I just play catch, stretch the fingers to make it flexible, put a baseball or two in the pocket and sit/sleep on it (literally) and play catch... Works every time.
It's important to oil the fingers and the laces in between the fingers because the glove will bend and stretch every time it is opened and closed. Oiling the fingers and laces will soften up the leather and allow it to bend and stretch easier which will cut down on normal wear and tear. If you oil the pocket but not the fingers, it could cause a weak or dry spot in the glove that could potentially break in the future.
This is the best way to break in a glove, it takes the most time, however it will form a perfect pocket without damaging the leather. I have seen kids on my son's 11u comp baseball team that would steam or use the hot mitt method in the oven, it breaks the gloves in quickly, however, it will dry out the leather and not last long. I just bought my son a new Rawlings heart of the hide glove and used this method, it took about a month but it is formed perfect and will last for years to come.
@tng150 yes shaving cream! I use that an t doesn't make it heavy and it actully cleans it! Just don't use to much. Put the shaving cream on you fingers and work it in! Just don't use the gel shaving cream!
My break-in method is pretty weird, What I do is that I throw the ball up in the air and try to catch it with the glove in the spot I like to catch it in
OMG NO! Stay away from running it through hot water as well! Your friend is probably gonna gloat about the time he saved... until when he has to buy another one next week!!
Thank you for reaching out and we do apologize for the delayed response. We don't currently hold that glove but you can find a very similar version here: www.justballgloves.com/products/vendor~rawlings/web%20type~trapeze/
I always just oiled them down good, put a ball it the pocket, tied it up and threw it in the dryer on low for about 30 mins. Put a couple of towels in with it.
Love that! It would be hard for us to tell someone to use that method, but if it works for you and your comfortable with it...by all means, continue doing it!
Me personally I don’t recommend putting a rubber band around it with a ball in the pocket, this makes the glove closed so when you try to feild a ground ball you want the pinkie and the thumb kind of bent out so you have more room to feild
Thanks for the input! It sounds like you enjoy having more of a flare design. That is perfect if that works well for you. Our video here shows one method of breaking in gloves. However, it is certainly not the only method to use.
When my sons glove(Lh thrower) lays flat the thumb lays on top of the middle finger, I feel like it’s wrong that it should be more even(pinky to thumb)but I’m not a ball player. Any input is appreciated. thanks
Hello! There are different ways players can close the glove which will make the crease in the leather different. Sounds like your son prefers to close the glove more with his middle and ring fingers!
Hah! It might get downplayed nowadays, but step 4 of the process (playing catch) is probably the most important. I always say that if you want to speed up the break in, then you should use the glove as much as possible right when you get it!
I've been told not to put oil in it because that makes it heavy. I just got a Mizuno Global Elite Catcher's mitt. I can return it in about 30 days if I don't like it, I spilled oil by accident in my old glove and I've been told to put shaving cream on this new one.
Tom you’d have to use a shitload of oil to make your glove noticeably “heavy”...unless you are using several ounces of oil at a time, this is largely a bullshit misunderstood rumor
@ItalianStallion220 It depends on the type of leather. For instance, Kangaroo leather is very porous and tends to soak in the oil, which does tend to make them flimsy. But generally a good steer leather won't.
does anybody know how to get a crease out of a firstbasemans trapper? there is a crease/lump down the middle of my pocket. I play everyday in my highschools academyts starting to get pretty anoying . Thanks
Just got a custom 14u Nakona. Keeping a ball in it at all times. Someone suggested to sit on it every now and then. My parents said they would also help. Hope it is decently broke in by 2 months because that is when the season starts.
Thank you for the comment! Yes, keeping a ball in the pocket of the glove promotes good formation of the pocket of the glove. That is an excellent thing to do. You can sit on the glove if you would like, but I don't think that is 100% necessary. I would recommend using the glove as often as possible. That will be the biggest thing that you can do to break in the glove quickly!
Yes, I think you can use Neatsfoot oil for the glove. Neatsfoot was commonly used for ball gloves before there started being a lot of glove-specific products for conditioning leather. Like all products used to condition leather, we would recommend using as little amount as possible to cover the entire surface of the glove.
That is a perfectly fine way to break in the glove! As long as the glove breaks in to where it allows you to consistently make plays and you are not harming the leather, then the break-in was correct! We show this video because there a lot of people out there that want some guidelines to follow. Because of that, we made this video for them!
Thanks for the question! You can always use a baseball and hit the pocket continuously with the baseball from a short distance away. You could also check your garage for a rubber mallet. If you have one, you could wrap the rubber head of the mallet with a towel or dishrag and work on the pocket with that!
I bought a glove wrap brand called "TUFL" i think, or close to that spelling, and it says "For Best Results use WITHOUT ball or mallet" but idk if thats true or not
Thanks for the comment. I don't have any experience with TOFL products. Generally speaking though, I have found that just about everyone suggests putting a ball in the pocket when wrapping a glove. I don't want to speak against the TOFL product as I don't know the details of their band, but you might want to see if there are any customer reviews on the product regarding the same concern you have.
@JustGloves thank you! It's confusing because it says best results without using a ball or mallet while also showing a picture of their product with a ball and mallet haha! Thank you for replying though!
@@Standby_JRB Absolutely! I'd say if the picture shows a ball in the glove and most folks would always say to put one in the glove...go ahead and do it! Glad we could help!
