Last Updated on July 24, 2022
Baseball and softball gloves are essential pieces of equipment for players of all skill levels. But unfortunately, a brand new baseball glove doesn’t come in handy or the comfort a player needs. To get the perfect hand fittings and comfort, you should learn how to break in a baseball glove.
A proper break-in can make your glove feel more comfortable and move better with your hand. A baseball or softball glove should be broken as soon as possible after they are bought.
Gloves should break gradually over a period of several weeks to allow them to become flexible and fit the player’s hand more comfortably. This will help to optimize performance and prevent injuries.
You can do this customization using baseball glove oils, shaving creams, warm water, and conditioning methods. Except for water, each method has a few side effects too. Before stepping onto the instruction section, let’s get more ideas about why you should break in a baseball glove.
Importance of Breaking In A Baseball or Softball Glove
Breaking in baseball gloves is essential for players. Let’s take a look at how a break-in can help baseball players.
- Gloves are designed to fit the needs of a baseball or softball player. If you don’t properly break yours, the glove can cause pain when playing.
- By breaking in the gloves, the player reduces the chance of pain and increases their catching or fielding accuracy.
- Breaking in baseball gloves is an integral part of the game. Gloves help to protect the hand and give the player a better grip on the ball. They also improve bat control and batting average.
- This modification technique of the baseball glove helps to soften the fabric and make it more pliable so that it stretches and conforms better to your hand.
- It’ll make fielding and batting easier and more comfortable.
- In addition, if you break in a baseball glove, you can prevent blisters from forming, which would reduce player mobility.
How To Break In A Baseball Glove At Home?
Using different methods, you can break in or soften your baseball or softball gloves. Below I’ve shared some of the methods most MLB players follow to break in their gloves.
Method 1: Break In Baseball Glove With Hot Water
This is probably the easiest DIY technique to break in your baseball gloves. Follow the step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Apply Warm Water to Baseball Glove
To moisten the glove, first, make some hot water. Don’t boil it. Keep a 150-170° Fahrenheit temperature.
Now use a sponge to soak some water and rub it on the leather glove. Go through each finger and portion of the baseball gloves. Afterward, keep it in an open place overnight to dry out.
Step 2: Make The Leather Soft With Glove Mallet
After day 1 of drying out, use anything hard like a glove mallet or dumbbell to hit on the glove surface. Start hitting in the pocket area. Then spread hitting on the finger areas as well.
When the pounding is done, hold the glove assuming 2 parts and rub it against each other. Gradually, hold two fingers each time and do the same. You must repeat the process after 3-4 days to get the best break-in result.
The whole process conforms to the glove’s external and internal surface and results in fitting the glove easily to your convenience.
Step 3: Alternative Way to Apply Heated Water
Instead of a sponge, you can simply pour a glass with the heated water and apply it to the baseball or softball glove.
Then put the glove on a soft surface like a cushion and knead the glove barehanded. Make sure to apply a soft knead. Otherwise, you may cause damage to the leather.
While kneading, you can follow any manner to what you want to get. For example, some players don’t like to break in the finger portion, and some feel this is mandatory. Do the break-in as your personal necessity.
After every 3-5 minutes of rubbing, you’ve to use a glove mallet or hard material to hit the glove. While breaking in the glove, be careful not to pound your hand.
"Any hard material is acceptable for the pounding unless it's not causing damage to the leather. Don't use any material with sharp nails or heads. Wooden material is better for the job."
You can also stretch the fingers and webs in between hitting the glove to make this process more effective. And don’t worry, the laces are strong enough to resist this stretch. Repeat the process until you get your expected break-in result.
Method 2: Break In Baseball Glove With Conditioner
Perhaps conditioning the leather is the most debated way to break baseball gloves. Many players use glove oil for the purpose, whereas some prefer glove conditioners. In my opinion, it’s fair why people criticize leather conditioning.
The process may seem to work, and you get the fastest break-in. But following this method will weigh up your gloves as the leather soaks the applied conditioner. Besides, it can reduce the leather’s durability as it gets softer over the period because of the applied conditioner.
