Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

It seems that there is a trend going towards lighter gloves which will eventually lead to synthetic materials. Arod's glove probably more than another player broke that ground. Honestly nobody cares what Clemens wears, ARod is a different story.

Lets assume that synthetic is lesser quality than leather, the gloves will not last as long and probably just as expensive - especially if it becomes a trend in the majors.

It really doesnt matter to MLB players. For a player like ARod he can get as many as he needs.

The mesh backed glvoes are very popular with players in Asia....The glove manufacturers are even marketing the gloves by how much they weigh, etc... -Matt

I'm hoping the light gloves are a fad. A lot of things go in and out of style in baseball. But then again I was hoping that uniforms that fit like pajamas were a fad, and I was wrong there.

I hope I'm right about the gloves. There really is nothing like the fit and feel of an old-school Horween glove. I recently bought a Pro Preferred, and I like the pattern, and the worksmanship is good, but I can already tell the leather is not going to last like my Horween gloves.

If pro-level lightweight super lightweight gloves make it into the mass market in a big way, then all bets will be off. When young players can buy ARod's gamer, they will do so in a big way. Those players will never come to appreciate the fit, feel and durability of an all-leather glove. Those gloves will just feel heavy.

skwid wrote:I'm hoping the light gloves are a fad. A lot of things go in and out of style in baseball. But then again I was hoping that uniforms that fit like pajamas were a fad, and I was wrong there.

I hope I'm right about the gloves. There really is nothing like the fit and feel of an old-school Horween glove. I recently bought a Pro Preferred, and I like the pattern, and the worksmanship is good, but I can already tell the leather is not going to last like my Horween gloves.

If pro-level lightweight super lightweight gloves make it into the mass market in a big way, then all bets will be off. When young players can buy ARod's gamer, they will do so in a big way. Those players will never come to appreciate the fit, feel and durability of an all-leather glove. Those gloves will just feel heavy.

I agree with you mostly. You can go from heavier to lighter but to go the other way is much tougher. If lighter gloves become the norm,,,heavier all leather will be the exception.

The saving grace is that the pro-lites never caught on. Hopefully that applies here.

What I disagree with you about somewhat. I have had some USA horween leather gloves, and like my Pro Prefs just as much. The stays in the thumb and pinky are excellent stabilizers.

Also I am loving my Primo right now too. The leather is awesome.

but what about a hybrid between the mesh back of Mizuno or Rawlings with the principles behind the mizuno generation series....if anyone remembers them for the shortlived early 2000 campaigns, they were good quality leather mitts built with very utilitarian patterns reinforced by plastic inserts in every finger!

they were designed with stiffness stability lightness (not a real word, but whatever) in mind but were great glove, just wierd looking.

I had a custom OF model but it was sadly stolen from me by a Pittsburgh Pirates rookie league player great glove tho

In my opinion, I think the mesh backing gloves are pretty attractive,

Some examples for your guys,

http://pics5.webs-tv.net/5/userfile/c/c ... 72217b.jpg

http://pics5.webs-tv.net/5/userfile/c/c ... 9751c3.jpg

oaklandas wrote:In my opinion, I think the mesh backing gloves are pretty attractive,

Attractive only goes so far, then you have to play with it...

I think a lot of it will depend on personal preference, just like a lot of things in baseball. Traditionalists will stay with leather, but there are sure to be some that will like the lighter, synthetic materials.

It's the same way with metal bats right now. No bat can hit a ball any harder than another (BESR rating) but people each have their own preference towards different makers and models.

Furthermore, a day might come when synthetic materials prove to be stronger and more cost efficient than leather.

I like the idea of youth gloves being lighter and more flexible. Materials like Kevlar, pig skin and fabric do this well.

But these materials on adult size gloves I hope are a passing phase in baseball glove manufacturing.

Although they sell, I don't fell good selling them.

Getting a good kids glove for preteens is difficult. They seem to either be too stiff for the child to close or too thin to protect their hands. My boys have gone through so many different gloves looking for something which will work.

Frustrating for the kids, who don't understand that some of the problems they're having are actually "equipment failures," not skill or technique problems.

robin_buckeye wrote:Getting a good kids glove for preteens is difficult. They seem to either be too stiff for the child to close or too thin to protect their hands. My boys have gone through so many different gloves looking for something which will work.

Frustrating for the kids, who don't understand that some of the problems they're having are actually "equipment failures," not skill or technique problems.

I agree. There have been some series by Easton and Rawlings (among others) that are a "go between" from kids gloves and quality adult gloves. The gloves are made of quality materials and from good designs.

But this segment could be bigger.

robin_buckeye wrote:Getting a good kids glove for preteens is difficult.

I have found that the Rawlings GG Pro Taper is one of the best series of gloves for this age group. My 12U son used the 11.25" mod trap as an all purpose fielding glove last season, and the 32" catcher mitt significantly. He went with the 32.5" adult size CM only when he had to catch the widlest pitchers. Sort of the functional equivalent of the 42" knuckle ball CM they used to catch Hoyt Wilhelm back in the glory days of Oriole baseball. Anyways, I have got him an 11" mod I Pro Taper to break in this year for use as a middle infield glove. The GG series has a nice range of patterns and good leather for the price.