Gloves or mitts are something that every player has to get their hand dirty. If you’re just starting out with your baseball career, this question may first pop up in your mind: “What size baseball glove do I need.”
Being a coach, I often heard this question from my trainee players. So, I thought of wrapping up this post to help you and other aspiring baseball players.
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Once limited to only an adult sport, baseball has now become a versatile and accessible sport for all ages of players.
And to match diverse demographic players’ needs, there are now different sizes of baseball gloves, from 7 years to men’s sizes. You can even find several designs and combinations based on different leagues.
In this discussion, you can learn all information about gloves and mitts depending on the player’s size, age, and position, enough to help you find the right gear.
Baseball Gloves Breakdown
Knowing how to measure a baseball glove is essential to buying the right size that suits your hand. But before that, you must get an idea of the baseball glove structure.
Baseball gloves have an inside and outside portion. If starting from inside, you’ll find the following sections-
Bridge: The added leather part acts like a bridge between the index and thumb fingers.
Web: It’s the lower portion of the bridge that connects the index and the thumb fingers, from top to bottom. Glove webs help you flexibly move your fingers to control the ball when you catch it, usually made of leather.
Pocket/Palm: The section where balls usually touch after catching.
Heel Pad: Because of the heel pad support, you don’t get a massive shock on your hand while fielding or catching balls. It’s the lower section under the pocket, covered with cross stitch lines.
Fingers: The 5 moveable parts to enter your fingers.
Wrist Closure: After entering the hand, you can use this closure to tighten the glove’s opening. It helps you avoid falling off the glove while playing.
How to Size a Baseball Glove for a Kid, Teenage or Adult Player?
The size of all baseball fielders’ gloves and catcher’s mitts are measured in inches. Depending on the age category and fielder position, a glove can be 8-34 inches long.
For example, the usual glove size of high school baseball players is 12.5-inch. The same goes for MLB gloves.
However, this is not the specific answer you’re looking for. Then exactly what size baseball glove do I need for practice or a real match? To find the answer, you need to go through the below steps.
Step 1: Deciding Your Playing Position
In baseball, players have to put on position-specific gloves. That means each glove is specified and designed for a particular fielder position.
Even some fielders are biased to wear their gloves depending on the position on the baseball field.
The glove size infielders use is different from the one pitchers wear. Similarly, a first baseman has different size criteria for a glove than a catcher.
So, before choosing your baseball glove type, determine which one position you’ll be ruling.
“For younger baseball players, deciding the primary playing position isn’t mandatory as they explore at this age. But as they fix the roleplay, they should curtail the size of the glove to that position.”
Step 2: Choosing Glove Type Based on Position
The baseball encyclopedia is full of differentiation factors. Just like the player position determines the size of the glove, it also decides what type of baseball glove you should use.
The web is the key feature that differentiates one glove from another, considering the player’s position. Based on the web design, the size of the glove or mitt will vary.
A web style used in a pitcher’s glove differs from that used by catchers or first basemen.
Step 3: Measure Your Hand Size
The major tasks are done. Now figure out the exact size of your hand’s width and length. Use a measuring tape or scale to get the number.
While measuring, make sure to get an accurate mapping from the tip of your index finger to the bottom of your palm (where your palm and wrist joints are.)
Then measure the width of your index, middle, ring, and pinky finger, keeping them side-by-side. That’s how to size a baseball glove for a kidor adult.
“Baseball glove’s web divides the thumb finger from the other four fingers. Having the measurements will allow you to get a perfect fitting glove or mitt.”
Step 4: Pick Your Gloves Based on Age
Have you ever asked yourself what size baseball glove I need if I don’t know my hand’s size? I did it a lot during my early stage. You can choose your gloves even though you don’t know your hand’s measurements.
It’s been more than 170 years since baseball came into the limelight. And over time, its popularity has spread all over the world.
That’s why these companies follow a basic rule while crafting these leather gloves. And it’s the age of the player. Each category of baseball gloves has its own sizes based on age range.
If you cannot find your hand size or plan to order online, you can still pick the right size glove suitable for your hand.
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These sizes are actually the length measurements from the index finger to the bottom of the heel pad of the glove.
I’ll share the baseball glove size chart by age in the later section of this article.