Thank you for the comment. I am sorry if that glove was not your favorite looking glove out there. We did another break-in video a little while back. In the video, we break in another Rawlings glove, but it does look a little different than the Rawlings we used in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jHjL3t1ZhGU.html
Typically, Vaseline (i.e. Petroleum Jelly) isn't recommended for use on a glove. I believe that some folks have found that it doesn't penetrate the leather very well to actually provide the benefits of conditioning the leather. As well, many people think that it attracts extra dirt and dust. There are some glove-specific products out there that have the look and feel of petroleum jelly. These are typically fine to use because they include lanolin in their ingredient list. The lanolin in the product will help it penetrate the leather and provide conditioning benefits.
If that gets the glove softened up to where you are making plays with it, then keep doing that! There is no wrong way to break in a glove as long as the leather isn't getting ruined and the glove is helping you make plays
basketball kid yeah definitely, fill a bucket or big enough container with brand new and clean synthetic 30 wt motor oil (you can find this at Walmart) and soak your glove overnight...glove should be game ready after a few treatments
Well guess what I didn’t got water condition or steam all I did was beat the brake points with a mallet and play catch and I broke it in in 3 days it also has a Beautiful flare🤤🤤
There are actually many different methods of breaking in gloves. I would guess that there is a decent chance that some MLB players use a similar method to the on shown in this video!
Thank you for the comment! If you are a big fan of steaming the gloves and it has worked well for you on past gloves, you can certainly use the steaming method! At JustGloves, we actually implement the steaming method when customers select our Trusted Glove Prep process at checkout.
@@filipoburrito3764 Thanks for the comment. At JustGloves, we used to 100% agree with your stance. However, we have come to notice that using steam once when first breaking in the glove usually does not hurt the glove much at all. However, if you do not prefer to use the steaming method, that is completely cool. I imagine you are super experienced in breaking in a glove and I would recommend to keep using the practices that work for you!
what you all really need to do is rub in shaving cream for about 5 minutes, tie rubber bands around it, and sleep on it. you do this for at least a week. its the hard way, but its the right way, the right way to break in a glove
So...you don't actually need to use oil on any glove when it is brand new. Oil & Conditioners are made to moisturize the leather when it starts to dry out and crack. New gloves typically aren't going to have dry leather. A by-product of moisturizing the leather is that it also softens the leather a small amount. Softening the leather can potentially make the break-in time shorter. However, be sure to note that oils and conditioners will weigh down a glove slightly because they don't really evaporate out of the glove's leather. Although we recommend it in this video, this commenter's recommendation would be to avoid using oil or conditioner when your glove is new. Wrapping it with bands and a shaping ball is excellent to do. And using a mallet is great if you have one. The single biggest thing you can do to ensure the break-in goes well is to use the glove as much as possible!
Hey, Sumit! While we can't give you a free glove, we are always hosting giveaways. Follow our Facebook page and keep an eye out for our next contest: facebook.com/justballgloves/
Hi! You should check out the JustBallGloves.com Glove Coach. It will walk you through a series of questions that will help determine the best glove for you: www.justballgloves.com/glove-coach/ Or, you can always give our friendly customer coaches a call at 866-321-4568. They would be more than happy to help you find the right size. Thanks!
I wouldn't imagine that this break-in method will ruin your glove, even if the glove is lower in quality. However, if you have had your glove for a while, I might imagine that it is already pretty soft and may not need a break-in period.
Thank you for the comment. Yes, a lot of the Mizuno gloves made in youth sizing will probably be ready to go right when you get them. If you get one of those gloves, feel free to just start using the glove right away.
You know whats better and faster, on a hot day put your glove inside a black bag then put it in your car and When it starts getting colder get your glove right away if you don't its gonna harden up
Thanks for the comment! I am sorry that the Glove Prep service didn't get the glove soft enough. Please reach out to our JustGloves Customer Experience Team. They can be reached at 1-866-321-4568. Let them know that the Trusted Glove Prep Service did not get the glove soft enough. They will go ahead and refund you the amount you paid for the Glove Prep Service.
my friend's glove got stolen, and she is playing on a competitive team, so I'm trying to find a way to break it so she doesn't have to miss the whole season
Hello! I am sorry to hear about the stolen glove. I would recommend a little bit of oil to start and then using it as much as possible. If you have a ball mallet; use that ball mallet to work the leather even if you cannot get outside for catch.
Thank you for the comment. You are correct. If an oil is being used, you have to especially careful. The best way to apply an oil is to put it on a sponge beforehand. It will still darken the leather, but not as bad if you squirt the oil on the glove. Conditioners are the better route to go to avoid darkening the leather!
dont do this, it will ruin the shape of your glove (for softball, idk about baseball) as the glove will close up making catching grounders near impossible
Lost me at "paper towel" ... Only thing I do and have ever done was 1) play catch, and 2) keep playing catch ... takes the longest, but definitely the best way ... And NEVER let a paper towel touch your leather when cleaning.
Thank you for the comment! Our video is a little dated, but it gives a little overview for folks who aren't sure what to do. If anyone has a method that has worked for them, we always tell them to keep doing it that way! We certainly agree that the best way to break in a glove is to use it as much as possible!
Honestly its dumb to "oil your glove" or even form it with a softball because if you are forming the pocket but at the same time making the glove have a narow opening for the ball to go I to the glove. I prefer breaking it in naturally to form it to my hand.
Breaking in a glove is definitely a really personal process. There is no one-way to break-in a glove that is the absolute correct method. We just want to put this video out there as it is one of the more widely accepted methods of breaking in a glove. If some one has a break-in method that works better for them, I would recommend them to keep doing what works for them.
