The baseball glove (or mitt) is perhaps the most personal piece of equipment that a baseball player uses. Some may feel just as warm towards their baseball bat, but wooden bats tend to break after a few months and then you have to break in a new one. However, when it comes to a baseball glove, you will most likely keep it for years and years. Even if you get a new one, you are unlikely to throw out the old one. You rely on the pocket, web, fingers, heel and strap to be dependable on the field.
Web
This is the part of the glove located above the pocket and between the thumb and the fingers. The web can be "H-shaped" or "leather-backed." This is where you want to catch most fly balls, pop ups and line drives. It is usually a very secure catch, and when you are catching a ball that is extremely hard hit, you almost always want to catch it in the web because it will protect your hand.
This is the palm area of the glove, and it is where you want to catch ground balls if you are an infielder. You may have noticed that infielders use smaller gloves than outfielders and those gloves have shorter webs and finger areas. That's because the infielder wants to catch ground balls in the pocket of the glove. It's easier to get the ball out of the pocket than any other area.
Finger Area
There are individual finger holes for each of your fingers in your glove. In some mitts, the fourth finger and the pinky finger go together in the same hole, and in others they do not. You open and close your glove with the action of your fingers. You have to work this area in significantly when you purchase the glove so the glove will react the way you want it to when you play with it.



Member Comments