Kevin McGonigle is...

[romad1]

Just now, NorthWoods said:

I'd play anyone that owned that glove at DH too.

Since i'm the coach its generally me retrieving balls from the fielders with it.   

[Screwball]

1 hour ago, romad1 said:

I am going to share my current glove again...

I assure you that after several months of very muddy Virginia softball it no longer is this bright color.   I explained the livery of the color scheme somewhere but its basically the US Air Force TACP crest colors.  Blue for Air, Green for Ground, Red for the Firepower we deliver.  

The new one plays a lot better than my $35 super soft glove that I have to replace the laces on each season.   Its great for coaching and having to retrieve balls without having to reach that extra 13" when i'm trying to refill the Jugs machine. 

I can't compare to that. Pretty.

This one is just about broke in. You can tell at the bottom the leather laces are different. Local grocery, display of shoe laces. Scissors, a small screwdriver, and we fixed them ourselves. My web busted one night and about got my nose broke.

[romad1]

9 hours ago, Screwball said:

I can't compare to that. Pretty.

This one is just about broke in. You can tell at the bottom the leather laces are different. Local grocery, display of shoe laces. Scissors, a small screwdriver, and we fixed them ourselves. My web busted one night and about got my nose broke.

i had that experience with my old glove a bunch.  A ball out to the outfield that I'm shagging and good thing I was demoing to the girls to catch the ball as far above your head as possible rather than glove in front of face.   

The tool that they sell that shortens the repair time a bunch are these cinchers that save you a bunch of grief if your knots aren't perfect. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGHVGBJV?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2&th=1

[romad1]

FTR, would never have gotten the custom glove if I hadn't put a Rico glove build into an auction to raise funds for our program and won the auction.  

[chasfh]

12 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

I imagine you might play 3rd with a slightly larger glove than SS but I have to wonder if switching gloves for that small a difference is even a good idea if you are playing both position a lot. 

Yes, you definitely need a shorter glove at short and second to ease the ball transfer during plays, especially double plays. Sure, you need to do something similar at third but not as often because SS and 2B gets way more chances to transfer than 3B, and the extra inch is more important for a more stationary position like 3B. In the middle of the dirt guys rely on their range more than their reach or their reflexes.

[gehringer_2]

21 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Yes, you definitely need a shorter glove at short and second to ease the ball transfer during plays, especially double plays. Sure, you need to do something similar at third but not as often because SS and 2B gets way more chances to transfer than 3B, and the extra inch is more important for a more stationary position like 3B. In the middle of the dirt guys rely on their range more than their reach or their reflexes.

I don't argue the idea that there is an optimum glove for each position, what I'm speculating about is how well the brain  copes with using two different gloves that are relatively close to each other from day to day. Seems like you are working against your brain's ability to key into 'knowing' the glove as an extension of your hand. If you are going from an IF to and OF glove, that's a big difference, less chance of mental 'template' confusion I would think. But I wonder about the ability to mentally resolve a relatively small difference as successfully under pressure. The idea being that if you are charging to scoop a slow roller and your brain has got the wrong finger length dialed in -> probability increase for booted ball?

 

Edited yesterday at 01:26 PM by gehringer_2

[Screwball]

23 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

I don't argue the idea that there is an optimum glove for each position, what I'm speculating about is how well the brain  copes with using two different gloves that are relatively close to each other from day to day. Seems like you are working against your brain's ability to key into 'knowing' the glove as an extension of your hand. If you are going from an IF to and OF glove, that's a big difference, less chance of mental 'template' confusion I would think. But I wonder about the ability to mentally resolve a relatively small difference as successfully under pressure. The idea being that if you are charging to scoop a slow roller and your brain has got the wrong finger length dialed in -> probability increase for booted ball?

 

Your brain will be just fine. If you play enough it comes natural and you think nothing of it. Can you imagine how many thousands and thousands of balls you have fielded over the years?

[chasfh]

23 hours ago, Screwball said:

Your brain will be just fine. If you play enough it comes natural and you think nothing of it. Can you imagine how many thousands and thousands of balls you have fielded over the years?

Not only that, but if you play each position enough, your brain can map out the difference between needing a certain-sized glove at one position versus a different-size glove at another, even if the difference is a fraction of an inch, basically because of the thousands and thousands of balls you have fielded at each.

[casimir]

On 4/2/2026 at 9:00 PM, romad1 said:

I am going to share my current glove again...

I assure you that after several months of very muddy Virginia softball it no longer is this bright color.   I explained the livery of the color scheme somewhere but its basically the US Air Force TACP crest colors.  Blue for Air, Green for Ground, Red for the Firepower we deliver.  

The new one plays a lot better than my $35 super soft glove that I have to replace the laces on each season.   Its great for coaching and having to retrieve balls without having to reach that extra 13" when i'm trying to refill the Jugs machine. 

Ramon Urias was using a purple glove in yesterday's game.  I mentioned in the game thread that I don't recall ever seeing that shade of fielding mitt.

[gehringer_2]

58 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Not only that, but if you play each position enough, your brain can map out the difference between needing a certain-sized glove at one position versus a different-size glove at another, even if the difference is a fraction of an inch, basically because of the thousands and thousands of balls you have fielded at each.

easy to assume, more difficult to prove. I'd be interested to see some controlled work that shows how well the brain actually does avoid crossing itself up. You certainly do see the issue in industrial safety incidents where context has changed.

Edited 7 hours ago by gehringer_2

[romad1]

1 hour ago, casimir said:

Ramon Urias was using a purple glove in yesterday's game.  I mentioned in the game thread that I don't recall ever seeing that shade of fielding mitt.

Color is the touchstone of reality.  i’m quoting an obscure Public Service Broadcasting song “RGYBIV”

[casimir]

On 4/2/2026 at 10:42 PM, Screwball said:

I can't compare to that. Pretty.

This one is just about broke in. You can tell at the bottom the leather laces are different. Local grocery, display of shoe laces. Scissors, a small screwdriver, and we fixed them ourselves. My web busted one night and about got my nose broke.

If that mitt could tell stories…..

[Screwball]

1 hour ago, casimir said:

If that mitt could tell stories…..

It certainly could. That was my pitching glove. I had a fielding glove that is smaller, but broke in even more. 🙂 I had another that was completely wore out and I finally had to retire it. Hated breaking in new gloves.

When not in use, wrap a baseball in it. They don't do it today I don't think, but back then (70s) we rubbed them down with neatsfoot oil to soften them up. Things were much different 50 years ago. 

A funny little story. In 1994/1995 I coached a high school team. By that time all they had were aluminum bats. I suppose due to cost? Doesn't matter I guess. Anyway, I had an old wooden bat at home (I made one in shop class and used it, but it broke and never made another) so I took it to a practice late in the year. The kids were amazed. They never saw a wooden bat, and of course never hit a ball with one. It was neat to watch them all gather around and "wow" over that bat. We had to have extra batting practice so everyone could use it just to see what it was like. Oh wow, that was cool!!!

No ping. A crack of a ball on a wooden bat. Music to the ears. 

The glove also traveled. In 1973 it rode in a car from a ball game in Mansfield, Ohio to our hometown (about an hour drive) with 4 other guys on the team, a case of beer, and a bong that was the head of Richard Nixon. The bowl was his nose, you sucked on his head, and his ear was the carburetor. 🙂 I wasn't quite old enough to drink, but nobody cared.

Edited 3 hours ago by Screwball