The Sierra Romero Heart of Hide ® Fastpitch Glove | What Should You Know?

For a professional basketball player, the pinnacle of your self-marketing career is getting your own shoe. For a football star the summit might be getting your own line of clothes. But for a softball player the ultimate honor has to be getting your own signature glove. And when a lady receives that honor from one of the most heralded glove companies of all time, it’s safe to say she’s made an impact on the game. 

This situation above is just where Sierra Romero has found herself. Rawlings, a giant of the softball and baseball glove market, crafted Sierra her very own fastpitch glove that launched in the spring of 2023. To learn more about the player, design and inspiration behind Sierra’s signature Heart of the Hide, please keep reading…

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Who is Sierra Romero?

Sierra Romero is a professional fastpitch player and personality who has been in fastpitch softball’s limelight for the past decade. Although she hails from Murrieta, CA she made the University of Michigan her college choice. It didn’t take long for her to make an impact with the Wolverine softball team as she was a second team All American as a freshman in 2013 and then was named a first team All American at the culmination of her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. These two stats say about everything you need to know about her performance at the plate during her seasons in Ann Arbor: She hit 82 career bombs and got on base at a .586 clip. Throughout her collegiate career she played in the middle on the infield handling both the shortstop and second base duties during her time there. By the end of her college career she had worked herself to become a stalwart defender.

Right after graduating from Michigan in 2016 she was drafted second overall by the USSSA Pride of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) League. She has also gone on to coach collegiately and has recently competed in the new Athlete’s Unlimited fastpitch circuit.

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How is Sierra Romero’s Glove Built?

Rawlings built Sierra’s glove with their Heart of the Hide fastpitch design. When they build a Heart of the Hide for a baseball glove, Rawlings uses a stiff steerhide leather to craft the glove. The result is usually a glove that requires nearly 60% of the break-in process to be completed by the player. Rawlings tweaks the design when craftingHeart of the Hides for fastpitch players. They use a full-grain leather that is a tad bit softer and thus a little easier to break in. Sierra says that she breaks it into game ready shape in a week. Go to the 2:25 mark in the video below to hear her comments on the quickness of this glove's softening process:

In addition to using material that benefits the fastpitch athlete, the glove is a perfect combination of subtleness and bravado. The shell leather will be a traditional tan color and that provides a perfect canvas for the pops of swagger that Sierra added to it. The wrist patch comes with the classic Rawlings red color, but the script contained within the patch is made with gold stitching. 

From here the details are all of the can’t-miss variety. The binding around the heel and hand slot are straight gold. And the hand sewn welting on the pinky and thumb of the glove are as classy a feature as you can find on a softball glove these days.

What Inspired Rawlings To Craft Sierra’s Signature Glove?

The past decade has seen fastpitch softball explode in popularity, especially at the collegiate level. Each year we see the women’s college softball world series dominate the highlight reels of our favorite sports channels. Never before have there been so many athletes for a glove company to choose from when it comes to crafting a signature glove.

We asked Lindsey Naber, Senior Director of Brand Marketing, what made Rawlings pursue Sierra Romero over other fastpitch athletes for the building of a signature glove. She responded by saying that “[Sierra] was on our radar as a high-achieving collegiate softball player while at Michigan where she set numerous records.” Mentioning Sierra's participation in the Athlete’s Unlimited softball league, Lindsey also commented that Sierra’s eagerness to stay connected to the sport in her post-college career made it easy for Rawlings to invite her to become a part of Rawlings' Softball Advisory Staff. 

Of all that Lindsey said about bringing Sierra to the Rawlings team, what excited JustGloves the most was hearing that “[Sierra] has a lot of creative ideas on softball products…so we’ve been listening and incorporating her feedback!” We’re pretty eager to see what Rawlings and Sierra Romero cook up when her second generation Rawlings Gamer is built!

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We hope that we've enlightened you a bit more on the Sierra Romero's signature Heart of the Hide glove. If you need help making a purchase or just want to talk softball gloves with one of our Glove Experts please call us at 866-321-4568. But if you're not feeling up to a phone call, feel free to LIVE CHAT with an Expert right now as well!