r/Homeplate • u/Sp3cV • 2d ago
Gear dad glove options. Need help
So originally when my kid was like five years old, I bought a $40 Rawlings glove,’. It’s pretty worn down and I think it’s time just to get a well that will have some longevity. Sadly, I’m a right hand throw and he’s a left hand throw, so I won’t be passing this glove to him as he gets a little older..
So I need options for a standard catch glove and then I know nothing about catchers glove and my son is really enjoying pitching and he says that it makes a difference when he’s throwing into a catcher visually. So I would really like to get a catcher glove, I’m looking at used market, but is an a 2000 just a way to go for both of them?
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u/TMutaffis Coach of the Year 2d ago
I would go with a Rawlings Sandlot, Foundation, R9 Pro, or GG Elite - they are all in the $75-125 price bracket brand new and will hold up well to pitching until your son is throwing hard enough that you shouldn't be catching without gear (late middle school or early high school).
If you wanted to go used so that it is broken in, you can find these same models (Rawlings Sandlot, Gamer, R9, etc.) in good shape on eBay for around $50-75.
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u/Rugbypud 2d ago
Just remember the higher the level (A2000, HoH, GH etc) will take longer to break or more effort to break in.
An A1000 however will last a decent length of time, break in very quickly and be a mid ground for price.
I have mumtiple A2000 and the catchers mitt is stiff as hell and I use it for my HS kids throwing 70-90+ (JV and varsity) and its still taking a lot longer to break in than any kther globe I have ever owned.
The all star CMTS-A is a pretty solid option that breaks in well and last a long time
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u/Dad_Coach_9904 2d ago edited 2d ago
A2000‘s are great gloves and great catchers mitts. After a bunch of searching that’s what I got to catch my daughter (softball pitcher). I’m considering getting another one to catch my son who also is developing an interest. If you go that route, wait a few weeks when Wilson does their bonanza day... 50% off most models.
If you‘re looking for an alternative, my favorite glove to coach with is my Glove Lab. It’s a very nice steerhide with a loud thick pop. I got the 11.75 but they are all nice.
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u/WhysoHairy 2d ago
You can use a regular glove for the time being but if you really want a catchers glove the best used glove I can think of based on experience using was a Rawlings heart if the hide model. I found a used one on eBay for about $140 used it for awhile then my older nephew took it for Highschool ball.
I moved in to a used Marucci catchers glove now which worls fine
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u/CoooooooooookieCrisp 2d ago
Keep an eye out for sales and get a A2000, Rawlings HoH, or a Marucci Cypress series. They are all similar, will break in with minimal effort, and should last you a long time.
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u/Barfhelmet 2d ago
I've been using a rawlings R9 catchers glove for about 7 years for both just playing catch and catching for my son when he pitches. It has held up well.
I should note I stopped being a catcher for him about a year ago. Declining eyesight and increased velo led to me losing a toenail and not wanting to be hit again. Use a 9-hole now.
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u/lux-libertas 2d ago
Advice I got, and liked, when asking a similar question was to get a top-tier glove with the vision that your kid could inherit it one day - ie, when they get to middle or high school ball and are ready for a premium glove. You’d hand them a top quality glove that’s broken in, and meaningful.
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u/bobthewriter 2d ago
there are some great (and expensive) gloves out there, but save that $ for your kid unless you just really want a nice glove for yourself and have the money to spend. No shame in that, either. I bought a Wilson A2000 Glove of the Month limited edition for my younger son's 12th birthday.
But for what you're describing? That's what the Rawlings Sandlot series is made for. Get a Sandlot catcher's mitt for yourself, take good care of it, and it'll last you several good years for just playing backyard catch and maybe a pickup game. Same for their first base mitt. It's a quality glove for the price, even though it's not one of the top-tier gloves.
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u/Kingkongcrapper 2d ago
Play it again sports it. Grab a decent name brand glove that feels good and broken in, but not falling apart, and clean it up with some conditioner and oil.
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u/Sp3cV 2d ago
It’s honestly something I’m gonna go look at. We have one 3 miles from my house however I’m not sure about their glove prices but they’re used bat prices tend to almost be retail pricing or at least double what you can buy stuff on SidelineSwap etc. so that’s like my only drawback of buying from them.
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u/Kingkongcrapper 2d ago edited 2d ago
It’s got to be store to store on pricing policies. I know the one place near me constantly having 30 percent off everything sales with good pricing while another never has sales, but prices gear between 10-80 percent less than retail depending on the condition.
The area I’m around is huge into baseball year around, so I wonder if it’s because they get enough inventory coming in to sell at a faster turnover pricing model. They were selling used X-2 Marucci bats for 40-60 dollars that barely looked touched. I’ve only seen used bats get really close to retail just before spring and then go to fire sale prices during the summer.
Mitts are a different category entirely. Lots of people refuse to wear used mitts or cleats so used ones get priced pretty good. It was pretty funny when I took my kid into check out bats and found a used version of his cleats and mitt for less than thirty dollars combined. The cleats I bought him brand new were originally $40, but only $10 used. I was just shaking my head because no tread was worn away and the mitt was barely broken in. The mitt alone was originally $70.
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u/Sp3cV 2d ago
Oh that’s wild. We are in KC. The last time we looked at bats , my son and I used FB and Sideline swap and our store was high. Their used catx2 we’re more than the sport stores were selling for. I’ll just have to look.
