New catcher's mitt decision

[Jr10234]

My DD has that Mizuno in her bag, and will not use it. Purchased it when she was 14, used for u16/u18 catching 50+mph and developed thumb pain. Met with a catching coach, ran into a catcher with the same mitt who had a torn thumb ligament and ended up quitting that position.

The mitt (we had) has NO thumb support and the wide hand pocket pushes the thumb out to a dangerous angle, then add the pressure of 100+ pitches over 3 games per day. My DD was out for 4 weeks due to the injury, came back with a Nokona.

DD is LHT.

If your mitt has a thumb support or your DD has a thumb brace maybe she'll have better luck. I contacted Mizuno and was told tough luck.

 

[Pop time 00]

Thank you all. I'm sticking with that Evo shield thumb gaurd for now. Planning on upgrading that glove by the end of the month so maybe it's broken in well by Spring.

 

[Grogger31]

Well, my DD finally made her decision last night ...

She'll be keeping the Worth Liberty and we'll be returning the Mizuno. It's funny because it's the opposite of what I thought she would go with.

Last night was her second opportunity to catch her starting pitcher for the upcoming travel ball season. This is 14U and the first pitcher she has caught that consistently throws in the 58-60mph range. (She didn't want to try out her new glove options at their first workout because she didn't want the coach seeing her drop pitches with a stiff new glove.)

When I was throwing around with her, she was catching much more cleanly with the Mizuno. Last night, she was sticking pitches with the Worth Liberty and struggling a bit to squeeze with the Mizuno. I was amazed after about 40 minutes of catching how much more broken in the Liberty was. She still had more drops than she usually would, but time will tell. As long as she's confident in her decision, it will be the right glove for her ... or it will be back to the drawing board.

Thanks to everyone for weighing in on this thread.

 

[Eric F]

Thanks for this thread, Grog. There's a lot of good information here.

She picked the Worth fielder's glove, too, didn't she?

 

[Grogger31]

She did, Eric. She's really liking the Worth fielder's glove, also. It's almost like she never changed gloves.

I was confident she'd pick the Nokona fielder's glove and the Mizuno mitt (her previous mitt was a Mizuno). Shows you how much I know. Both the Worths have the non-velcro back ... and I'm wondering if that had a bigger impact than either of us thought it would. It's nice to not see her constantly cranking that velcro back tighter.

 

[Eric F]

She did, Eric. She's really liking the Worth fielder's glove, also. It's almost like she never changed gloves.

I was confident she'd pick the Nokona fielder's glove and the Mizuno mitt (her previous mitt was a Mizuno). Shows you how much I know. Both the Worths have the non-velcro back ... and I'm wondering if that had a bigger impact than either of us thought it would. It's nice to not see her constantly cranking that velcro back tighter.

Your process in glove/mitt selection has been excellent. Thanks for sharing your ride. This is helpful stuff for people who face the same decisions.

The way I learned about a velcro-back glove/mitt is to close it, then set the strap position. That way the tightness of the strap doesn't hinder closing the mitt/glove. For the most part, once it's set, it shouldn't need a lot of re-adjustment.

 

[Grogger31]

What are people's opinions on putting one or two balls in a new mitt when storing it. In the past, I always put just one in the pocket. However, I saw someone on DFP say they put a 12" ball in the pocket and an 11" ball just above the heel before wrapping it up.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[MsDinosaur]

My thanks also, Grogger. I'm intrigued by the Mizuno Samurai GXS31TG. DD has already looked at the Worth and discarded it due to the fur (!!). She's happy with her current Mizuno mitt (GXS57), but when she wore the Evo shield thumb guard I bought her, her hand wouldn't fit into it. So she's out there without as much thumb protection as I'd like. I'm wondering if the GXS31TG might be a good compromise.

 

[Grogger31]

MsDinosaur,

The GXS31TG will definitely be a thumb protection improvement over the GXS57. I was impressed by the quality of the built in thumb guard and it will be better than most gloves without any thumb protection.

DD also loves her EvoShield thumb guard. She was able to get it on with the GXS31TG, but it took a good amount of effort and she preferred receiving without doubling up on the thumb protection. However, she is planning to use her EvoShield with the Worth as it fit a little more comfortably.

I would suggest ordering her a GXS31TG from JustBallGloves.com. You can NOT beat their guarantee (100 days, break the glove in if you want, return for a full refund for any reason). The 31 is built like a tank with great quality leather.

 

[chazbz1]

Grogger, here's an article some guy posted on FB about putting balls in glove pockets. MORE On Glove Care might be interesting... The picture below shows a baseball mitt on the left and fastpitch mitt on the right...