Baseball Glove Size by Position
“Okay! I can find my glove based on my age but what size baseball glove do I need if I’m an infielder or maybe first baseman?”
Benjamin asked me this a few months back. This little fellow is one of the best infielders on my team, already showing his glory to write his name soon in the Little League season.
Anyway, getting back to my discussion, yes, there are size differences in baseball gloves based on the fielding positions.
Baseball glove brands also offer different manufacturing lines for infielders, outfielders, catchers, pitchers, and first basemen.
Check out the baseball glove size by position in the below chart positions.
Baseball Glove Size Chart Adults
Infielder Glove Size
The infields are the most intensive positions on the baseball field. These players frequently participate in diverse double plays.
Catching the ball and throwing it to other fielders to get the base runner out requires quick finger movement so that the infielder can switch the ball to the throwing hand.
Keeping that in mind, baseball infield gloves are crafted smaller than others. The length and width of the fingers are also comparably tiny.
If you take a closer look at the pocket or palm, the size is also smaller than catchers’ or pitchers’ gloves/mitts. This allows a fastball out after catching.
And If you’re an infielder, you should wear an 11 inch baseball glove. The maximum infield glove size can be up to 12.25-inch.
For this position, I suggest using the Wilson a2000 infield glove. You can find different color variants also.
Outfielder Glove Size
After the catcher and pitcher, the outfield glove is considered the big one. Outfielders are liable to catch most fly balls.
And the fielding position allows the responsible players enough time to prepare before the ball lands.
Therefore, these gloves are made with thicker pads and longer fingers than other gloves. Even the pocket dimension is a little deeper.
Another reason behind their bigger size is it makes it easier to perform sliding or long jump catches.
As a result, players can easily catch and hold the ball. For the outfielders, the glove size is a little bigger, ranging from 12.5-inch to 12.75-inch.
First Baseman Mitt Size
From the shape perspective, the first baseman’s mitt and the catcher’s mitt have some similarities. However, the web design and padding are different.
The first baseman has to perform some rapid actions during fielding. He has to tackle direct shots from the batter. Also, catching balls from both outfielders and infielders is just frequent for this guy.
Their gloves are made with stronger material to make these actions easy for him, especially the finger and the pocket parts. Usually, first baseman gloves come with an open web style.
When it comes to a first baseman, the size of a kid or adult baseball glove starts from 12-inch to and can go up to 13-inch.
Pitcher Glove Size
Among all the baseball gloves and mitts, the ones pitchers wear has less padding. However, the design ensures that pitchers get the maximum comfort.
If talking about the size, it’s relatively bigger than other fielders’ gloves. Pitchers frequently roll the ball in their palms. Therefore, a good space is required.
Unlike others, pitching with comfort is the primary need for this player, whether it’s slow pitch softball or fastball. They do accept so many tosses but mostly from other fielders.
These gloves come with a comfortable design to ensure the pitcher doesn’t get hand fatigued.
And comparing the size of the pitching gloves with others, they are heavy but not as much as a catcher’s mitt. If you want to play as a pitcher, your glove size range should be 11.5-inch to 12.5-inch.
Catcher Mitt Size
Gloves or mitts for catchers have an unlikely design. While all gloves have differentiated finger parts, the catcher mitt has a single slot for all fingers.
Therefore, catching balls with this mitt feels more like using a bag to grasp the target with your hands. The freshers especially feel very uncomfortable with this mitt. But over time, you can adapt to it.
Catcher’s mitts are the thickest gloves in baseball. As the player has to constantly catch the missing shots and thrown balls from other players, this stiffer craftsmanship helps him to prevent injuries.
The only problem with this mitt is you’ve to break in the glove before the match so that the stiffness becomes a little flexible, giving you the ease to move fingers inside.
You’ll see the softball catchers also wear mitts, but those are a bit different in design. Baseball catcher mitts come with a less deep pocket.
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Also, as the softball balls are larger than baseballs, the mitt shaping is followed to match the need. For example, catcher mitts in baseball have relatively thicker side walls than a softball.
Instead of measuring the length from fingertip to heel pad, people measure the catcher mitt width. A baseball catchershould pick his glove length from 32.5-inch to 34-inch. For softball, it can go up to another inch.
