How often do professinal players get new gloves?
I guess this might be different for different players and positions.
I would think a professional player gets a glove anytime he wants. He just calls up the company he’s affiliated with and says “Send me a glove.”
Just about all of them have contracts with companies to get them.
That said, some players will use the same glove as long as they can. I would think that catchers probably go through more gloves than anyone else.
I was thinking of my ball playing days. I never wanted a new glove. I would get used to one and want to use it. You could have paid me to use a new glove and I would have said no. I don’t think a free glove would be a consideration for a player.
A nice new endorsement might be though.
It depends on the player. There was an article that Toshiro Shinjo has used the same glove almost his entire career; when something goes wrong, he sends it out to be repaired.
I’d suspect that the players would rather stick with a glove until they are forced to change it. A new glove takes time to break in.
I remember reading how baseball gloves were made in a book about the day in the life of a ballpark (Fenway); the article started out with some famous big-leaguer (forget his name, I assume he was a Red Sock) phoning up Rawlings and saying something like “Yeah, can you send me another glove? This one’s going soft.”
So, I guess it would depend. Some people like stiffer gloves.
However, there seems to be a limit in some cases. There was an article in Sports Illustrated about baseball gloves that said one player used too many gloves; he ran out on his endorsement for the season. He had to go to the department store and buy new gloves off the shelf.
I have looked to Google and can’t find out how long a glove should last for a professional player.
Anybody know?
I have a contact with a major league team. I’ll ask him.
I can tell you right now, though, that it will vary by position. A catcher’s glove likely doesn’t last a year. A pitcher’s glove could last ten.
Here was my guess. From first to go to last:
Cather
1st
3rd, SS, 2nd
Outfield
Pitcher
Thinking further, why would a glove ever become “overused”? A gole breaks in, but does use destroy it?
gole = glove
Eventually a baseball glove is going to have its webbing broken too frequently or the padding inside of it is going to be worn down.
You could opt to repair it, but sometimes it is easier just to buy a new one.
Newer baseball gloves are very easy to break in as very soft leather is used and it’s already oiled pretty well.
So how long does a pro use his glove?