New glove for 12 1/2 year old

[LAS64]

My son is 12 1/2 going into his first year of Babe Ruth ball in the fall. He needs a new glove since he poked a hole in the thumb hole of his old one. He tried some gloves out yesterday at Sports Authority and really liked the Rawlings gold glove GG12xtc. We came home and researched it and see that it is listed as an infielders glove. In little league he has played both infield and outfield as well as pitching. Would this glove not be considered a good choice for a player who will be spending time in both outfield and infield? We would like to buy him a better quality glove however it seems that they tend to become position specific as you move up in quality/price.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[brian920]

where in the infield does he play? if he plays third base then a 11.75 or 12 could work for either. for middle infield, I wouldprobably get two gloves, one for outfield and one for infield, but I'm sure you could get away with an 11.5 or 11.75. Here are some 11.75 and 12 inch high quality gloves:

11.75 Mizuno Classic Pro


11.75 Rawlings Heart of the Hide


11.75 Rawlings Heart of the Hide

[LAS64]

Thanks for the input Brian... 2nd base has been his primary infield position and where he is most comfortable in the past; however, this past spring he played a lot of 3rd also because he has a better arm than most they were playing there. Normally I would have him shy away from a 12 inch glove since most look big on his hand, but this particular rawlings did not & he felt very comfortable with it. I am just a little concerned the pocket might be a little too deep and geared towards infield for when he does play in the outfield, which is usually 2 to 3 innings per game. We would prefer not to invest in 2 gloves at this point if we can avoid it.

[brian920]

I am an infielder who is making the conversion to the outfield too. I play middle infield and 3rd so I usually use an 11.25 or 11.5, a little small for what I want in the outfield. I've never dropped a fly ball in the outfield because of the shallower pocket of my infield glove, but I've come close. I prefer a 12.5 for the outfield and am working on getting one, but at 12 years old an all around glove shouldn't be a problem. If he's playing 2nd, 3rd, and OF, I would look at an 11.5 or 11.75, and break it in somewhere in between an infield and outfield glove. Not too shallow but not too deep.

That Gold Glove should be good, but even better at 11.75 or 11.5. Whatever feels right.

[LAS64]

I'll probably take him to the pro shop at the batting cages so we can talk to them about the pros and cons as he tries on the gloves. If he hadn't worn a hole in his glove I'd probably wait a little longer to see where he ends up playing on the big field; we may still do that if he can deal with it a little longer. Thanks again for you help Brian...

[haganjp]

I just picked up the 11.75" Rawlings Heart-of-the-Hide glove shown in the picture above (I-web design) from Eastbay.com for about $120. They are currently selling it for $150 with free shipping (I got an additional 30% discount due to a promotion they were running).

http://www.eastbay.com/product/model...=BSBGLVPRTPSAL

I've had it since Friday. It actually seems larger than an 11.75", at least based on comparisons with my son's 11.5" Nokona and another Rawlings 11.75". Maybe just an illusion. Overall, the glove is fine, although I had to tighten the laces in the I-webbing to suit my own preference. The glove breaks in easily, almost too easily for my taste, but the boys on my son's 11-12YO AS team all loved how it felt a day after I received it. Pretty good glove and definitely would recommend for the price. Personally, I prefer the look and feel of my son's Nokona 11.5" Bloodline (although that one cost $265 and took about 3 months to break-in).

Jim

[LAS64]

I just picked up the 11.75" Rawlings Heart-of-the-Hide glove shown in the picture above (I-web design) from Eastbay.com for about $120. They are currently selling it for $150 with free shipping (I got an additional 30% discount due to a promotion they were running).

http://www.eastbay.com/product/model...=BSBGLVPRTPSAL

I've had it since Friday. It actually seems larger than an 11.75", at least based on comparisons with my son's 11.5" Nokona and another Rawlings 11.75". Maybe just an illusion. Overall, the glove is fine, although I had to tighten the laces in the I-webbing to suit my own preference. The glove breaks in easily, almost too easily for my taste, but the boys on my son's 11-12YO AS team all loved how it felt a day after I received it. Pretty good glove and definitely would recommend for the price. Personally, I prefer the look and feel of my son's Nokona 11.5" Bloodline (although that one cost $265 and took about 3 months to break-in).

