Tips for Breaking in the Catcher’s Mitt
One of the most important pieces of equipment used on the baseball field of play is a catcher’s mitt. When you choose to purchase one, you’ll have them moderately flexible. They can be used almost immediately without treating the glove. A catcher’s mitt is important in the game and it should be given an excellent care. Protecting it while it is in your catcher’s bag and not letting it smashed, mangled and deformed could end up winning the game with ease.
Even if you have great catching technique, your skill won’t work if your glove is working against you. Running over the glove is a problem that most players face. To prevent this annoying incident, you may want to have a glove that gives you long lasting enjoyment. Breaking the mitt with the proper shape is important to enhance your catching ability without harming yourself. Make it broken into your specifications and prepare yourself to take some steps in order to make the catcher’s mitt to be game-ready.
Typically, you will want to soften the catcher’s mitt up once you have it in your hands. There are many ways that people use to soften their glove. And there are many ways you can use to break in a catcher’s mitt. Some may say to spread some oil on it but some of them may not recommend that idea for some reasons. Here is why we should go through the ways you should not do on your mitt first.
Don’t Do The Don’t’s
1. Do not use oil.It can soak in and make the glove a little heavier. It can also get into the wool cloth found on the backhand of the wristband.
2. Don’t drive the mitt over your car.Using the car over the mitt makes no sense. Doing so can only damage the leather leading problems arise.
3. Do not use a microwave. Throwing your new and possibly inexpensive glove into the microwave and nuke it is a terrible idea. It could only make the mitt dry out which make it shatter in the long run. You will then end up replacing it more often.
Best Ways to Break In
One best way to break in the catcher’s mitt is to play catch with it. Try to catch bullpen with it and catch those hard pitches in the pocket to make the form. Getting the form the way you want it may take some time but great is the feeling when you have one that fits for your hand.
You can also use an older method such as putting a ball in the mitt and trying the glove shut with string, rubber bands or anything alike. This will help the mitt take its shape a bit further while keeping the form comforts you all the time. In doing this process, make sure that it is placed in the correct position. Another way to break in the catcher’s mitt is to catch a pitching machine with your new glove. This process will get a nice pitch on the same course to allow you catch the ball in the pocket and make it formed its shape.
To help create the pocket, you can use force. In this way, you can use objects such as the wooden mallet, baseball bat, your hands or your fist to pound the spot where you want the ball to be at.
Instead of using oil, try a lanolin-based cream because it does not soak into the leather
Additional Tips
Squirt some shaving cream into the pocket. Take a towel and dry off all the excess. Place the baseball in the catcher’s mitt pocket and leave it on for a few hours. Don’t forget to tie the mitt in and make sure to place it on the closed position. Untie the mitt probably after 8 hours, play catch with your friend and throw the ball fairly hard. This will make soften the leather better.
After trying this process, the leather in the glove will continue to adjust to your hand as you play with it. Keep the mitt clean and always wipe excess dirt and mud off. If you haven’t picked out a mitt yet, head on over the best catcher’s mitt found in baseballthing.com and enjoy purchasing one that matches your qualification. There are a lot of choices to choose. Shop with no limitation.
