by DT » September 17th, 2008, 12:31 am
Yes, the gloves use a synthetic leather. I met with Scott Carpenter a couple of years ago to talk about his gloves. He's the real deal. Doc can elaborate, but Scott is a former Ivy Leaguer who wanted to learn how to design gloves. He got a job as a janitor at the Rawlings glove factory and watched the glove designers whenever he could. Then he went home to his apartment and tried to duplicate what he saw. Eventually, he taught himself how to make gloves and the rest is history.
Noting that MLB players were turning to all synthetic backs on their gloves for better performance, he decided to go all synthetic. His gloves are really solid and super lightweight. I haven't had him make me one yet, but I do plan on it.
He has some really innovative ideas too. I have a video somewhere of him showing me this special material that was really thin, but would deaden the ball upon impact. He was experimenting with putting it in the palm of the glove to keep the ball from bouncing out. If I can find it, I'll post it here.
Real original thinker, and very passionate - this guy is one to watch.