Best glove for MIF/OF 18u player?

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Jul 2, 2013
5
0
Hi, my daughter will be splitting her time between the middle infield and the outfield this year, so she's looking for a good utility-type glove. She doesn't have a lot of time to spend breaking it in, so she's looking for a glove that comes mostly broken in from the start. If it helps, she's 5'4/120 pounds with an athletic build and wears a size small in batting gloves. Thank you!
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
No budget at this point. I'm just looking for a good glove that can hold up over the next three years until she gets to college. Thanks!

The challenge with what you've said so far is that good-quality gloves that last for years aren't generally quick to break in.

The following are some of my favorites in the "not ridiculous" price range that will give you a good lifespan...
- All-Star Vela-series (the 12.5" version will be my DD's next fielder's glove)
- Vinci (Anything with kip leather. Talk to DFP'er Drakemir for best pricing. Quite a few DFP'ers have been very happy with their Vinci gloves.)
- Rawlings Liberty Advanced (a re-branding of the well-regarded Worth Liberty Advanced lineup)

Lots of people like the Wilson A2000-series gloves. They've never felt right to me or my DD.

All of the gloves listed above will require some break-in time - especially the Vinci. How much time largely depends on how aggressive you are with the process. Personally, I tend towards the mafia-beatdown approach.

Part of lifespan also depends on how much she's playing. For a year-round travel ball player, it's going to take a very well-built glove to last 3 years.
 
Feb 21, 2017
198
28
Both my daughters use the All-Star Vela series. The middle infield is 11.5" and the outfield is 12.5". My older daughter split the difference and uses a 12" (OF and 2B) but we have all three sizes floating around. I will say the 11.5" with the larger pocket is fantastic for middle infield and getting the ball out on a quick transfer. I can't tell you about break in because we do it slow over the off season usually about a year before we need it so there is overlap. So far they hold up well and we have gotten two years out of each and probably 1-2 more depending on use.
 
Mar 20, 2014
918
28
Northwest
My DD got the Rawlings Liberty Advanced in May. We took it to Dick's Sporting Goods and got it steamed to help the break in process and she used it all summer. She loves it.
 
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
Just bought my DD a Rawlings Pro206-6CB. It's a 12" model based on the Pro200 series, which creates a wide deep bowl shape. This was a pretty easy glove to get playable for a Heart of the Hide because it has no palm pad. But still has very stiff and thick fingers, especially the thumb & pinkie. This is a baseball glove, not a softball glove, no velcro.
 
Oct 1, 2014
2,219
113
USA
DD is using a Vinci BV1929 and loves it. She pitches, plays SS and CF with it, break in wasn't too bad as we go after it fairly aggressively. It's got a very full season of Travel ball on it and she's just starting Sophomore year of HS. It should last at least another couple years, although the plan was for her to use her older and larger (12.5) Rawlings when playing Outfield. The Puppy changed that plan when she pulled it off a shelf with a ball wrapped in it after being recently oiled and tried to eat it.
 
May 28, 2014
281
18
As it seems to come up pretty much in every glove thread - a BV1929-L would be a good fit for her. 12.25" which would work for IF/OF and built to last. The new factory broke in gloves are coming at about 50% game ready - I finally got my hands on one and based on how far along it is - it would be good for practice in a few days, and games in a few weeks. Send me a message if you are interested in a price -

Also, anything that Eric listed would also work for her - there are some very nice gloves on the market - and I agree, with a year round, or even 9 month TB schedule - you will need to buy an upper end glove to have it last 3 years.

Dave
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Got my little one a Louisville Slugger Xeno Pro Series: FGXNPBN5-1175 knowing that when I first bought it she wouldn't be able to handle it. We actually purchased 4 gloves and then had her handle all 4 before she decided on which one she liked..of course she picked the most expensive :rolleyes: . We returned the other 3 and got a full rebate. We worked with the Xeno for about 6 months or so and by
the time it was broke in she was strong enough to use it in games. If she is anything like her Dad regarding gloves she will probably wait until the thing fall apart before switching. Hope is
we get at least a good 3 or 4 years out of it.
 

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