Thursday, October 15, 2009

Sporting Life - The Perfect Baseball Glove

By Joseph Archibald

In baseball, gloves are one of the things that are essential to the player. It even becomes a very personal item. Because of this, a glove should be chosen with care and attention. It is not enough that the glove is nice and cool to look at. It is also expected to appear as though its an extension of the hand. This truth is though it can be hard to find and may entail a lot of choosing and selecting. With this, choosing the glove that is appropriate for the player will include many considerations.

Not all gloves are like that that is why shopping meticulously, as well as the factors that make a glove for baseball very good, should be remembered. The material of the baseball glove is one factor to consider. Leather or synthetic materials are the materials for gloves. The ability of the leather gloves to fit to the hand of a player, and its durability and softness are the reasons why more players pick them.

1. Material: There are two kinds of material for the gloves: synthetic and leather. Most players choose the leather because of its durability and softness. It also conforms easily to the hand of the player. Further more, there are two types of leather gloves: top-grain cowhide and full leather. Most players choose the top-grain cowhide. This is because top-grain cowhide is considered the standard glove for the sports. In addition, full leather is not typically used because of its stiffness.

Lacing - A great glove has tight lacing. You can test the tightness of a glove's lacing by trying to move your fingers when you try the glove on for the first time. If you feel as though you have a lot of space to move your fingers, then the glove has a loose lacing. When you have already broken your glove in, this will likely loosen up. A loose lacing from the start will not be good. You would not to wear a glove that keeps on slipping from your hand.

3. Lacing: Choosing the gloves for the player based on lacing evolves one simple idea: it should be nice and fit. The player would always know if the glove fits perfectly to the hand. If it does not fit to the player's hand at the start, it may become loose during the break in. To know that the gloves perfectly fit, the finger stalls should not be wiggled easily even at the start.

This will help these players in the said positions in that they can have more ease in trapping a ball. For pitchers, a glove with closed webbing would help them strategize more and hide their pitches. For middle infielders, the same glove with closed webbing with a solid pocket should be used. This will help them easily grab a ball. Other webbing styles are the six-finger or trap style, I-web, and H-web.

Size - You should also consider the position that you will play when choosing the size of your glove. First basemen and the catchers use almost similar gloves. Short gloves are fit for middle infielders. Long gloves are fit for outfielders.

The webbing that is close is well-liked by pitchers because it can conceal their pitches before they are hurled. The type of webbing that is adaptable and can be used for different purposes is six-finger or trap-style. I-web and H-web are other styles of web that are open.

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