Baseball is an absolutely fantastic sport, one that most people can play with ease. Moreover, there are just a few pieces of equipment that you will need for this sport, with the baseball glove being the main one.
That said, when you first buy a baseball glove, it’s going to be fairly hard and immobile. Of course, a hard glove is not going to be ideal for playing.
Therefore, you first need to soften that glove before it can really be used for anything serious. How to soften a baseball glove is exactly what we are here to teach you today. As you are about to find out, this process is quite easy and fast.
Why Do Baseball Gloves Need to be Softened?
Some people might think that a baseball glove should be ready to use as is right out of the packaging. However, this is unfortunately not the case. The simple reality is that a new baseball glove is going to be very hard, stiff, and rigid. In terms of using a new baseball glove, this makes it very difficult.
If the baseball glove is too stiff and rigid, it’s going to take way too much power from your hands to bend the glove so you can effectively catch a ball. Chances are that your fingers won’t be powerful enough to effectively close the baseball glove around the ball.
Moreover, if you soften up your baseball glove and break it in a little bit, it’s also going to create a pocket in the middle that is going to be able to hold the ball securely. Let’s move on and figure out exactly how to soften a baseball glove.
How to Soften a Baseball Glove
There are actually a few different ways to soften a baseball glove. Today, we want to cover all of these methods. Our official recommendation, for the very best results, is that you engage in each of these glove softening processes in a step-by-step manner, starting with the first one on our list.
1. Get the Baseball Glove Wet
One the easiest way to soften a baseball glove is by getting it wet with hot water, somewhere between 150 and 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Simply pour a small amount of this hot water over any part of your baseball glove that you want to soften up.
Just make sure that you don’t use any detergents or put your glove in the microwave, as this can cause serious damage. You can even use a little bit of glove oil that you apply with a sponge. However, keep in mind that you can never apply glove oil directly to a glove, but rather apply it with a sponge.
2. Work the Glove
The next thing you should do to soften your baseball glove is to start really working it in. To do this, you want to take the pinky and the thumb of the glove and bend them back and forth, and then toward each other and away from each other.
This will help start softening up the stiffest areas of the baseball glove. You also then want to push the fingers downwards and then squeeze the liner of the palm together.
You can then also pull on the top of the web to stretch it out a little bit. You should try doing this at least eight times before the glove has dried.
3. Pound the Glove
The next thing that you can do to soften your baseball glove is to pound it with a wooden mallet or something like a neoprene dumbbell that is 5 pounds or lighter. You want to use this hard object to pound and work in the baseball glove in the area that you used to catch the ball, or in other words the pocket.
Not only do you want to work in the pocket of the glove, but for the webbing as well. You need to create a small fold where you want the glove to fold when you catch the ball. If you don’t have anything heavy to pound the glove with, you can also just try throwing a ball into the center of the glove 30 or 40 times.
4. Shape it With Rubber Bands
The next step in the baseball glove softening process is to put a ball in the center of the glove, right in the pocket. You then want to use three or four powerful rubber bands to wrap the glove around the ball and hold it in place.
You want to use these rubber bands to form an X shape that overlap each other in the middle. Put your glove aside and let it work its magic for around 5 hours. This will allow the glove to take the ideal shape without going back to its original shape.
5. Use It
The other way to break in a baseball glove is to simply use it. You want to play as much catch as humanly possible. Your baseball glove is going to start softening up and taking on its ideal shape the more you use it, so the more catch you play, the faster this will happen.
Final Thoughts
There you have it folks, a simple step-by-step process on exactly how to soften a baseball glove to get it ready for your first big game.
Thanks for stopping by ~Jeremy
