Breaking in your baseball glove is a tradition that goes hand-in-hand with the game itself. Baseball gloves need to be broken in -- when you first purchase a glove, the leather is stiff and taut, making squeezing your hand around the ball a difficult task. There are many ways to soften the leather of the glove to make it flexible. A item that you may already have around the house -- shaving cream -- can help you break in your glove.
Step 1
Warm your glove up by leaving it outside in the sun, placing it in a clothes dryer or heating it with a hair dryer. You can leave it outside for a few hours, or use a dryer for 15 to 20 minutes. This will help to open the pores in the leather, allowing it to absorb the shaving cream that you'll use to soften the leather.
Step 2
Apply shaving cream to a rag and rub it into the glove. Choose a shaving cream with lanolin, if possible. By applying the cream to the the rag, you'll avoid having too much shaving cream soak into the glove, which can give it a slick texture. Repeat this step a few times to soften your glove as much as possible.
Step 3
Place a baseball in the pocket of your glove and curl the fingers of the glove around the ball. Wrap the glove tightly with rope, string or a large rubber band. This will help develop the pocket of the glove and help to form a natural curve in the glove so it will stay shut. Do this right before you go to bed, so the glove is bound tightly overnight.
Step 4
Use the glove as often as possible. Pound it, slap it, bend it and play catch with it to help soften the leather as much as possible.
Tips and Warnings
- Be sure to pick a plain foam shaving cream with no extra moisturizers or fragrances.
Things You'll Need
- Shaving cream
- Rag
- Oven/hair dryer
- Rubber band/rope/string
- Baseball
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