Baseball Glove Size Chart by Age
Let’s take a quick glance at the sizing in the below charts.
Youth Baseball Glove Size Chart
Just like players’ position, age is also a baseball glove size deciding factor. Players usually start this game on the American and European continents at 5 years.
Following the trend nowadays, baseball glove manufacturers create gloves, starting from the age of up to 12 years. It’s considering youth baseball.
For 5 year guys, the size range is 9-inch to 10-inch. At the next stage, you can find gloves for 6 to 7 years old players, with glove sizes ranging from 10-inch to 10.5-inch.
If the player’s age ranges from 8 to 10 years, 10.75-inch to 11.5-inch gloves are preferable. And 11-year-old folks should use an 11 inch baseball glove.
Lastly, the recommended baseball glove size for 12 year old players is 12 inches.
But what size baseball glove do I need if I’m a catcher? In terms of catcher gloves, the size range is a bit different.
Youth Baseball Glove Size Chart (Catcher’s Mitt Size)
What’re the Different Types of Baseball Glove Webs?
As mentioned in the baseball glove construction section, there are different types of webs in baseball gloves. Depending on your playing position, this can vary. These are –
I-Web Web
You can witness the I-web in infield gloves. While the web style looks identical to conventional trap webs, there are still similarities. The web design looks just like the “I” letter. That’s where the name came from.
Modified Trapeze Web
This modified trapeze web design is widely used To get better stability. Usually, most MLB pitchers prefer using this web style. However, you can also use this as an infielder.
Unlike conventional trap-designed webs, this one has an additional layer of leather that ensures the highest stability.
Two-Piece Web
If there is a glove webbing that’s frequently used by most professional baseball players, it’s 2 pieces of the web. With its design support, you can get a better grip on the ball as a pitcher.
As the name suggests, there are actually two broad layers of the web connecting to each other for the pitcher’s gripping support. And because of the additional layer, gloves become hefty. Therefore, I don’t recommend using this to younger baseball players.
H-Web
This web is a lot similar to I-web. The core difference is instead of the I shape, it does have an “H” shape.
While I web gloves are used mainly by infielders, H web gloves are preferred by infielders and outfielders.
The good part of this web is that you can see the ball through the web holes, which helps follow players when preparing for fly balls.
“Without the above, there are some more web types available, such as cross web, T web, half moon web, and so on. The names are based on the shape or the pattern of the web.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What size baseball glove for a 7 year old?
For players of 7 years, the adequate baseball glove size can be 10-inch to 10.5-inch. In terms of the catcher’s mitt, the size should be 29.5-inch to 30-inch.
What size baseball glove for a 10 year old?
If a 10 year old player wants to play as the infielder, outfielder, pitcher, or baseman, 10.75-inch to 11.5-inch is the perfect glove size he should choose.
And if the player is preparing to be a catcher, the mitt size should be anywhere between 30-inch to 32-inch.
What size baseball glove for a 5 year old?
For 5 year old players, the adequate glove size is 9-inch to 10-inch, no matter what the fielding position is. It’s also acceptable for below 5 years.
On the contrary, if planning for a catcher mitt, it’s better to get on within a size range of 29.5-inch to 30-inch.
How do you know what size baseball glove you need?
You can decide what size of glove you need based on 3 factors – your age, position, and exactly your hand size. Baseball glove manufacturers size their gloves on the first two criteria.
If, for any reason, your previous glove didn’t match the manufacturer’s listed for your age size, you should measure your hand size first and order accordingly.
Wrapping Up
What size baseball glove do I need? In conclusion, your adequate glove size depends on your fielding position and your age. The glove size of an infielder is different from that of a pitcher. The same is applicable if comparing pitchers’ and catcher’s mitts.
Another size determination factor is your age. You can find the best baseball glovessizing from 5 years to adult age.
Sometimes, the glove size chart shared by the glove brands may not suit you. Measuring your hand’s size before purchasing one is better to get a safe shot.
Check out more information on baseball gloves:
Best Baseball Gloves Under $100 In 2022
How To Break In A Baseball Glove In 5 Minutes?
How To Measure Hand For Baseball Gloves | Best Tips From A Professional
Source: https://t-tees.com
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