Jim

Thanks haganjp. If it feels bigger than an 11.75" we would probably stay away from that one. The 12" Gold Glove series model my son tried felt smaller than it's listed size and doesn't hang on his hand. He has long hands but has a thin build (5' 6" but only 100lbs). We're definitely going to check it out again, hopefully someplace that has some more Rawlings GG or HOTH series gloves to try. He's been in camp all week so we haven't had the opportunity to get anyplace yet.

[Drill]

Now break down and get him a good outfielders glove to give him a mental edge.


drill

[LAS64]

A second glove is not in the budget and will have to wait for now... with the switch to Babe Ruth he already needs a new senior league bat as well as metal cleats. The glove was supposed to wait until winter, although the more I research them the more I see the benefit of a position specific glove.

[randy]

Position specific at age 12 or 13? Not really. 11.5-11.75 would work for any spot, esp. if he may be playing 2b, 3b and OF. The gold glove is a good choice-pretty good quality at a decent price, and put that towards cleats and bat.
I would suggest you check out Kelley-great gloves and great customer service. Check out their "Pro Line". My son's teammate has one-5 yrs old and at least one more still in it.

[LAS64]

Position specific at age 12 or 13? Not really. 11.5-11.75 would work for any spot, esp. if he may be playing 2b, 3b and OF. The gold glove is a good choice-pretty good quality at a decent price, and put that towards cleats and bat.
I would suggest you check out Kelley-great gloves and great customer service. Check out their "Pro Line". My son's teammate has one-5 yrs old and at least one more still in it.

Thanks Randy, that has been our thinking also...

[escort1991]

LAS, take a look at Vinci Pro also. They make very good gloves in all of their series. They stand behind their products and have the best customer service I have ever witnessed.

PM me if you need more information.

[baseballdad]

My son got the Rawlings gold glove at the beginning of 2008 LL season. It breaks in easy but gets too floppy. Yesterday he showed me how the leather in the finger slots have torn and is falling apart. He has played alot but I think a glove should hold its form and last longer than that.

[Baseball gLove]

SSK are nice gloves and have a friend that will get them to me for about $100 to $150. Definitely cheaper than the GG.

[LAS64]

My son got the Rawlings gold glove at the beginning of 2008 LL season. It breaks in easy but gets too floppy. Yesterday he showed me how the leather in the finger slots have torn and is falling apart. He has played alot but I think a glove should hold its form and last longer than that.

That is interesting to hear baseballdad because it is a Rawlings glove we are replacing due to the inside of the thumb slot being all torn up...

Thanks everyone for your help; he ended up picking out a Louisville Slugger Omaha Pro 11.75" glove (OX1175). After trying many gloves this one just felt right to him... now he needs to break it in before fall ball starts next month.

[escort1991]

That is interesting to hear baseballdad because it is a Rawlings glove we are replacing due to the inside of the thumb slot being all torn up...

Thanks everyone for your help; he ended up picking out a Louisville Slugger Omaha Pro 11.75" glove (OX1175). After trying many gloves this one just felt right to him... now he needs to break it in before fall ball starts next month.

Shouldn't be too difficult to break in by fall ball. It comes pretreated from the factory, so it's probably 30% of the way there already.

[JRH11]

I highly recommend the Rawlings Gold Glove Series......Great glove at a great price......Very easy to break in.

[Baseball gLove]

I highly recommend the Rawlings Gold Glove Series......Great glove at a great price......Very easy to break in.

Gold Glove about $200. Better quality SSK $125 -$150. The SSK took less time to break in than the Gold Glove. The Wilson ProPreferred was easier to break in but those are almost $300. My son has all of the above in his bag plus a DASexy by Novack

[CircleChange11]

This is what my son is asking from us for Christmas ...



Some kids ask for video games and consoles, others ask for baseball equipment. He tried it on at Dick's and tears were falling as we left (he knew ahead of time we were just looking, so he wasn't angry ... just heart-broken). He was like a child leaving a pet store after locking eyes with the world's cutest puppy.

