New glove reccomendation

[LEsoftballdad]

Any good quality glove will take a while to be game ready. Wilson, Rawlings, Nokona, Marucci, etc. all make good quality gloves that will require a lot of elbow grease to break in. If you have the time to get it ready, now is the perfect time since most girls won't see the field again until the spring.

If you have a good baseball/softball store near you that carries a variety of gloves, go have her try them on to see what she likes. Honestly, you can get a fair gauge as to whether or not the glove is good by the price tag. A glove between $150-$200 probably lasts a year or two under a heavy load, but would be fine as the 30% workload it would see at 1B for your daughter. $200-$300 is your typical Rawlings HOH, Wilson A2000, and Marucci top glove slot. Once you go above that level, you're into the Rawlings Pro Preferred or Nokona gloves.

My daughter uses a custom Pro Preferred, which in my opinion is the best glove I've seen for softball. Regardless of it not being made of Horween leather, I feel the workmanship is top-notch. Nokona also makes very expensive, top-notch gloves, but some find them too heavy for the younger girls.

Ultimately, if you do decide on a new one, contact me to see if we carry it at SPC Sports. If so, I can get you a price you'll be very happy with.

Best of luck.

 

[ANNASDAD]

Abomination is pretty harsh.

Well……

We’ll split the difference, let’s look at it from both of our sides, I’ll go first. I’m a collector who has nothing to do with retail gloves, I strictly go after exclusives, customs, and pro-issues. Horween, good ole C55 Horween glove leather is my go to first choice.

Your turn, you sell gloves, retail is your bread & butter, Horween Featherlight leather is a cheaper leather targeted towards retails gloves but they can still hang that Horween moniker on it!

I don’t know any collector or serious glove guy who has a glove made from Featherlight leather, and definitely no college, “A” ball, or pros are using it although there probably are some college softball girls using some? This is where ours views differ on glove leather!

So is my abomination wording harsh….maybe, no, depends?

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Well……

We’ll split the difference, let’s look at it from both of our sides, I’ll go first. I’m a collector who has nothing to do with retail gloves, I strictly go after exclusives, customs, and pro-issues. Horween, good ole C55 Horween glove leather is my go to first choice.

Your turn, you sell gloves, retail is your bread & butter, Horween Featherlight leather is a cheaper leather targeted towards retails gloves but they can still hang that Horween moniker on it!

I don’t know any collector or serious glove guy who has a glove made from Featherlight leather, and definitely no college, “A” ball, or pros are using it although there probably are some college softball girls using some? This is where ours views differ on glove leather!

So is my abomination wording harsh….maybe, no, depends?

Okay, my turn. As someone with multiple daughters playing softball, neither of mine chose to use tan gloves or mitts. If there's one thing I have learned from growing up with six older sisters and having two daughters, it's that things that are important to them make no sense to me as a male. My older daughter is a catcher who prefers white leather, which gets filthy after a game or two and is never white again. I have no idea why, but it's what *she* likes, not what I like that matters. My younger daughter chose a custom Pro Preferred in black with grey laces. She went with black instead of tan because "Tan is boring, Dad." Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

All that said, I want the player to have the equipment they want that suits their needs best and fits into their budget. I never assume someone can or cannot afford a certain style, so I always ask what their budget is. Seeing a smile on a girl's face when they get what they want is pretty gratifying. If I can save the family some money in the process, that's even better.

P.S. If I were choosing a new glove for myself, I'd probably go with a tan one. As I said, different strokes for different folks.

 

[_MIA_]

If I can save the family some money in the process, that's even better.

The Horweens are pretty cheap for how long they will last. I do understand your point about what the kid likes is important but there is a happy medium considering they are not paying .

Outside of "look" the biggest issue going to be break in period but a little forethought takes care of that (eg don't wait until your current glove is unusable..)

 

[_MIA_]

That said my DD's Pro206 has lasted over 3 years (purchased June 2019) and is still in good shape so it isn't like HOH won't last either.. . Hoping the Pro1000 will make it through most of HS ball for her.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

I do understand your point about what the kid likes is important but there is a happy medium considering they are not paying .

Oh, I get that part. As I said, I grew up with six older sisters and parents born during the Great Depression and raised during the War. Although it may not be true, I thoroughly believe my parents coined the phrase "You get what you get, and you don't get upset." Being the only boy had one perk: no hand-me-down clothing, but that was about it. Hell, I rode a white and pink Schwinn until I was 10 years old and didn't complain. I was just happy to have a bike to ride.

 

[FlSoftball]

She has learned to take care of her equipment after we made her pay with her own cash when she lost hers(later found). Wraps it with a ball in her bag always after use and if it gets wet brings it inside to dry then puts some conditioner on it. That being said I'm not saying no budget but all mentioned are in budget( will tell the wife after I purchase it). My issue is finding a place to actually go and see them so she can see what she likes- there was one place in town that was great but they closed their retail store. We do have a huge Rawlings factory store here so we are definitely going to go and check them out but that does not give all brands- and Dicks selection is terrible


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[Hillhouse]

I wouldn't recommend the same glove as a pitcher as I would for a first baseman. Pitchers need a small glove, so a 12 or 12.25 is perfect, but a 1B mitt is so much bigger. Player height doesn't have anything to do with glove size at that age.

I've seen some girls use their regular fielding gloves at first, but it usually doesn't work too well.

Was this a typo or did you actually mean that pitchers should have a small glove??? I'd advocate the complete opposite. As a pitcher, I needed a bigger glove because I wanted to conceal the ball, my hand and my grip. If possible, also my wrist. As smaller glove would give the opposition the opportunity to see a lot more than I'd want them to. That matters a lot more at 18U than it does at 12U but I think it's best to get pitchers used to it as early as possible. I've told this anecdote before but, when I throw BP to college bound and college teams, I'm routinely told they have a hard time picking up the ball from me. And it's not cause I'm trying to throw it 80mph past them, but it's because I never let them see the ball or anything until it's released.

The ASA rules changed not too long ago, that any position player is allowed to use any glove they want at any position. I believe the argument was, INF and OF gloves are now made so big that they're actually bigger than many 1st base and catcher's gloves so there's no advantage anyone has in using a 1st base glove at another position anymore.

While I too have seen people playing first without a 1st base mitt, I never thought it was an issue with the size of the glove for that position. Afterall, an OF glove can be a lot bigger than a 1st base mitt in size and pocket. Rather it was the way the glove was constructed and designed to make hard throws to 1st less painful on the hand. There's not a huge difference between 1st base glove and catcher's glove in FP softball these days so it's the same premise. Someone at 1st is generally getting harder throws to them which requires a different style of glove which is better on the hands. It's entirely possible I have that this all wrong and 1st base mitts are made differently for different reasons. But that's how it was explained to me a few eons ago.

I use Akadema products now, both catching mitt for pitching lessons (APM 66 model) and a 14" glove for pitching. I've always really liked their products and was sponsored by them at one point. Ultimately it comes down to personal preference and it makes it hard to shop online for them without being able to try them on and feel it. Akadema stuff isn't in too many stores that I've seen, especially outside of the east coast. But, go to a Dick's, Scheels, or other sports store to try on different brands and sizes. Then go online to find the best deal for that model you like.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

While I too have seen people playing first without a 1st base mitt

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.

 

[sluggers]

@Hillhouse is right...pitchers need a good size glove.

Pitchers *must* hide the ball at advanced levels of play.

Also, the pitcher primarily fields line drives and hard ground balls back through the middle. Those plays are mainly reflexes...where the pitcher stabs at them. A bigger glove gives the pitcher a better chance to make a play.