Walden Glove is a Baseball Glove Service Brand and on this channel we talk all things baseball gloves. Matt Walden and Jeff Fliegler love Baseball and coach Little League and Travel Ball in Orange County now a days. Matt is truly the expert, after spending 8 years in Japan working in manufacturing, he is eggar to share all his knowledge abut Baseball Gloves.
What is the brake in ball. Is that just a heavier ball that you made. I actually have a Fushigi ball that I use. It’s a metal ball and it has smooth plastic around it. It’s like a magician ball. The same exact size as a baseball. And I also have, 3 pound frozen rope baseball. The problem with that is it scuffs up the glove when I use it. So sometimes it wrap it in saran wrap.
These are the ARAMID fiber series gloves. All of the internal stitching and stitching of the parts use it as well as a stitch down the center of the lace. pretty serious stuff: www.teijinaramid.com/en/expertise/what-is-aramid#:~:text=Aramids%20are%20man%2Dmade%20fibers,from%20long%2Dchain%20synthetic%20polyamides.
If an athlete is playing multiple positions at the high school and higher level, do you recommend multiple, position specific gloves or a utility glove?
It really depends on the position and player. You could have a utility IF player play 2B/SS/3B with the same glove but I'm personally not a huge fan of utility models and wouldn't want to wear a 12.25" at 3B or in the OF so for me it's individual gloves for each position.
That one is a Marucci that I am holding. I believe it is an 11.75" Nightshift series / Jordan colorway. The Yabai glove is from Tsuchitani-san at YABAI LLC JAPAN.
Great question. The hammer hits harder and is more pin point accurate. I can do more work with less hits on the glove vs the mallet which has a larger ball shaped head and can be used in place of or before throwing a ball. Personally I prefer to use the break in ball for that part of the pocket and palm shaping process. I use the hammer + ball combo for most of my break in work although we make a great mallet as well.
"Fur Sure" you can definitely tell they are from California. Everything they say is almostvin the form of a question. Lots of sentences end with "right?" Funny how people talk in different areas of the country
I have a 5 year old PP that is still in great shape. It doesn't fold whatsoever when laying on it's back. But when I come through/scoop ground balls, they are starting to fly out the fingers. Would this be a good candidate to dip and try to get the pocket a little deeper? Or just use traditional water treatment on the pocket only?
I would try a full condition, reglue of the pocket and relace and then try to reshape it at the same time. I would do a little Aso-style hot water on the palm.
Love the content! Could you tell us about some other Asian gloves like the Zett ProStatus in the future? Would love to know how they compare to what we have in the U.S
Love the breakdown, an excellent collection of gloves! The newer American a2000s I have seen have had lower quality palm lining since they no longer use shell leather. I bet the weight is higher since the spin control leather has to be thicker due to the stamping process. If you have one I would love to see a comparison with the Japanese DO Type, which was said to be the 86 equivalent before the 86 type released.
I just got a hold of a Wilson Staff glove. It's made in China..11.5 inch..its in good condition. What do you think it's worth?. Thinking of selling it.
I am not familiar with the made in china models but the made in japan models go for $300-$400 used if in good condition. Regardless of origin it should be pretty good if sold originally in the Japanese market.
YES , but PP’s have the palm liner to worry about. So do Wilson’s but the palm liner on the Rawlings can be sort of delicate. The dipping usually does not cause damage. It’s the drying or lack of that is usually the issue. If you open the heel after you shape it and relace after it’s much better for drying but an extra process. Make sure your water is mineral free or without heavy minerals. Bad water can leave mineral spots on the leather as it dries. For a PP I would use: 110-120 degree water Dip for 20-30 seconds, pushing lightly on hinges as soon as you feel it start to bend it’s done. Max 45 seconds and pull from the water. Squeeze as much water out as you can quickly and then start shaping. Hang dry. No direct fan, it will over dry the leather. Let it dry naturally with some circulation for 2/3/4 days depending on the humidity of your climate. Once dry condition with a natural conditioner to restore some oil content to the glove. Make sure to get all surfaces. I do this by hand. Wait a day or at least an hour before starting to bend on your glove, let it soak in. After that use a Break in Ball to finish shaping / pocket work and start playing catch. Good time to buff the glove as well, the heat brings all of the oil back to the surface of the leather, protecting the leather and making it slightly glossy. Buffed gloves pick up less IF dirt. My experience is that the gloves coming back broken in this way have great pockets and play really good catch for how stiff they still are. That’s the biggest takeaway for me: I can deliver to customers gloves that still look really new, still feels like a $500 glove that hasn’t had someone’s hand in it and hasn’t been beat to crap with a mallet. The gloves are still stiff but with great hinges and a great palm / pocket and they play catch great. So now instead of dropping balls and continually trying to figure your glove out you can just put it on and tweak it a bit and it’s out there able to go 80% game ready right away. I’ve had many customers report receiving their gloves, playing with the shaping a bit at home, bringing it to warmup and then gaming it.
I think the Mizuno Prexy Kip is some of the best glove leather. It performs really well and also has an ultra-premium feel. The gloves made from this leather are lightweight but don't feel light to the hand, the leather feels thick and has a little sponge to it like a Horween leather but it is definitely thinner and lighter which is cool. Other great leathers include the Wilson Staff steer and kip, both are a level above Wilson's A2K leather offerings in the US... Zett, SSK, Atoms, Trinity amongst others all offer premium grade steer hide as well as multiple type of kip and wagyu.
That is the 11.75" AZ GLOVE LAB limited release - you can check out @azglovelab on instagram although the owner Chris now works for Nokona gloves so expect more great stuff from them as well.
Sorry, but I’ll take a USA made leather Rawlings from the 1960’s or70’s over any of these. Nothing will ever surpass the Heart of the Hide from that era. I still have my old XPG26. That was a mid-upper level Rawlings in those days. I just replaced the laces and that glove tightened up like new. I just bought my grandson a XPG10 Eddie Mathews model, and he loves it. $40 off EBay for a glove almost 60 years old that has the good stiff feel of heavy, quality leather. He’s 9 years old in Little League and catches everything.
