Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

I am a "newbie" to this forum and am really glad/thankful to be here! I've been watching the A2000 listings on eBay for the past year (looking for that "right" glove) and have noticed a recurring "issue" with the USA-made gloves in general. I've observed that at the base of the index and middle fingers on the palm side, a small rip keeps showing up in gloves listed for sale. I am wondering if the veteran members here know this to be a "characteristic" of the older USA-made A2000's or is it just my imagination? Also, can a gent like Earl Malone fix something like this such that it is useable to play with? I offer the following eBay Item No. as an example of what I am talking about: 230513338532. Thanks in advance for any and all insight!

I had not noticed this but it might be that the new "hinge" pocket and drop down thumb on the introduced and early A2000s caused this problem and created a stress area at this point. Unlike the circular "U" pattern of previous gloves in the palm, the A2 went to a linear, diagonal close from the 4 o'clock area up through the web. This may have produced a strain on this index / middle finger point and maybe Wilson corrected this later. Same thing "might" have happened with the early XPG Rawlings models that were similar in design, but the Rawlings gloves were a little more padded.
Mr. Malone I'll bet can make the repair.

Thanks for the great info, softball66! If Mr. M can fix it, I'll be happy buying it!

A rip in that "crotch" seam is a fairly common point of damage for a lot of gloves, not just A2000's. I've seen it on Nokona and Rawlings gloves too, with about the same frequency (though that certainly isn't an observation made through any statistical or scientific means).

My impression has always been that this is because players that own these high-end gloves are more likely to be serious players that play A LOT of baseball, more than a typical recreational player, and thus the gloves see a lot more use- and, maybe, abuse. If you couple higher usage with not keeping the leather conditioned (which would make it more susceptible to tearing) and not keeping the finger laces tightened (which allows the crotch to stretch further apart) and the fact that this is right where the ball hits when you catch it (meaning that this seam does see higher stress), it just about creates a recipe for creating a tear.

Other common damage I see on old A2000's is inner linings that are just absolutely trashed and thumb loops that are broken off. Again, both signs of gloves that have seen maximum usage and maybe not been well cared for. In short, people that used these gloves really loved them- sometimes, literally, to death.