Feedback on catcher's mitts

[chrispots]

OK...I'm a glove whore...I still play...I can't tell you how many gloves I have rolling around this place at any given time...

I have an A2000 33" that was discontinued last year...was $350 I paid $150 for it. If you can find a gently used one...grab it!

My starting catcher just got a new A2000 33" catchers glove that I don't have the model # of. I'll try and grab the model & cost tomorrow at practice.

Older DD who catches...She uses a GSX57 34" This is a really solid glove and at your price point ($119). She liked this better than the $170+ Mizuno models.

Catcher new to me this year...really a utility player who wants to play backup catcher...she's using the Zeno FGXN14-BKCM1 33" I really like this glove at the $90 price point. Leather in the palm is definitely denser/higher quality than the outside leather. Glove is well balanced with OK padding.

Other 12U team in my organization uses the Worth Century and she loves it. Solid glove with a slightly larger hand opening than the Mizunos.

As a reference...my pitchers are between 42-48 and my older DD's pitchers are between 48-54.

Also, to the point about if you were paying for pitching lessons...spend the $ if you can...

If you spend $200 on a catchers glove an it lasts her 4 years...that's $50/year or less than $1 per week..

If you buy the Noko...you'll never spend another dime on a glove...just sayin'

CP

 

[Eric F]

CP - Great info!

As for the Noko, the same thing has been said plenty about the Vinci mitt . For my DD, this was not the case.

 

[Lenski]

CP, I understand what you are saying about the Nokona. Heck, Eric could get a custom made Capire and spend about $350 on a mitt that would last forever with an exact fit of her hand and in her favorite colors, with her name and number embroidered, yada yada yada, but we're talking about a 9-11 year old young lady. At this age a Nokona is too much mitt. Your earlier comments about the other mitts however are spot on!

 

[PSB]

Buy her a glove that is comfortable to her, if she still feeling sting from pitches get her a palm guard glove the evo shield is uncomfortable and does not protect well. Also I wouldn't run out and buy her a 33" glove at 9 yrs old to big of a glove and will cause her to not be able to control the glove well. In short buy a $80.00 glove a $20.00 palm guard glove and in 4 or 5 years she'll be ready for that $ 300.00 glove when your 100% sure that is the position she is going to stick with and progress at. Just my 2 cents

 

[Eric F]

Buy her a glove that is comfortable to her, if she still feeling sting from pitches get her a palm guard glove the evo shield is uncomfortable and does not protect well. Also I wouldn't run out and buy her a 33" glove at 9 yrs old to big of a glove and will cause her to not be able to control the glove well. In short buy a $80.00 glove a $20.00 palm guard glove and in 4 or 5 years she'll be ready for that $ 300.00 glove when your 100% sure that is the position she is going to stick with and progress at. Just my 2 cents

First of all...Welcome to DFP!

Thanks for your input. My DD is primarily a catcher. It's something she's dedicated to, and she works hard at improving her craft. We're looking for a step up from the $60-80 mitts. As I mentioned previously, she is uncomfortable with wearing a glove inside her catcher's mitt. For her, it makes her feel like she has less control (her own personal quirk).

I don't agree about the EvoShield thumb protector. It has proven to be very effective for my DD for exactly what it is designed to do. Forgetting it on one occasion lead to a bruise that kept her from behind the plate for 2 weeks. She doesn't make that mistake any more. As for comfort, that's largely based on how good a job you do forming it. It took us twice to get it right.

 

[The Project]

Hey Eric,

DD used a Worth Liberty for about a year and a 1/2 until I got her Vinci game ready. The Liberty is an awesome glove once you get it broke in, takes a while but not as long as a Vinci, which has the longest break in period of any glove I've seen so far IMO. Excellent quality of leather on the Liberty as well, she's played in rain and it's gotten muddy and nasty and once you clean it up the leather still looks as good as day 1 almost. This is the model she has:

Reviews for Worth Liberty FPX Series: LFPXCM Fastpitch Catcher's Mitt

 

[Eric F]

I had a conversation with DD last night about her next catcher's mitt, and her thoughts about her teammate's All-Star CMW3000. She said she didn't like it because it felt a lot like the Vinci - the palm pad was too thick and it made it too hard to squeeze. I think this is a mental thing as much as anything else. Our Vinci is thoroughly broken-in, but she still has trouble with it. In her description, she wants something with more padding than her Miz 92, but less than the Vinci and All-Star. My options are getting narrower, but I rally have no idea what those options are, at this point.

Right now, I'm looking hard at Akadema, or maybe another Mizuno (a step up from the 92).

EDIT: Researching Akadema, it seems there is a history of breaking down too quickly. Hmmm...

 

[SoAZDad]

Callista Balko told me she prefers Miz and they were game ready after one bullpen session catching Alicia Hollowell. She went through a couple every year at Arizona

 

[guero_gordo]

Akadema might be in that sweet spot with less obvious padding, but still single-hinged and IIRC light too. Torino series are pretty.

 

[Greenmonsters]

I had a conversation with DD last night about her next catcher's mitt, and her thoughts about her teammate's All-Star CMW3000. She said she didn't like it because it felt a lot like the Vinci - the palm pad was too thick and it made it too hard to squeeze. I think this is a mental thing as much as anything else. Our Vinci is thoroughly broken-in, but she still has trouble with it. In her description, she wants something with more padding than her Miz 92, but less than the Vinci and All-Star. My options are getting narrower, but I rally have no idea what those options are, at this point.

Right now, I'm looking hard at Akadema, or maybe another Mizuno (a step up from the 92).

E - Although I'm sure that it is a real concern to her, I'm not quite understanding your DD's problem with feeling the ball and squeezing the glove.

Just first want to confirm that she's trying to catch the ball near the base of the web, not in the palm, right? From my own experience and looking at my DD's Vinci, a broken in catcher's mitt almost closes automatically upon ball impact and just needs to get closed another inch or two rather than being squeezed fully shut (i.e., thumb and pinky together). For me it was just the opposite of my OF glove, which I considered game ready when it did close on its own. IMO, when a catcher's mitt closes on its own its usually time to think about getting another one. IME, a lot of the entry level and cheaper catcher mitts tend to be rounder and wider, have less padding, and fully envelope the ball when closed, whereas the higher end gloves like the Vincis (and Nokonas) are narrower, have more padding, and don't fully enclose the ball (just keep it from popping out), all which require a catcher to be a little more precise and accurate.

Just trying to understand the situation in order to try to help! Like you noted, it might be mental and a matter of helping manage her expectations about what a catcher's mitt should feel like!