Breaking in a first base glove

[crisco]

Or any glove, if there isn't a difference.

We got DD a first base mitt for Christmas. Her first tournament is in Jan, another in Feb, but her season runs in earnest from May-July.

We are going to have it steamed, she practices 2x/wk right now. We will oil it and can strap it between uses, if that makes sense for a first base glove.

How long before she should expect to be game ready with it? I hear the break in is pretty quick, but I don't want her racing out with a fun new glove when old faithful is a better option. Is there something more/else we should do?

12U

 

[Fury_Mike]

Play a lot of catch. Can she catch for any of her pitchers?

Glove mallets work well

Amazon product ASIN B01NH505OO
Can also take a softball and attach a handle to the center of the ball using a double threaded (in opposite directions) thread

 

[BadBandit]

Play a lot of catch. Can she catch for any of her pitchers?

Glove mallets work well

Amazon product ASIN B01NH505OO
Can also take a softball and attach a handle to the center of the ball using a double threaded (in opposite directions) thread

This here, please don’t steam it, you’ll regret it later. Play catch, and catching the pitchers is a great suggestion! What brand mitt is it?

 

[ArmWhip]

Be very careful about using oil, it can make a glove heavy. Lanolin is very good for softening glove leather, you can buy it in most pharmacies in the section for nursing mothers. Apply it in the areas of the glove that you want to flex then use a hair dryer to warm those spots and help it get absorbed. Don't forget the flexing areas on the inside of the glove like the palm and fingers. Another trick to use when the glove is still not very flexible is to move the ring finger into the slot with the pinky and leave the index finger sleeve empty, this gives the hand more leverage to close the glove. When it gets broken in you can go back to the normal finger placement.

 

[uncdrew]

Yeah, don't steam it. Short term fix that you'll regret.

You seen the videos from the master? I'm following those and my DD's new glove is getting nice and broken in.

I tug and pound on the glove most every day and we play catch a lot. It's loosening up nicely.

 

[crisco]

It is a Rawlings glove, DH did have it steamed. If it doesn't work out, we will try again with a new method, glove, or both. She has taken it to one practice, and she liked it. I am not sure if we can realistically link her up with pitchers outside of practice, but during the winter we can at least play light catch in our basement.

A new bat is up next (which I posted about before), and there is a place an hour or so from here that has a reasonable selection for demo. Maybe we can go there a few times to really get a feel for bats and maybe there is space for harder throws? Not sure.

She is 5'3" and ~140 lbs, lefty. She has a great reach for her height, but she isn't the 5'7" lefty you might hope for. LOL

 

[Dandan111]

Don’t steam it anymore. I did a oven treatment on Dd all star glove. Work the palm
with your hands to break the fibers then it
will close better. For bats we went to a big dicks sporting goods. They had a cage area you can hit foam ball and they analyzed hits.
Not sure how accurate it is but she got to swing and feel 3 or 4 bats we were interested in.
Bought a xeno.

 

[Gags]

buy a $3 plunger (orange handle, black rubber cup) and a can of spray adhesive from home depot. Get an old softball and drill a hole 1/2-way through it using a drill bit that's barely less in width than the plunger handle. Unscrew handle from plunger. Spray adhesive into hole for 1-2 seconds. Take handle and screw it into the hole.

For insurance purposes - drill small hole in the other end of the handle, and thread a shoelace / paracord / etc. through it to make a loop big enough for your / her hand to fit through. (Think Wii remote).

For DH: Head to basement. Turn on TV. Turn up volume. Begin pounding.

And pay attention - you'll have a lot more leverage (force!) with the mallet than just throwing the ball into the pocket yourself - no one wants to explain how they jammed their thumb while sitting on a couch!

Last tip - focus on the heel - turn glove upside down, with the pocket facing away from you, and grab the pinky area in one hand, and thumb area in the other. Then kind of "roll" the heel back and forth to start loosening up the heel. Also determine where the break points should be (see Aso's videos) and give those areas some extra rolling the pounding.

With a mallet, and with it already being steamed once, most gloves $150 or less should be ready in a week or so. Plus, if it's a 1B glove, it will probably see 3x as many throws into it over a practice than a regular fielders glove, so that should help as well.

Best of luck - about to start a break-in of my own shortly!

 

[BadBandit]

buy a $3 plunger (orange handle, black rubber cup) and a can of spray adhesive from home depot. Get an old softball and drill a hole 1/2-way through it using a drill bit that's barely less in width than the plunger handle. Unscrew handle from plunger. Spray adhesive into hole for 1-2 seconds. Take handle and screw it into the hole.

For insurance purposes - drill small hole in the other end of the handle, and thread a shoelace / paracord / etc. through it to make a loop big enough for your / her hand to fit through. (Think Wii remote).

For DH: Head to basement. Turn on TV. Turn up volume. Begin pounding.

And pay attention - you'll have a lot more leverage (force!) with the mallet than just throwing the ball into the pocket yourself - no one wants to explain how they jammed their thumb while sitting on a couch!

Last tip - focus on the heel - turn glove upside down, with the pocket facing away from you, and grab the pinky area in one hand, and thumb area in the other. Then kind of "roll" the heel back and forth to start loosening up the heel. Also determine where the break points should be (see Aso's videos) and give those areas some extra rolling the pounding.

With a mallet, and with it already being steamed once, most gloves $150 or less should be ready in a week or so. Plus, if it's a 1B glove, it will probably see 3x as many throws into it over a practice than a regular fielders glove, so that should help as well.

Best of luck - about to start a break-in of my own shortly!

I went out to our outbuilding this afternoon and dug out a rubber coated 5 pound dumbbell. I may be wrong, but I feel like I’ll be able to manipulate my incoming glove more with this dumbbell than I would be able to with a mallet? We’ll see, maybe I’ll need both?

I’ve read tons here, curious how the dumbbell is going to work out!

 

[Gags]

Oh - 5lbs will quickly turn into a workout! While I wouldn’t be having my hand inside, it does do a great job of forming a pocket and creating a hinge.

With a dumbbell, you’re also going to need a bit of padding underneath the glove to spare any neighbors or spouses who might be below.

Save your wrists and find a 2 or 3lb one - it might be more manageable.


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