Selecting the Right Softball Equipment (Glove Edition)

This is a real can of worms. I like gear. A lot. I'd buy more stuff if I could justify it at my level of play, but alas, I can't. Nevertheless, I have some good stuff. Point is, I started with bad stuff because I didn't know any better. Maybe if you read this in time, I can save you the trouble and expense of buying crummy stuff.

Here are the things you're eventually gonna need:

1. Softball glove
2. Ball(s)
   
3. Cleats
4. Bat
5. Batting glove(s)
6. Softball-specific clothing

At a bare minimum, you need a glove, so we'll start there. I would say you *need* cleats, too, because having a good grip on the ground can prevent injuries--especially on poorly maintained recreational fields.


If you haven't had a softball glove before, they may all seem huge (unless you were an outfielder in a previous life). In my opinion, you shouldn't consider a glove smaller than 13". I started out with a 13" glove, and have moved to a 14" glove. Considering you will move around a lot and play both infield and outfield as a softball player, you should choose a glove that you consider versatile. My 14" glove is a bit big for infield, but I make it work.

One great thing about modern gloves is that they're pretty flexible right off the rack. That being said, some are far more "field-ready" than others. Make sure you try on a bunch of gloves before deciding on one. Because they're made of leather, there is a fair amount of difference among gloves, even within the same model and size.

The first glove I had was a 13" Rawlings Longhorn. The current model is shown above. This glove is fine, but it doesn't have enough padding. I think I paid about $40 for it. As it turns out, you need to spend about twice that to get a good glove with enough padding--I learned this the hard way. I was playing first base one night on my men's team, and a lefty crushed a line drive directly at my head. I stuck my glove out and caught the ball for out number three. It was great except for the fact that my left ring finger was swelling up dramatically. I went shopping for a new glove the next day.

You can spend a lot of money on gloves -- up to $400 in some cases for an "elite player" glove--these are the ones the guys use int he big leagues. Fortunately, you don't have to spend that much to get a good glove. I found that about $70 gets you into the next class of glove. In my case, I went for the DeMarini Diablo.
This glove felt great right off the rack. It's got Sorbothane padding right in the glove, so the impact of the ball is greatly reduced. Like I said earlier, the 14" takes a bit of getting used to, but when you stick your glove hand out, you've got a great chance of stabbing the ball with this monster.

This glove didn't require much breaking in, but I did my standard break-in procedure:

1. Oil the glove with Rawlings glove oil
2. Place a softball in the pocket and tie it up with a belt. Leave it strapped up for 24 hours or so.
   
3. Run the heel of the glove over with the car a few times. I use a Toyota Camry ;-)
   
4. Play catch as much as possible and throw and throw a ball into the glove whenever you can. In a couple of weeks, the glove will be well-broken in.

A word of caution about online glove purchases: if you can't feel it, you're really taking a chance. I would recommend buying a glove in-store. Big sporting goods stores like Sports Authority have a pretty good selection. In the SF Bay Area, you are fortunate to have a great baseball/softball store in San Leandro called West Coast Sporting Goods. They have a great selction of gloves and everything else you could ever want from bats to hats, to sliding pads.

Ok, that's the glove info. Next time: softballs and cleats.