolish in deciding on. Although it does the job, def not as well as I hoped for the amount I spent, so I'm trying to be a little more conservative with my choices. softball dads fire away!

 

[soozyQ]

Also I like the idea of closed webbing. Does that affect anything?

 

[Gags]

I don't know what truck this particular deal fell off of, but here you go: https://www.amazon.com/All-Star-Pit...726763891&s=team-sports&sr=1-9&ts_id=13292741

May not be any difference in weight, but you can pass it down to your grandkids if you ever get done using it.

re: closed webbing - not much success in that regard. Daughter's teammate has a mizuno (IIRC) closed webbing - the ball just won't stay in the glove. I've taken it home, pounded the hell out of it, did some hot water treatment to try to stretch it out some more, but no luck.

that being said - I've seen plenty of A2000's that don't seem to have the same problem, but the A2000's (I've worked on two of them), IME have a much longer break-in period than the all-star. (A2000 - a season?, AS - ~3-4 weeks - both probably less if you're catching 60+)

Don't let the $99 price fool you - this was All-Star's top glove a few years ago until they landed Paige Halstead as (their first?) sponsored softball player.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Do y'all think I can use a baseball mitt for catching softballs?

I use a Rawlings HOH Yadier Molina baseball catcher's mitt to catch for my daughter. It is built better and has more padding than the HOH fastpitch mitt. It will take a lot of work to get it game ready, though.

 

[cnardone]

No personal experience but all star catchers mitts get lots of love here

 

[soozyQ]

I don't know what truck this particular deal fell off of, but here you go: https://www.amazon.com/All-Star-Pitch-Softball-Catchers-Black/dp/B07YX9W4J3/ref=sr_1_9?c=ts&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fE9-ZlPy2fnnWdgWxQA_0Eu2hQSEdK8gky4QiXrusYo8Cmy8c79PeTDQ5m1JDvdMqxHuqYhBcGKY3iIUfXOClbieILCwlRi5fwdWKK1W-r_ckOSmQG7zXgbRv9mr6tjJ8xJDasRXiD33t3zDtTzFAFsa6Jq-xgK32w6kyjZnxN98f-BUFWTwbSPkf7JmxivPv76X6Q5Xobbq8TRzFb3A2Ik7jMaOpdVr2Y1soShJeNHLF7dEo4rHPNjj-gEwtlSX_4y4Ir_MSqovsBa6dM2l1AYNtsaAAQFGOUypqlIHCJA.XKIl7EY8bNDCTfMwSsRRA0Ary8XBmgGCIJnpEaGibWI&dib_tag=se&keywords=Softball+Catcher's+Mitts&qid=1726763891&s=team-sports&sr=1-9&ts_id=13292741

May not be any difference in weight, but you can pass it down to your grandkids if you ever get done using it.

re: closed webbing - not much success in that regard. Daughter's teammate has a mizuno (IIRC) closed webbing - the ball just won't stay in the glove. I've taken it home, pounded the hell out of it, did some hot water treatment to try to stretch it out some more, but no luck.

that being said - I've seen plenty of A2000's that don't seem to have the same problem, but the A2000's (I've worked on two of them), IME have a much longer break-in period than the all-star. (A2000 - a season?, AS - ~3-4 weeks - both probably less if you're catching 60+)

Don't let the $99 price fool you - this was All-Star's top glove a few years ago until they landed Paige Halstead as (their first?) sponsored softball player.

Love love love that price tag for sure. Thanks for all the valuable info!! I noticed this one is 33.5”, does that make too much of a difference?

 

[soozyQ]

I use a Rawlings HOH Yadier Molina baseball catcher's mitt to catch for my daughter. It is built better and has more padding than the HOH fastpitch mitt. It will take a lot of work to get it game ready, though.

if I had the money I’d snag that for it being Molina’s alone

 

[Gags]

I noticed this one is 33.5”, does that make too much of a difference?

No. Remember that catchers mitts are measured by the circumference (around the outside), while all the other gloves are basically measured palm heel to fingertip.

So while there may be a perceptible difference b/w a 11.5 and 12” IF glove, I very much doubt if you’d be able to discern the difference in even a 1” increase in a catchers mitt.

33.5” = Area of ≈89.3058, diameter of 10.66

34.5” = Area of ≈91.94845 diameter of 10.98

So we’re taking slightly more than two square inches of area difference, spread out over the entire glove. Or 1/4” in diameter. Or using % - if I did the math right (89.3/91.94) - 1 inch extra of circumference only makes the glove 2.9% bigger.

This where we need Pattar to proof read our posts before submitting!


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