1st Base Mitt Question

[reagansdaddy]

Hello,

It's been a few weeks since my daughter got her new Xeno (she's hitting great with it by the way), and my GAS is starting to act up. My daughter plays 1st base and currently uses a 12.5 inch Easton mitt. I've been wanting to get her a higher quality mitt but have been disappointed with the lack of selection available.

So, that leads me to this question. Is there any reason why I shouldn't go with a baseball 1st base mitt? Are they constructed differently? Would it not be a good choice for fastpitch?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Amy in AZ.]

If you can look at the glove and put a softball in it, there is no reason at all. Do you know about webs and pockets and how to break the glove in? I use this - SSK mpf22. I have used it for 20 years and buy them used, when I can find them. I got lucky at Christmas and found one new for $80.00. I re-sell them when I can find one.

 

[James Smith]

The lack of quality and selection of softball gloves at the box stores is a common complaint. I think most posters, myself included, buy their gloves on the Internet. There are a couple posters here that will work with you and your DD to get her as good a quality glove as you want.

What I have read here is that if you break in the glove with a softball a baseball mitt is fine, if it has already been broken in for a baseball maybe not so much.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I should have asked her age.

Maybe, it is time to do as James suggested and look at the Vinci and Nokona line. I put my students in touch with Casedawg for Vinci products. casedawg51@gmail.com

 

[kenb63]

DD loved her 14" baseball 1st base mitt by Glovesmith. It was an awesome glove; the only way to go bigger would have been to get a hockey goalie's catcher. That said, a baseball glove might be too large inside for a smaller girl's hand. If you go the baseball route, don't by it sight unseen, have her try it on and make sure her hand's not swimming in it.

 

[longball00]

My 12 yo DD is a first baseman/Pitcher, and she asked if she could try a first base mitt. I got her the Easton Natural Elite NEFP3000 13" and she absolutely loves it. It looks like she is wearing a garbage can lid on her hand when you see her in the field LOL! It has smaller finger stalls and hand opening for the female athlete. I put a couple coats of Lexol on it and it was game ready in 2 days. If you look around the net, you can find them on sale for about $65. I figured that was a safe price to try one out. Now, her Shoeless Jane only comes out when she is on the mound, or filling in at 3rd.

 

[reagansdaddy]

Thanks for the input everyone. My daughter is 10 but as big as most 13 year olds. I do know about breaking gloves in using a softball. I just wasn't sure about if the construction of the glove itself (other than finger stalls and wrist openings) would preclude the use of a baseball mitt for softball.

I've been looking online and really for fastpitch 1st base mitts, there just isn't much. I'm looking a justballgloves.com and softball.com. Am I looking in the wrong places?

 

[Little Angels Softball]

If you go with a baseball mitt, make sure it fits her hand. While it may offer a tight fit at first, they are notoriously big on the inside (1st baseman tend to be big dudes) and after the initial stiffness wears off, it may fall off her hand.

Female-specific gloves and mitts are better if you can find them. Our 1B (who has the highest fielding percentage on our team .... by far), uses the Wilson A2000 FPB14SS 12.25 Inch Fastpitch 1st Base Mitt. I like the webbing as it allows her to see through on balls that are coming toward her face and the leather has held up quite nicely. Also, even though she is big for an 11-year-old (5'5"), she has extraordinarily small hands that this mitt has no problem accommodating. The fit is fantastic.