How to Find the Perfect Glove

It fits like a glove. We’ve all heard the saying before, but it doesn’t totally encapsulate the whole story. In reality, it should be that it fits like the perfect glove. But finding the perfect glove for baseball or softball is a challenging task. With hundreds of different baseball and softball gloves available on the market, how can you know which glove is right for you or the player in your life?

Types of Gloves

For starters, it’s essential to know what kind of glove you are looking to buy. There are six primary types of baseball gloves and softball gloves.

• Infield Gloves
• Outfield Gloves
• Pitchers Gloves
• Utility Gloves
• First Base Mitts
• Catcher’s Mitts

Each of these gloves/mitts are designed to provide advantages to their specific positions. For example, catcher’s mitts have more padding to protect players’ hands, first base mitts are shaped with a rounded edge to help players scoop balls in the dirt, and pitcher’s gloves have closed web types shield their grip from onlooking hitters. We won’t get into all of the pros and cons of each glove type, but if you are interested, we highly recommend that you look at our Glove Buying Guide. It is packed with premium information for those looking to purchase their next glove.

Glove Coach

The best glove shopping tool on the planet is the Glove Coach at JustGloves. We automated our knowledge base to simplify the glove shopping experience. You will receive a full selection of gloves that match your desired criteria through a short series of prompts. It takes less than a minute and makes shopping for gloves way easier. If you are looking to give it a shot, get started below!

Start the Glove Coach Now

Glove Sizing

Once you have narrowed down your search to a specific type of baseball glove or softball glove, you will want to determine the size of glove you need. The older your player is, the more likely they are to have a preference on glove sizing. While there are recommendations based on age, height, and weight, we always recommend that players play with the glove size they are most comfortable with. After all, your glove on the diamond is an extension of your hand. The more you feel at ease with it, the better you will play.

We have created a glove sizing chart for younger players to help you find the right size glove for your player. Feel free to refer to the chart below for general guidance while shopping.

Glove Fit

The next step to finding the perfect glove is finding the perfect fitting glove. Like we referred to in the opening, not all gloves will fit your hand or your player’s hand correctly. Glove manufacturers have recently become more conscious about creating gloves to better serve the players using them. 

Youth gloves are built with smaller wrist openings and shorter finger stalls. This allows players to effortlessly range left and right as they make plays. But youth gloves aren’t the only ones to offer a more snug fit. Recently, big glove brands like Wilson and Rawlings have begun to provide tighter-fitting premium gloves like the Heart of the Hides and A2000s. 

A few tips to keep in mind when shopping for a new glove. The standard baseball glove is built to comfortably fit a high school/adult male’s hand. A fastpitch softball glove is designed to provide a female’s hand. And a slow pitch softball glove will be the biggest of all the gloves as it is made to fit an adult male’s hand.

Glove Pricing

Working within your budget is another element to finding the right glove. Those with a larger budget to purchase a new glove can freely shop around JustGloves. Most of our top-end gloves and mitts will range somewhere between $150 and $300. Parents and players that are looking for a less expensive glove should browse our closeout gloves. These are often the best glove deals on the market, with many of the closeouts being gloves for less than $100. 

How to Select a Glove

We have covered all of the primary elements to finding the perfect glove for you or your player. The final step in the process comes down to making your decision. People often ask us, how do I select my glove? It may feel daunting, but it's actually relatively painless if you are shopping online at JustGloves. We offer free, fast shipping and returns on every purchase. This allows our consumers to purchase multiple gloves, receive them, and which one they want to keep. 

We also have a Glove Assurance Program available at checkout. Glove Assurance allows you to actually play with your glove for 100 days before deciding if you want to keep your brand-new glove. 

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So take the paralyzation out of shopping for a glove by choosing JustGloves. Use all of the knowledge you have learned here today and apply it to your next glove purchase! If you are still looking for additional guidance, contact our team of Glove Experts now. They are available via phone, email, or even LIVE CHAT. It’s just another way that we are with you from Click to Catch!