# MLB: Oven mitts. Is the size regulated? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [October 4, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-oven-mitts-is-the-size-regulated/841274 "2019-10-04T17:55:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-oven-mitts-is-the-size-regulated/841274/1 "2019-10-04T17:55:03Z")
Base runners are now using oven mitts to protect their paws when running the bases. A good idea. And some of them add a few inches to their reach. Just like a defensive player, the glove is longer than the fingers. However, is there a size limit for the oven mitt? Could a base stealer have an oven mitt a couple feet long? Baseball is a game of inches. Thank you folks for your replies. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-oven-mitts-is-the-size-regulated/841274/2 "2019-10-04T18:02:04Z")
This is a PDF of the 2019 MLB Official Rules: [https://content.mlb.com/documents/2/2/4/305750224/2019\_Official\_Baseball\_Rules\_FINAL\_.pdf](https://content.mlb.com/documents/2/2/4/305750224/2019_Official_Baseball_Rules_FINAL_.pdf) They are called “sliding gloves.” I didn’t see anything in there at all regarding sliding gloves. I’d imagine that, like pretty much everything else that’s not codified in the rules, it’s umpire’s discretion. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-oven-mitts-is-the-size-regulated/841274/3 "2019-10-04T18:24:17Z")
“Things that make a mockery of the game”, like sending a little person up as a pinch batter, can be called by the umpire. If a runner dons a 90 foot long sliding glove, even if there’s no specific rule against it, would be called under the mockery rule, I think. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-oven-mitts-is-the-size-regulated/841274/4 "2019-10-04T18:32:22Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > This is a PDF of the 2019 MLB Official Rules: [https://content.mlb.com/documents/2/2/4/305750224/2019\_Official\_Baseball\_Rules\_FINAL\_.pdf](https://content.mlb.com/documents/2/2/4/305750224/2019_Official_Baseball_Rules_FINAL_.pdf) > > They are called “sliding gloves.” I didn’t see anything in there at all regarding sliding gloves. I’d imagine that, like pretty much everything else that’s not codified in the rules, it’s umpire’s discretion. I can’t find a rule in there that says players can’t wear their fielding mitt while running the bases, or what constitutes touching a base. It’s a horribly organized document so all that may be in there somewhere, but it’s very poor at defining some of the terms it uses. AS **DCnDC** and\*\* kayaker\*\* pointed out, it’s up to the umpire. If a runner objects to the umpire’s ruling on his glove he’ll have to find the rule that permits it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-oven-mitts-is-the-size-regulated/841274/5 "2019-10-04T18:37:41Z")
I’m picturing a base runner with one of those huge foam fingers on one hand, using that to reach for a base. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-oven-mitts-is-the-size-regulated/841274/6 "2019-10-04T18:51:40Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > “Things that make a mockery of the game”, like sending a little person up as a pinch batter, can be called by the umpire. If a runner dons a 90 foot long sliding glove, even if there’s no specific rule against it, would be called under the mockery rule, I think. The Official Rules’ technical statement on this is rule 8.01(c): “Each umpire has authority to rule on any point not specifically covered in these rules.” ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2019, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-oven-mitts-is-the-size-regulated/841274/7 "2019-10-05T03:09:10Z")
If this is becoming a huge concern I’m sure MLB will address it this off-season. No one is running the bases with a 90 foot glove or a foam finger! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk