by oldreliable » August 23rd, 2008, 11:13 pm
Hi guys,
I lived in Japan for two years and am probably moving back next year. The Rawlings selection over there was always different-looking from what you guys got to see here. They had different color schemes as I remember, some with sort of a brick-red color, some with a honey-yellowish color, and some with a flat black color. The leather was decent, but it was not top quality in my opinion. The leather almost had a nubuck feel. A lot of the gloves there were flashier, too.
In Japan, at least around Tokyo, adult baseball is almost always played with a smaller dimpled hard rubber ball. They call it Nanshiki. I can't remember that well, but I think that some of the different Rawlings models which I saw were for Nanshiki players. I remember Mizuno having models for these leagues.
And when I move back to Japan, you can all hit me with PayPal, and your Japanese Rawlings will be on their way to your doorsteps. How's that for service?
Also, I notice only one logo on the back side of the gloves. There is a rule in Japan that the high school baseball players playing in the nationally televised tournaments are only allowed to use gloves with only one visible logo on them. This rule is to protect the kids from having the sporting goods companies exploit them by using them as advertising billboards. I wonder if this has anything to do with these gloves. I don't know--I'm just pondering.
I'll qualify all of this by saying that I'm no Rawlings expert by any means--I guess I'm just thinking out loud before bed. And I hate to admit this, but I'm really digging that red one. I can't believe it.
Love,
OldReliable