Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

Always enjoy Dave Grob's articles and this one is glove related! Check it out:
http://www.mearsonline.com/news/newsDetail.asp?id=664

I read Dave's article this morning and here's what I emailed him:
Dave, I did read your story, and in the most recent newsletter dealt with the fact that the old catcher Birdie, managing the Reds, had his catches use the old fashioned doughnut (non break) mitts to keep them from those "bad habits" of swiping at pitches instead of fronting the ball.
I do thing that the much improved gloves of the late 1950s forward may have had as much influence on lowering averages as the hinged catchers mitts.
But, kudos for a well thought out article.
And did you check to measure the batting averages from 1950 forward to see if it was not just a one player peak but the leagues as wholes??

The article makes sense to me. We’ve all considered the fact that advancements in fielders’ gloves take away a debatable number of hits from the best batters each year, but I’ve not thought of the relationship between a catcher’s mitt, his stance and how an umpire views the strike zone. Watered down pitching staffs benefit today’s players, but later-inning specialists with fresh arms negates it. I futilely long for a return to a 16 team league with 154 games. Imagine the talent on the field if the league were cut in half! Alas, that wouldn’t be profitable…

As an aside, I vividly remember buying Ted Williams’ “The Art of Hitting” when I was about 10 and arguing the validity of an uppercut swing with my Little League coach! For some reason, my power was to the opposite field and remains so to this day as my slice on the links can attest!