Softball v. Baseball Glove?

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Feb 19, 2016
280
28
Texas
Reading through the "Help DD needs a new glove" posts, I've been surprised by references to gloves made for baseball popping up. Most of those I've seen are at least 12"+ gloves. At what point is a baseball glove a good softball glove? My daughter mainly uses a catcher's mitt, so that's easy, but I've seen baseball gloves being suggested for both fielders gloves and 1st base mitts. Is there no difference between a baseball and a softball glove once you get to a certain size?
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
I use an Akadema 12-3/4 "outfield" baseball glove as my personal glove. It catches softballs very nicely.
 
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
Reading through the "Help DD needs a new glove" posts, I've been surprised by references to gloves made for baseball popping up. Most of those I've seen are at least 12"+ gloves. At what point is a baseball glove a good softball glove? My daughter mainly uses a catcher's mitt, so that's easy, but I've seen baseball gloves being suggested for both fielders gloves and 1st base mitts. Is there no difference between a baseball and a softball glove once you get to a certain size?

Maybe not the technical answer you're looking for, and I'm strictly talking fielders gloves, not catchers or 1B mitts. Personally I think anywhere you can use a softball glove, you can use a baseball glove. It's all about finding the perfect fit for you.

In any of my post where I recommend a BB glove, to me it's more of a personal issue, I hate velcro!! We're starting to see some high quality dedicated FP gloves without velcro being offered like the Mizuno Pro-Select series, although I'd still opt for the BB version.

There's always a trade off.......with a dedicated fastpitch glove, it's generally going to already have a smaller hand and finger stalls, and an already larger pocket. With a dedicated baseball glove you get........NO VELCRO ;), and generally stiffer and thicker thumb and pinky inserts and better internals, but with most young girls the wrist lap will have to be re-laced and tightened, and maybe a little more work to establish the pocket you want.

It's all personal preference, but I'll take a baseball glove everyday of the week!
 
Last edited:
Mar 28, 2014
1,081
113
Finger stall size and the depth of the pocket are the two biggest differences. The finger stalls (and wrist opening) in baseball gloves are generally larger than most girls like so buyer beware if your DD doesn't have large hands and/or wrists. Most girls prefer to have the wrist TIGHT, hence the velcro.
 
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
Finger stall size and the depth of the pocket are the two biggest differences. The finger stalls (and wrist opening) in baseball gloves are generally larger than most girls like so buyer beware if your DD doesn't have large hands and/or wrists. Most girls prefer to have the wrist TIGHT, hence the velcro.
I completely agree with everything you said here, you’re absolutely right.

What age is your DD, what age girls are you around?

Anna’s 17, a senior. Probably since first year 14U, I’ve probably helped 20+ girls and their parents with new gloves, every one was a baseball glove. They ranged from Vinci customs, the 1929, and the 1961, also Rawlings customs, retail HOH’s, and the awesome Don Morton Pro1000 exclusive.

Everyone of those young ladies who are still playing are still using a velcro-less baseball glove!

But, it’s all about preference
 
Mar 28, 2014
1,081
113
I'm around the younger ones. 13 & 14. I dislike the Velcro as well but these girls really like it or at least having something that allows them to tighten the wrist opening such as the straps that Rawlings puts on the Liberty gloves. You're absolutely right that it is all about preference. It's a strange thing to me but the ones I'm around seem to think the glove will fall off of their hand if it isn't wrenched down on it.
 
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
I'm around the younger ones. 13 & 14. I dislike the Velcro as well but these girls really like it or at least having something that allows them to tighten the wrist opening such as the straps that Rawlings puts on the Liberty gloves. You're absolutely right that it is all about preference. It's a strange thing to me but the ones I'm around seem to think the glove will fall off of their hand if it isn't wrenched down on it.

Your last sentence is the thing that drives me crazy........I know I've said here many times I hate velcro, I really don't hate it, it's just not for me on a ball glove, never will be!

It's the girls who think the velcro strap is the equivalent of an impact wrench and wear a new glove out in 6 months! We had a girl on Anna's 16U travel team that treated her glove like Nomar Garciaparra's batting gloves during his ridiculous at-bat routine! No matter where this girl was on the field, you heard velcro constantly ripping, I threatened many times to cut her strap off with the Spyderco that was always in my pocket!
 
Feb 19, 2016
280
28
Texas
I'm not a strap purist by any means. My daughter likes to strap the Velcro so tight, that the glove is harder to close which annoys me, but then she leaves it alone. Do they make a pad that wraps around the strap to make it seem more snug without cinching it down so much?

I have 11 year old twins. One boy, one girl. There is not much difference in their hand size at the moment. If there is, I assume hers is bigger. At this point she's taller and stronger than he is. I'm guessing that's going to rapidly change at some point.

My concern about baseball gloves is that the pocket wouldn't be as deep as a fastpitch glove, but is that such a bad thing? and is it really much difference at all in the larger gloves? DS's BB glove is an 11.25, and obviously he struggles a little with the 11' balls when they play catch together. In a few months we'll be using 12" balls, he'll really complain about that. I have a cheap 12.5" LS baseball glove, and 11" balls don't seem to be an issue for me, but I'm not playing at game speed either. I also have one of those closeout Mizuno Global Elite 12" gloves on ice waiting until one of the three of us has a need. The pocket on it seems to be fine for a softball, but that's just a guess. It hasn't left the shelf so to speak.
 
Apr 16, 2013
1,113
83
A lot of the glove is really just how you form the pocket. My DD's field glove is still her baseball glove. I think it's a 11.75" Rawlings Gold. I just keep a softball in it now. Looks small, but she's never missed a single fly ball in the OF, so never felt the need for a huge 13" glove for playing OF. That being said, her 1B mitt is specifically a SB glove yet she now uses it for baseball as well. Anytime she goes back to her baseball 1B mitt, she fails a lot of scoops.
 

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