1st Base Glove

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Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
No, sorry I must have misunderstood. I was talking about the Rawlings Liberty I linked in the first post. I looked at the All-Star, I was curious if there is a difference between a baseball vs softball difference. I will have her try the liberty when it arrives and go from there.

My only concern would have been with the hand stall size with your 11 year old, even though they’re both 13” gloves. As far as a 12” softball working with that baseball glove.......it would with absolutely no problem!

With those two gloves being only a $4.00 difference, I would have bought the All-Star just to check it out and return it if there was a issue. I can promise you, there’s NO comparison between those two gloves!! That Maruhashi leather is the real deal!
 
Apr 16, 2013
1,113
83
I'll just throw this in, if you have any questions about any glove from any company, ask [MENTION=9329]ANNASDAD[/MENTION] :D He'll tell you about the exact type of leather and stitching being used, and even probably tell you about the diet of the cows used in said leather and how it's superior or inferior than another glove you're comparing one or the other to. :D
 
Feb 28, 2015
307
28
Heatbox
DD2 just got the Rawlings Liberty 1B glove. I told her she had to use it for the HS season or use the HC DD 15 year old 1B glove like she did last season. She's going to use her new one........
 
Dec 26, 2018
5
0
nooooooo....... I missed my chance ;) I have a LHT JBV-SB (1st base mitt) that I have been looking to move for a while now, just never run into LHT throwing first basemen anymore. Would have gave you a sweet deal on it tooo..damn holiday travels and not around a computer... haha

And just to add, the optimus are sweet gloves (even sweeter at my price) but I normally don't recommend them for that age level (but every situation is different of course!)

Dave/Drake -

Happy Holidays all :)


Ironic how few LHT first basemen there are now. I was looking on the Vinci website and it looks like the JBV-SB is 13.5" or do they come in other sizes?


We received the Liberty on Saturday and unfortunately, my daughter was unable to keep it on her hand at its tightest setting. I did pick up a 12.5" HoH immediately (my wife says i have a problem) after returning the Liberty, so we will see what my daughter thinks.
 
Dec 26, 2018
5
0
DD loved her Liberty Advanced when she played 1B for about a year. It starting getting a little floppy after spring HS and summer club seasons though.

The glove was nice but I didn't see it being a long term item, the leather is soft and almost game ready in a new state. I was buying this as a stepping stone into a more longterm quality glove if she stick with the sport.
 
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
DD loved her Liberty Advanced when she played 1B for about a year. It starting getting a little floppy after spring HS and summer club seasons though.

Sorry, but when I think about the Liberty Advanced series........it’s definitely NOT a Rawlings, it’s a ~2014~ Worth! I’m definitely a Rawlings guy but if I were in the market for a fastpitch glove today, the Rawlings Liberty Advanced would never cross my mind!

THIS is the Liberty Advanced!
 

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panthadad2

fastpitch pops
Jun 27, 2017
144
18
Sorry, but when I think about the Liberty Advanced series........it’s definitely NOT a Rawlings, it’s a ~2014~ Worth! I’m definitely a Rawlings guy but if I were in the market for a fastpitch glove today, the Rawlings Liberty Advanced would never cross my mind!

THIS is the Liberty Advanced!

Agreed that the Liberty Advanced isn't a 5+ year type glove. It was, for my daughter at least, a very good HS and Summer season glove with relatively easy break in (she hasn't played 1B much since that season so it worked out well). She loved the ability to scoop balls with it. She was 14-15 when she first got it and I don't think her small hands were strong enough yet to handle a top quality leather glove without a sh*t ton of break in.

If DD was to get a new 1B today as a full time position (senior in HS and playing in college next year) it would probably be a premium glove (she loves her Maruccis). That said, I think the original poster is looking for a glove for younger girl, so easy break in might be something to consider. The Liberty Advanced at a large 13" might be too big for a younger girl too. Back when DD was 11 or 12 years old I got her a mid-level Rawlings 1B glove that worked out really well for a couple seasons...probably similar to today's R9. It was 12.5" but felt a lot smaller than the Liberty Advanced, it fit her smaller hands well, and didn't take a ton to break in. It didn't have much padding in the palm, but that was OK.
 
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
If I was buying a dedicated 1B mitt, I wouldn’t want a palm in it at all. panthadad, I get and agree with everything you said, I guess everything revolves around how dedicated a 11 or 12 year old girl is towards this sport, if they’re in it for the long haul, I’ll buy the equipment accordingly.

I bought Anna her first Vinci when she was 12, a tan 12” H-web custom from Casedawg, I think it was Christmas of 2013? This thing was an absolute brick!! There’s been probably 10 different Vinci gloves through our house and NONE were on the same level of stiffness as that first custom! It took a ton of work, seriously she hated that glove in the beginning but it eventually became a prized possession to her, she used it for just shy of ~4 years, 2 full relaces and 3 or 4 more of the web, web spiral, and fingers.

I just truly believe in buy once, cry once. True quality stands out!
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
A 13" 1B mitt might be to big for an 11yo, or it might not. A lot will have to do with the size of the girl. 5'-5" isn't short. Plenty of fully-grown women are that height and shorter, including some D1 1Bs. However, if that 5'-5" is very thin and not very strong, a smaller glove might be a better choice for maneuverability. When my DD was 11, both of the primary 1Bs on her TB team used 13" mitts. Both were shorter than 5'-5", but solidly built and strong.
 
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
I agree with Eric about the different body types and levels of strength for the same height girl. What works and works well for one girl definitely won’t work well for all girls. I admittedly don’t have a ton of experience with 1B mitts, my DD has NEVER played 1B. In 2014 or 15 I broke in a Worth Liberty Advanced 1B mitt for a girl just like the one I posted here earlier. It definitely was a pretty substantial glove, at that time that glove to me seemed too big for every girl on that team! That glove pretty much transformed our girl who played 1B, she loved that mitt!

This past June on vacation when I went to the Myrtle Beach Rawlings outlet, I tried on a Paul Goldschmidt Heart of the Hide just to check it out. It’s a 13” mitt, I have thick medium sized hands, that mitt fit me like a...........glove:rolleyes:. There was some great gloves there, that Goldschmidt wound up being my 2nd favorite glove there at the outlet, that’s saying something coming from someone who really has no business even looking at a 1B mitt! I can’t recommend the Goldschmidt enough, plus it’s the Rawlings DCT pattern, one of the most copied glove patterns ever!
 

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