Dustin Pedroia gave a lot to the game of baseball. He held down second base at the most historic venue in professional baseball for over a decade. He introduced us all to the term “laser show”. He showed us that in some cases grit and hardwork will outweigh smoothness and talent. And lastly, he gave Wilson and the baseball glove community a transcendent design of glove that has allowed legions of players to start using the A2000 series earlier in their career.
The Story Behind The DP15:
Before he was a 4x All-Star, AL MVP, 2x World Series Champion, and a 4x Gold Glove winner, Michael Markovich from Wilson described Pedroia as a “scrappy shortstop” at Arizona State University (ASU) that refused to wear a Wilson glove even though ASU Baseball had a contract with Wilson Sporting Goods. At that point in his baseball career, he had used the same glove since he was 10 years old (he called it the “Witch”). If one were to refuse wearing a brand new Wilson A2000 baseball glove that they received for free, many folks would be inclined to think that individual is being difficult for the sake or being difficult or maybe even ungrateful. However, neither was the case with Dustin.
“Pedey” stood only 5 feet and 9 inches and his hand was also small. Plus, his glove from when he was 10 years old had a couple of unique features that he loved:
- The laces on Dustin’s glove were extra long. When he was out in the field, he loved rattling his wrist back and forth so that the glove’s longer laces would make a clicking noise on the leather of the glove.
- His childhood glove had no heel pad in it. He actually enjoyed this as he felt that it improved his feel when handling ground balls on that part of the glove.
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He held no ill-will towards Wilson gloves during his time at ASU. He was just an infielder that knew the positive impact of having the correct gear while playing.
After a standout career at ASU, Pedroia was drafted in the fourth round by Boston and moved quickly through their minor league system. Early on in his pro career, the “Witch” fell into disrepair. And Wilson seized the opporunity. They sent their Glove Guru, Shigeaki Aso, to meet with Dustin. Aso took pictures of Pedroia’s glove, measured Dustin’s hand and said a new glove would be made in a couple of weeks. The new glove arrived to Pedey within the promised time and Aso had built it perfectly to Pedroia’s specs. This design was given the name “DP15” (Dustin Pedroia #15).
Finally, the Witch could be laid to rest and the DP15 was being born.
The Fit:
As we gently outlined above, there are three aspects to DP15 gloves that set them apart from other Wilson glove designs:
- The Snug Fitting – The wrist lacing of this glove is cinched to its tightest setting right when the glove is pulled from the box. As well, the finger stalls have been shortened and narrowed.
- Long Laces – Instead of trimming off the extra length on the laces. The Wilson glove technicians, leave the laces long. You’ll especially notice the long laces off of the tips of the thumb and pinky.
- Thin Heel Pad – The heel pad of a DP15 glove is thinned-out. This allows for more feel for that section of the hand while handling ground balls and it also improve break-in time.
The Benefit:
Wilson released the DP15 gloves to the market over a decade ago and the gloves were received well. With these gloves featuring a snug fitting, younger players no longer had to wait to start using an A2000. Ten year old players that might have waited till they were 13 or 14 years old to use an A2000 were now using these DP15 gloves and experiencing success in the field.
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Furthermore, the DP15 style of glove was adopted into Wilson’s pattern nomenclature. When someone saw a DP15 model, they knew that they were dealing with a glove that was 11.5 inches, featured an I-Web and had the snug fitting described above.
However, Wilson didn’t just stop at the DP15 pattern. A handful of years later, they had a number of A2000 gloves built that featured what they called the “Pedroia Fit”. These Pedroia Fit gloves and mitts still exist to this day and they provide variety for young players that are searching for a snugger A2000. You’ll find Pedroia Fit gloves and mitts available in shorter 11 inch and 11.25 inch lengths and you can even find a Pedroia Fit catcher’s mitt built for young players!
Watch and learn about the benefits of the Pedroia Fit gloves and mitts in the Wilson tech video below:
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Wilson DP15’s have become a staple on the market now. They are terrific for any younger or smaller player looking to still use an elite glove. They will be easier to break-in and provide better controlfor a young player. Do you have any questions about these models? If you do, our Glove Experts are available via telephone at 866-321-4568, email at [email protected], or you can click here to live chat. Don’t forget, with our customer service, we’ll be here for you from click to catch!
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: HOW