This is my ride (left-hander)



My advice would be to go for quality. If you're anything like us, you get a ton of use out of it and is a better "value" than say, other forms of entertainment.

I'm gonna check out the SSK based on the above recommendation. Where's the best place to look for SSK ... haven't seen them around for awhile.

[Ursa Major]

LAS, here's a picture of what I understand that you bought:

Seems like a pretty good choice to me.

The key thing is to prep it properly so that it will work for what you need. I'd work it up as an infielder's glove, as it will be fine for outfield work as well. The focus should be on having a wide but responsive pocket to trap most ground balls but that will retain nasty short-hopped balls taken on the backhand.

I've marked in red where I think any glove goop should go to help it hinge at the proper points. Also, I've marked in white where I think a small amount of goop should go and where some creasing should be added to give a little curve to the finger tips and a bit of crease at the base of the little finger to curve that finger in, to help keep balls from popping out. (If you've seen Brooks Robinson's glove in the HOF, you'll know what I mean -- as shown here:


If you go to SpecializedBaseballCamps.com and check out their infielding video on "Mastering Infield Play", Coach Stubbs talks at length about the the proper shape of an infield glove. It needs to be open and relatively flat -- if it just has one hinge in the middle, you'll have a lot of balls either pop out or be tough to find and throw with your throwing hand.

[CircleChange11]

The best fielder I have ever played with a 3B/IF from Victorville, CA (if memory serves me right).

This dude was nuts. At practice he would rarely use a glove and catch everything bare-handed (to keep his hands 'soft', he said) or block it with his chest.

I bring him up because he would always sit on his glove to keep it flat/open, so it looked more like a shovel than it did a glove. In the field, he didn't so much "catch" the ball as he did "redirect it to his throwing hand". It was pretty cool to see.

[Drill]

The best fielder I have ever played with a 3B/IF from Victorville, CA (if memory serves me right).

This dude was nuts. At practice he would rarely use a glove and catch everything bare-handed (to keep his hands 'soft', he said) or block it with his chest.

I bring him up because he would always sit on his glove to keep it flat/open, so it looked more like a shovel than it did a glove. In the field, he didn't so much "catch" the ball as he did "redirect it to his throwing hand". It was pretty cool to see.

Get him one of those glove with no pocket made for practice for exactly that purpose.

He will thank you when he is older.


IMHO,

drill

[CircleChange11]

We played college together in 1993. I haven't seen him since. I'd bet money he is unemployed, still livig at home, surfing or riding buggies in the dunes all day, and is happier than most everyone else. Fun dude, but strange.

[LAS64]

LAS, here's a picture of what I understand that you bought:

Seems like a pretty good choice to me.

The key thing is to prep it properly so that it will work for what you need. I'd work it up as an infielder's glove, as it will be fine for outfield work as well. The focus should be on having a wide but responsive pocket to trap most ground balls but that will retain nasty short-hopped balls taken on the backhand.

I've marked in red where I think any glove goop should go to help it hinge at the proper points. Also, I've marked in white where I think a small amount of goop should go and where some creasing should be added to give a little curve to the finger tips and a bit of crease at the base of the little finger to curve that finger in, to help keep balls from popping out. (If you've seen Brooks Robinson's glove in the HOF, you'll know what I mean -- as shown here:


If you go to SpecializedBaseballCamps.com and check out their infielding video on "Mastering Infield Play", Coach Stubbs talks at length about the the proper shape of an infield glove. It needs to be open and relatively flat -- if it just has one hinge in the middle, you'll have a lot of balls either pop out or be tough to find and throw with your throwing hand.

Thanks Ursa Major, that is the glove. He is thrilled with it and it seems to be perfect for him. We will take your advice on breaking it in, that is along the lines of what we were thinking but weren't exactly sure of how to go about it. We haven't added any goop to it yet, any advice on the best product to use for this?

[baseballdad]

I really like the looks of the open pocket style of the 11.75 Mizuno Classic Pro for replacement infield glove for my 11 year old son- based on the picture shown above. Anybody use it?