To begin the process, you need a glove conditioner, cream or glove oil, and an applicator sponge.
Step 1: Conditioning The Glove
Get some conditioner on the sponge and apply it to every glove area, including the pocket, palm, backside, thumb, pinky and other fingers, and laces.
Applying it on the laces is necessary because they handle most of the stress when catching the ball. Once you’re finished, use a paper towel to wipe off any excess oil.
Step 2: Shape Your Glove
If you only apply the conditioner and leave it to dry out, it’ll soften the leather initially, but the baseball glove won’t get the form you need. Therefore, shaping your glove is inevitable. To start, place a ball inside the mitt.
“Mitt is actually the area in a baseball or softball glove where the pocket meets the palm. More specifically, it’s the zone where the ball is caught most of the time. So, you should ensure it’s formed in the right way.”
Then place 2 bands around the glove like in the following image. It would help if you formed an “X” shape while using the rubber bands.
It’ll ensure to keep the pressure of the bands across the top and the bottom of the glove. The shape will eventually make sure to secure the ball in the pocket better.
After that, keep it inside an oven bag. You must let the glove sit at room temperature for 10-12 hours. I used to keep it there at night. It’ll allow the oil to condition the leather further and let the baseball glove continue to form.
Step 3: Break in the Baseball Glove
Open the bag the following day. Once you’ve removed the ball and bands, you’ll get a pleasing shape for a pocket. You just need to do a little work to break it in.
I suggest using a wooden baseball mallet to help with the break-in process. This tool simulates catching a ball in the pocket. It also allows you to adjust the glove to fit your taste and speed up the break-in time.
The process is relatively straightforward. You need to put on the glove and hit it with the mallet consistently for at least 10 minutes.
While hitting with the mallet, concentrate on hitting the glove’s portions where you’ll catch the ball in the actual match. Move the mallet around to soften up those stiffer areas of the baseball glove.
When you’re done, re-wrap the glove with the shaping ball and bands and keep it sitting out overnight.
Step 4: Practice Catch
After this 2-day break in the process, you now need to inspect how well the operation worked. To do so, simply play catch with your baseball glove.
When practicing catch, concentrate on catching the ball in the pocket. I recommend using the mallet once a day until you’re satisfied with the leather status or form of the glove.
Also, reapplying the baseball glove oil periodically throughout the season will help the glove stay in peak condition. In brief, repeat the process until you get the desired feel.
Method 3: Break In Baseball Glove with Shaving Cream
Well, it may sound a little weird for first-timers, but it’s practical to break in a new baseball glove using shaping cream. Baseball gloves are made out of original leather.
Hence, just like the way shaving cream interacts with our face skin, it does the same with leather gloves. Shaving cream softens our bear and skin so that it doesn’t cause rashes while shaving with a razor.
The break-in process requires less effort as it softens the baseball gloves. Another advantage of this process is that it doesn’t weigh up baseball gloves since the ingredient dries after soaking in the leather.
Step 1: Apply Shaving Cream on Leather
Get a regular shaving cream to start with this break-in process. Apply the cream to your brand new glove and rub it in the pocket, backside, laces, pinky, thumb, and back fingers. Like the other process, you’ve to set it aside to let it dry overnight.
Step 2: Clean The Glove
Once the wait is over, grab the glove again. You may see a bit of residue of shaving cream on the leather. Wipe it off with a clean cloth or towel.
Step 3: Use Glove Mallet to Pound
The cheapest way to break in a glove is to pound it with a baseball bat. Put the glove on a soft surface that won’t cause damage to the leather.
Pick your bat and hit on the glove with it. Don’t hit it while wearing the glove. You may hurt your hands. Do the hitting for 5-10 minutes. This will soften the glove.
Gloves Break-In Common Mistakes – Dos’ and Don’ts
It’s needless to say that breaking in a new glove isn’t a 1-day process. It would be best if you continue it throughout the season until you get the perfect glove shape.
However, some players go a step ahead to pace up the break-in speed and end up with worn leather. Keep the below suggestions in mind to keep your baseball glove durable:
- Don’t use glove oil frequently to break in gloves. Baseball gloves and leather soak oils just like human skin. The more you apply the oil, the more it’ll soak. As a result, the glove will become hefty over time.
