Catching with a first baseman's glove

[Greenmonsters]

I do see younger players up to 16U occasionally using a 1B mitt. They are padded and braced differently and will affect receiving pitches. I do see catchers dropping balls for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the glove is too stiff and hard to close. One catcher I worked with had problems closing her glove. Upon looking at her glove and how it fitted, we determined her wrist band was cinched too tight and prevented her from closing her glove. We had her un-cinch her wrist band and squeeze the glove closed before cinching her wrist band... Problem solved. Another catcher could not keep the ball in her glove unless it hit the pocket dead on. Closer inspection revealed that the stiffeners in her glove had broken and the glove would simply fold over on anything out of the pocket.

It does depend on the catcher's level of interest, if they are playing rec ball or are a casual player, the 1B mitt is fine. If your catcher is more serious and plays the position regularly, take the time to get them a good fitting catcher's mitt.

What ^^^^^^ said. Catcher's mitts are made for the same reason that master carpenters don't put in screws with a hammer

 

[softball_chic_12]

i am a catcher and i perfer using a 1b mitt. i started using it my first year of catching in the 14 & under division. they aren't as stiff as a catchers mitt and for some reason i just couldn't catch anything with a catcher's mitt. i'm now in my sophmore year of hs and i still use a 1b mitt. i just recently got a new 1b mitt for catching becuase the padding in my other one was getting worn out and my hand started stinging a lot more often than usual. i personally recommend a 1b mitt for girls. i find them lighter, and easier to handle. and maybe becuase one of my bigger issues as a catcher was dropping to to stop a low ball or scooping up a pitch. i find using a 1b mitt a whole lot easier.

 

[absdad]

Catcher's mitts are made for the same reason that master carpenters don't put in screws with a hammer

One of the better posts on this forum. There is a reason that a catcher's mitt is harder to break in.

And why are catchers "scooping"???

 

[VirginiaDad]

Just attended the Be the Best Softball Coaches Clinic in Cherry Hill and Ken Ericksen (South Florida head coach and national team asst) said all his catchers use 1B mitt. I'm just starting to look into this for my 13 yo, but it looks like a growing trend. I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has made the switch.

 

[vdubya]

Deb Hartwig occasionally makes it to the midwest and I once heard her talk mitts and how they are not all created equal. I don't want to misquote her, but to paraphrase, she said to avoid the mitts with the heavy padding in the palm and butt of the hand area. She preferred the mitts with sensible padding in the important areas, not the whole mitt like baseball catchers mitts. At the time, around 15 months ago, she liked the Diamond brand Jenni Topping 'JT' model catcher's mitt for this reason and also some Nok's if I remember correctly.

From the conversation, I left and decided to avoid the round mitts with the super-thick 'pizza crust.' For my young DD, I found an SSK that fit the bill and it is a great, non-bulky catcher's mitt, at least for the young'un. While it is a catcher's mitt, it does look more like 1b mitt.

VW

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Virginia dad, Not only do I use an SSK 1st baseman's mitt for catching my lessons - I use it for all positions (ASA), when I play.

 

[CoachAl]

What about the opposite??
Late to the party on this thread, but what about using the catcher's glove at 1B. I've actually seen this a couple of times and never given it much thought. Can't think of exactly why you would do it (unless the player and parents can't afford two gloves) but it seemd to work ok for the two players I saw do it. (14u and 16u).

 

[rachelsdad]

Here is the Boombah mitt that I want. Scroll down for a good look at it. It resembles a claw. (I like a little different items, such as my yellow truck and my Mac computer.) Custom Cowhide Leather Gloves I guess you have to click on the mitt and scroll down again.

I am happy if the girls will wear any mitt. In rec, it is whatever glove they happen to own.

I sure wish I would have seen this a week ago!!!

 

[rowdy]

We don't use the glove as our target (knee pad/Shoulder pad) but we do have all of our catchers wearing a catchers glove. More padding and the design helps to protect the fingers a little better than the first base mitt on foul balls.