Literally just customized a pro stiff 44 that I ordered. I feel like I messed up breaking in my old glove when I was younger, so this’ll be nice to break in a new glove the right way. Can’t wait to get it.
Thanks for these videos. They have been super helpful. I have twins (boy and girl) playing high school and travel baseball/ softball, and been doing my best to help them break their gloves in correctly. Each kid has multiple gloves since my daughter plays multiple positions, including catcher, infield and outfield. My son plays first, outfield and sometimes pitches. We have a few 44 gloves, couple Mizuno, and just recently got a Wilson catchers mitt
Two stories about palm bubbles: 1. Got a A2K B2 summer before my freshman year at college, got a bubble but the leather is so nice the bubble broke in apart of the glove, barely noticeable 6 years later. 2. Custom A2000 CK22 came with a one as well, and it’s the reason I refuse to use it at all, barely even catch play. Moral of the story, leather quality makes such a difference it’s crazy.
I've had those same water lines on my glove too. I suspect it is from minerals in the water. Either way, what worked for me was a little conditioner after everything was bone dry.
Wow never saw that happen from the hot water treatment. Done it with 11 44pros and countless HOH and a2000s. Weird. Even Aso says to hot water haha. Great content as always !
No hot water. Use smith’s leather balm. As you work the heel and palm just add more. It will work the balm deep into the leather, adding a waterproofing element to it and also extending the life of the leather.
The leathers are super close when you compare them, so far this 4 him seems just slightly more durable and it’s a little more expensive than 44 so it kinda evens out
I have two daughters playing high-level travel and college softball, so I have broken in my fair share of Heart of The Hides, Pro Preferreds, and Nokonas. The key is to use a 10 lb dumbbell on the outside of the glove instead of the mallet, especially with a catcher's mitt. The added weight does the job for you; and you get to work your biceps. I made a mallet with an old softball and a 3S drumstick. I drilled the ball with a 5/8 spade paddle bit to 75% through the ball. I then covered the stick in hot glue, forced the end all the way into the ball, and let it sit overnight. Now I have the perfect mallet for a softball. The ones you buy in a store are all designed for baseballs, so the pocket won't form right if you use those. Also, I never use water. Condition the glove with Ball Player's Balm or Nokona conditioner several times during the process. But, most importantly, play catch with it. For my catcher's mitts, I fire balls from my Jugs machine into the pocket at 50 MPH while feeding the ball with my other hand. It breaks it in even faster that way.
i got my 44 in the pro stiff and it is taking a while to get right. id say for anyone who needs to glove out of the box and take into a game within a couple weeks, pro stiff will not be ready in time
Gotta be honest, i don't remember ever breaking in a glove in all the years i played, but i also was an A2000 man. Went through 3 of them. Those things break in, in like a day tops 🤷
Dont have a mallet , I was thinking screwing a eyehook into a baseball tie paracord to it get a short stick like cut off shovel handle screw a eye hook into that tieing the paracord to the handle . Kinda like nunchucks but baseball and handle.and spend time whipping it into the pocket...what u think ?
Gonna buy my first quality glove soon(and one for my son). There's a company like 5 min away from me called glovebreaker, and he breaks gloves in professionally. I've never broken in a stiff glove. Would you recommend letting him do it, or going through the process myself?
I just got my 44 pro stiff and i gotta tell you that so far it was the easiest glove to breake in. It took me literally a couple of minutes to make it game ready. I actually thought 44 sent me a standard instead pro stiff. Do you have any experience breaking in made in Japan gloves? You should get one and try it
My dad used to put oil on them, put a ball in the pocket, tie it closed, wrap it in aluminum foil, then bake it in the oven for I want to say 15-20 minutes. Then it was just a matter of playing catch. Still using my high school glove 25 years later.
Hey there. With the markings that were left from the water treatment, could you give an update as to how they look now? Did they eventually go away? Did you try anything else to eliminate them? Did they just stay forever? Any feedback would be awesome.
hey, i just got my new pro 44 and when i was younger messed up breaking in my glove and im scared to mess this one up, ive been watching all your vidoes on it and im just not sure if it closes right can end you a video via email or somthing to see if the shape looks right to you?
I usually treat mine with oil bc out here during the summer it gets to 116 after a week or 2 of that i start beating the glove in with my hand in it how i would usually wear it to form it correctly then i play catch
Two things. Just bought a couple hats. Way cool. Also, I feel like 44 has changed in the past couple years. I bought my fielding glove 2 years ago and it has pretty thick fingers. The fingers on the gloves now seem to be much thinner and kinda cheap. I did choose the pro stiff option, so maybe that's it? Have you noticed any change?
I honestly think there’s a lot of fluctuation in their gloves so some come in super nice and others just a little thinner or less quality in some way. I’ve never gotten one that’s trash but I’ve noticed differences
if you dont want to go out and buy a mallet get a long screwdriver and a baseball and push the ball into the screwdriver untill it goes in almost all the way then you could glue it to get it firm
Is glove oil ever an option when Breaking in a new 44 glove? My Sons new glove should be here soon and I'm trying to learn best way to help him break it in!!
I’ve collected gloves with my dad for years and gotten a lot of game used gloves for mlbers. There is something distinctly different about how they break their gloves in. Can you shed any light on that or come across any info about what they do specifically??? Thank you bgk
One common thing is keeping their hand loosely in it and a bunch of those guys break their glove in slowly Some guys have their gamer and take a year to break in next years gamer by using it in practice and stuff like that A major difference is also the leather itself. The gloves they get are simply nicer than what you find at dicks and what not. It’s the best leather for the best players!
is there supposed to be like a line crease in my heel? everytime i close that 1 line appears and i can’t seem to make it disappear. is it normal or is there a way to get rid of it?
I just ordered a Pro Stiff from 44 and I’m kind of regretting it because everyone says it takes ages to break in. Is that true? I’m a sophomore in high school and want to use it a soon as it gets here.
@@ballgloveking ok thank you I’ve been trying to help get his name out there more but not only does he make good gloves he checks in on his customer’s and is just an all around great guy and friend
i love my wilson a2000 to death and once i accidentally left it outside all night and it got completely soaked and now the pocket is dry but i still love it and use it in games
BIG NO NO....Hot Water treatments and Steam raise the leather PH level to 7 with automatically starts a deterioration process, hence broken laces and bad smells..Leathers' best PH level is between 5.5-6.