- Always keep the water hand touchable if you want to apply hot water for the breaking-in purpose. Don’t boil it. It’ll burn the glove leather.
- The break-in process may differ depending on the different positions of baseball players. Infielders prefer to break one step ahead than outfielders as they require faster finger movement and flexibility than others.
- Don’t store your glove randomly. How you store baseball gloves affects the break-in result. If you’re an outfielder, always store the glove in the palm-down position.
- On the contrary, keep a ball in the pocket while storing if your playing style is infielder, catcher, or even the first baseman. Then use rubber bands around the web top and the bottom of the glove.
- Don’t just store the glove after breaking in. You should regularly use the glove for playing catch. It’ll make the modification more effective.
- To prevent the glove from being worn out, apply little glove oil after every season or tournament.
- Never store a baseball glove in a highly humid environment. Excessive humid levels can brittle the glove. Instead, store it in a dry or at room temperature.
- Avoid using linseed oils to break in the gloves. Never use neatsfoot oil or silicone spray. These liquids fill in the pores on the leather, which will eventually cause the glove to dry and become heftier.
- Breaking in a glove with a glove steaming process is always a bad idea. The excessive heat will burn the leather and cause permanent damage to the gloves. Eventually, this may cause harm to your microwave oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a break-in period for baseball or softball gloves?
A break-in period for baseball or softball gloves is the period before use where the glove is stretched and molded to your hand.
How do MLB players break in their gloves?
Most MLB players prefer using heated water or shaving cream to break in their baseball gloves. However, many baseball or softball players don’t like the oil breaking in, as this makes the glove weighty.
How long does it take to break in a baseball glove?
There is no accurate answer to this. The Pro Series baseball gloves take longer to break in than regular soft baseball gloves. Besides, the break-in technique you apply determines the break-in period.
Regarding the baseball glove oil or conditioner break-in method, it may take up to 20 days to get the required fittings and comfort. And if using the warm water break-in method can take 30 days to break in a baseball glove completely.
The timeline also may differ depending on how much time you spend on playing catch with the glove. However, you can use a mallet and pound the baseball glove to minimize the duration.
What is the best way to soften a baseball glove fast?
In my experience, the fastest way to soften a baseball glove is either using oil or conditioner while breaking in. Using shaving cream also seems to take slightly less time to break in than the hot water approach.
Can you use Vaseline to break in a baseball glove?
Technically you can use vaseline to break in baseball gloves. The petroleum jelly in vaseline makes it easier to soften the leather gloves. It also prevents excessive dryness, which you’ll witness in the colder regions.
However, there are some solid reasons why you shouldn’t break in baseball gloves with vaseline.
If the vaseline you’re applying doesn’t have refined petroleum jelly, it may shorten the durability of the gloves.
Besides, vaseline keeps the glove’s leather hydrated, trapping bacteria, dust, and debris. Excessive application of vaseline also increases the weight of the leather, and it won’t be adequate for players, especially at a younger age.
Wrapping Up
That was all about how to break in a baseball glove. In conclusion, using different methods, you can break in baseball or softball gloves. These include mink oil, conditioner, hot water, and shaving cream techniques.
No matter which method you apply, mallet hitting and afterward practicing fly balls or ground balls with the broken-in baseball glove is necessary to get the result earlier. And If you’ve followed any method correctly, you’ll get a glove that fits your hand well in no time.
Check out more about baseball gloves:
How To Measure Hand For Baseball Gloves | Best Tips From A Professional
Best Baseball Gloves Under $100 In 2022
How To Use Vaseline On Baseball Glove? Experts Opinion.
How To Dry A Wet Baseball Glove | Easy 6 Steps
Hello everyone. My name is Jason Butler, and I live in California, America. I was a professional AAA Minor League Baseball player. I lost my chance of playing MLB for injury issues, but I did not lose my love for baseball. I attended the coaching training program and am now working as a coach in a small school in San Diego.
I always love to share my experience and knowledge if that can help you. Play baseball, and stay fit.