I didn't want to hijack fastpitchparent03's post, but Eric's pictures motivated me to delve a little further into glove selection. I have worked with over 200 fastpitch catchers and watched a good many more over the years. So I have seen a few catcher's gloves to boot. Below is the picture from another thread in this forum. This glove is typical of a good many gloves on the market that I referred to as shallow pocket mitts. You can see the outline of the catcher's fingers through the palm which tends to indicate thinner palm padding. (Within highlighted area) This can provide the catcher with a good "feel" for the ball and make it easier for the glove to close. The down side is that faster pitches will be painful and the lack of padding tends to augment a "trampoline effect." That is, pitches caught outside of the pocket will bounce out... much like throwing the ball against a hard floor or wall. I have seen this type with thinner palm padding, softer leather and a defined pinkie or thumb pad that is flat (Level) with the palm actually crease and fold over backwards (Note red line) as the glove is broke in and used. I have seen 2 examples of one brand not last an entire season before the thumb side was bending over on most every pitch. Most tend to be good for a season and a few may last longer.
Vinci (Pictured below) is one offering of deep pocket mitts. You cannot see finger outlines in the palm due to the increased padding thickness. Both the thumb side a finger side curl up away from the palm making it look more like a bowl. The downside for this glove is that it can be more challenging for smaller hands to close (Although I do have a nine year old using a Vinci 22 series) There may be a reduced "feel" for the ball in the glove as well. This is most common while breaking this type of glove in. Deep pocket mitts "play' a bit smaller. a 33" may feel more like a 32". The upside is that the increase in palm padding means better hand protection... Especially thumb and palm. Typically an inner glove or thumb guard is not necessary. The deep pocket means that the ball is less like to bounce out. Especially on out of pocket catches when the ball will suffer the "trampoline effect." This type of glove will not crease at the pinkie or thumb pads and will last a good many seasons.
When I first started offering Vinci products locally, we gave a JCV-33VM to a catcher who was a senior catching the hardest throwing pitcher in Kansas City at the time. She had tried 3 other gloves and had been bruising her hand with all of them. She tested it for three weeks for us and refused to return it!
It's important to consider the age of your catcher and the level of competition they intend to compete at and select their glove accordingly.
Vinci (Pictured below) is one offering of deep pocket mitts. You cannot see finger outlines in the palm due to the increased padding thickness. Both the thumb side a finger side curl up away from the palm making it look more like a bowl. The downside for this glove is that it can be more challenging for smaller hands to close (Although I do have a nine year old using a Vinci 22 series) There may be a reduced "feel" for the ball in the glove as well. This is most common while breaking this type of glove in. Deep pocket mitts "play' a bit smaller. a 33" may feel more like a 32". The upside is that the increase in palm padding means better hand protection... Especially thumb and palm. Typically an inner glove or thumb guard is not necessary. The deep pocket means that the ball is less like to bounce out. Especially on out of pocket catches when the ball will suffer the "trampoline effect." This type of glove will not crease at the pinkie or thumb pads and will last a good many seasons.
When I first started offering Vinci products locally, we gave a JCV-33VM to a catcher who was a senior catching the hardest throwing pitcher in Kansas City at the time. She had tried 3 other gloves and had been bruising her hand with all of them. She tested it for three weeks for us and refused to return it!
It's important to consider the age of your catcher and the level of competition they intend to compete at and select their glove accordingly.
