New catcher's mitt decision

[#10]

Lenski is correct, my 3000 is starting to break like a dual hinge but it doesn't have quite as wide a heel as an actual dual hinge mitt.
Grogger31, the first time I saw a photo of the 3000 I thought it looked like a baseball mitt also. The 3000 has great thumb protection
if thats a big concern for your DD.

I found a very good deal on a CMW3000 on eBay last night and pulled the trigger - hopefully, it arrives before Christmas!

DD tried all of three of the mitts above, albeit for a just a couple of minutes each catching pitches in the aisles of Homerunmonkey. She thought the Worth was too heavy, the Mizuno too huge and the CMW4000 too first baseman-like. She felt she had better control with the 3000. That All-Star looks dinky compared to the other two mitts!

I'm interested in seeing if the Mizuno or Worth wins out!

 

[sbmom19]

Thanks AnnasDad,

Thumb protection is always an issue, although since she's been wearing an evoshield thumb guard, it's really been an afterthought.

Going to get out there and throw with her tomorrow, so we'll see what progress we make with the decision.

You mentioned that the all star kept falling off of her hand. Was that because of where her fingers are or because of how it fits across her hand in general? I am asking because my DD (16U) has very wide, meaty hands and fingers (good thing that she doesn't look at this page or she would KILL me for that description) but her fingers are short. I found a killer deal on a used Nokona this summer and she hated it because is was too tight on her hand. So I am watching this thread and looking forward to your reviews of these mitts.

 

[Grogger31]

You mentioned that the all star kept falling off of her hand. Was that because of where her fingers are or because of how it fits across her hand in general?.

dantay17, here are pics of the three gloves on her hand:

Mizuno


All-Star


Worth


First, I think you can see by the pics, that the All-Star has all kinds space to the outside of her wrist. Significantly different fit than the other two which, as you can tell, fit similarly to each other. I asked her to describe the fingers and she said that they felt really tight on the backs of her fingers, like someone was pushing down on the outside of her glove. I think she just felt like the finger stalls were really tight and, combined with the really open wrist, made it hard to keep on her hand. Every time she threw, the glove literally fell off. She has small, thin fingers and a small wrist, btw.

Hope that helps. First throwing session impressions to follow ...

 

[Grogger31]

So, DD caught around 30-40 balls with each of the these 3 mitts. Given that these are all pretty stiff, a good number of balls ended up bouncing or falling out, but she did pretty well. Keep in mind, it is 31 degrees here today ... so this was not a great real world test.

Our combined first impressions:

Mizuno - She seemed really comfortable with this mitt right off the bat. I'm not sure if that has to do with the fact that her current mitt is a Mizuno, but she immediately felt like the glove was more broken in than the others. She said it was comfortable on her hand but that she felt like her hand was "spread out" (she had to open her hand pretty wide). She didn't indicate it was uncomfortable in that way, though. She dropped the fewest amount of balls with this mitt. Ball really seemed to stick in it.

All-Star - Given that she didn't like the fit of this mitt, I'm not sure she gave it as fair a shot as the others. The 4000 is very stiff and would require a lot of work to break in, so a lot of balls bounced out on her. She also felt like the padding on this mitt wasn't as thick as the other two.

Worth Liberty - This mitt was the most comfortable on her hand. Her fingers felt less "stretched out" in this glove than in the Mizuno. She also felt like this glove had the most padding ... slightly more than the Mizuno and definitely more than the All-Star. However, she had significantly more drops with the Liberty also. It remains to be seen if that is the result of the additional padding or the fact that it was stiffer than the Mizuno. She did mention that the Worth was the heaviest of the group. She didn't indicate it would be a problem, but that's something I'll be keeping an eye on.

I'll update you all again after a few more sessions.

 

[ANNASDAD]

Hey Grogger31, you still evaluating those 3 mitts or have you made a decision yet? I think Eric F made an excellent
suggestion about swapping the 4000 for the 3000 since you have that option. I know the 3000 is a 1/2" larger than
the 4000 but its still nowhere as large as the other two mitts you have pictured.

As far as hand stall size on my 3000 its not big at all. Don't know if this makes sense but most new gloves don't feel
that great the first time you put one on (at least to me) but the 3000 is one of the most comfortable new gloves
I've ever put my hand in. I was worried about the size, being too small but my DD had a pitching lesson yesterday
and the more I use it the more I'm really liking it.

Also, that 4000 does look tiny between those two sides of beef its pictured with. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Cowdogz]

Between my sons and I, we have 3 Mizuno baseball catcher's mitts. They were all pretty much game-ready right off the shelf, and have held up very well.

 

[Grogger31]

Hey Grogger31, you still evaluating those 3 mitts or have you made a decision yet?

Yes sir. Appreciate the feedback on the All-Star, but DD thinks the Mizuno and Worth are both very comfortable and is currently deciding between those two.

With this crappy weather in the Northeast, I'm not sure when we'll get out there to throw again ... so it's nice to have 100 days to evaluate the two remaining choices.

 

[Grogger31]

Xmas day update (since it's 55 and sunny in the Northeast) ...

Caught a bunch with both the Mizuno and Worth today. DD has the Mizuno in the lead right now. She feels like it has very slightly less padding than the Liberty, but she's definitely catching the ball more consistently and solidly in the pocket. The Liberty is a bit stiffer, so it's difficult to say how much can be attributed to general stiffness.

She said nothing about it, but I sensed she was able to maneuver the Mizuno into position sooner, probably because it is a little smaller and a little lighter.

The one thing that remains to be seen with the Mizuno is if she can get her Evoshield thumb guard in it with the built in thumb guard in the glove already. She found it to be a little awkward. I'm not sure she'll need both, but the Evoshield is a trusted friend at this point.

 

[catcher22]

Hello All, I picked up the Worth Liberty LACMWN for my 11 yr old DD after a discussion with her new coach who has coached more winning teams than I can count so i valued his opinion. He has coached on several levels, anyway, we are still in the process of breaking it in, I actually went to our indoor facility and just fed the pitching machine and had her catch dozens of balls since my arm won't hold up. She loves the feel on her hand, and she loves the padding,she is tall for her age so I was comfortable with the 34".
She has dropped a bunch but, the glove is still stiff and needs to be broken in. I like the extra padding in the worth because my DD will be catching pitchers throwing up to 55mph in the 12U level, we have 3 good pitchers who can fire the ball. I will keep you posted as we continue to break it in, catcher's mitts do take longer to break in.

 

[bcc69]

My DD used the liberty during first year 12s and part of the second year. The mitt became floppy and the laces broke after 1 1/2 years. I got her the Mizuno while I was having the Liberty relaced. I had the Mizuno steamed and conditioned with the Mizuno strong oil. It was game ready after a couple practices. The glove has held up very well so far and my DD likesthe Mizuno better than the Liberty. Both are solid mitts.