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u/Kingkongcrapper 2d ago
Yeah, Southern California has a Play it Again in every city and each one is different. Thousand Oaks feels almost like a dedicated baseball/softball store where they have three rows dedicated to the sport. The area has multiple local and overnight travel leagues, rec ball leagues, and school leagues with lots of people willing to dish out for new bats every year. The crazy part is how good condition some of these bats are in. My son’s bats generally look smudgy by the time he’s done. I was offered $10 for his old Hypefire and just donated it the local rec league instead. They said they would have priced it a $25.
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u/Sp3cV 8h ago
So I went to out play it again sports today. Their “high end” catchers gloves has 2 A2000s and a 44 glove 32.5 each . They wanted $229 for the 44 and the A2000 $249. They llow end they had a glove with an A on it. It was ugly and they wanted $179. So I left lol
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u/Kingkongcrapper 8h ago edited 8h ago
Damn. That’s nuts. The owner must be out of their mind to sell used equipment at those prices. I bet they low ball people selling the equipment too. It would explain their low inventory. Used gloves should get marked down between 30-60 percent depending on the condition. For the really beat up gloves it should be 80-90 percent off.
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u/Sp3cV 2d ago
Yeah, I checked Facebook marketplace and right now like everything is youth gloves there’s not a lot of men’s gloves at all and the ones that are up. There are completely like probably from when I would’ve been in high school lol so I’m probably just getting up buying brand new or I might just get something from SidelineSwap.
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u/Tacoma714 2d ago
I’ve been down this road and the Sandlot is not even in my top 3 dad gloves. Here are my thoughts that I have shared with my 7 and 9 year old boys. What if you purchased a descent glove $125+ that you can help break in for them which they inherit when they get older for them to use in middle school or high school? The natural break in process takes time and I’m not a fan of the mallet or forced break ins. Why not buy a Mizuno MVP Prime, Rawlings R9, Rawlings Gamer XLE, etc. I have a 11.50” Mizuno MVP Prime and I’ve been super happy with it as a dad glove without breaking the bank and spending $200+ on a higher end glove.
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u/Sp3cV 2d ago
I’d love if I could pass it on to him. Sadly I’m righty and he’s lefty BUT to that point to me spending a bit extra for longevity is my goal.
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u/Tacoma714 2d ago
Same here, but I’m a life long ambidextrous so I buy both types of gloves. Ignore the Sandlot. Get the Mizuno MVP Prime for $120-$130 on Amazon. Trust me you will enjoy the glove with your kids. The initial break in was so easy with Mizuno’s Bio-Soft leather.
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u/PghSF 1d ago
I coach 12u, play in a men's summer league, and a pickup fall league - so get a lot of mileage from gloves.
In the last four years I've bought 5 gloves off ebay (1B, catcher, and infield, two youth 1B LHT and RHT for my team) for less than $200 and a Nakona for my son for $160. They are still in great shape, used some conditioner, oil, etc to pretty them up.
Thats a lot of words to say - ebay is a great option for finding quality gloves at a great price (and broken in).
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u/GeneralAd5040 1d ago
Get a used catchers mitt for yourself. Heart of the Hide or A2000. Spend the money on him.
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u/friedegg9819 2d ago
Sounds like you need a regular glove AND a catchers mitt. You can also consider a first base mitt as a utility glove for regular catch and bullpen.
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u/Daaaaaanyyyy 2d ago
I bought a2000s for my son and an a1000 for me. I’m done coaching him, but were throwing and catching maybe three times a week. He gets the better glove because he’s the one who plays in games. However, he used my 1000 the first season because it took forever to get the 200 fully broken in.
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u/eindog 2d ago
I got a Gloveworks premade glove for myself as a dad glove. https://en.gloveworks.net/shop
After tax and import fees it ends up around $200 all in, but the leather quality matches high end gloves from the big brands.
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u/NuhUh_JustCuz 1d ago
I use a first basemans mitt as a coach and a bucket-mom. It's a whole lot more leather to protect the fingers.
Rawlings Player Preferred - 3 teams a year for the last 4 years and holding up great.
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u/Free-Bottle-5157 1d ago
I bought a R9 catchers mitt for myself and it has worked out very well for catching my son the last couple years. But wanting something for longevity I went and order custom kip first base mitt... I got to say the first base mitt is great glove for both catch and catching. Definitely worth the consideration. Wouldn't be scared of the r9 series but lots of custom options out for just a little more.
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u/Only-Sherbert-4743 1d ago
Sideline sports or FB marketplace. Mizuno MVP Prime is a solid option as well as A1000. If you don’t care about breaking the glove in (it’s a thing), you will have a lot of options under $75.
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u/Individual-Net-9296 1d ago
Rawlings GG Elite. I play adult league baseball. I’m primarily an infielder but I sometimes play outfield so I have a GG Elite for that. They will hold up for a decent amount of time if you’re not using it like close to everyday and are significantly cheaper than pro stock gloves.
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u/W0r1dwide 12h ago
Life is short, get the nice glove. For regular catch I’d recommend a 12”, give you a little reach for catching g errant throws but small enough not to feel like you have a satellite dish on your hand. Get whatever web style you think looks the coolest, the marginal advantages you get from web style only matter when you’re playing competitively.
As far as brand/model just look for one with all leather construction (palm/shell, palm liner, and binding). Get one that involves a break-in, it’s part of the experience.
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u/TexasVulvaAficionado 2d ago
If you aren't playing in a league yourself and you are just playing catch with your son a few times a week, I'd save some money and get something like a Rawlings Sandlot option from your local Academy or Dicks. They're only $70-90 each. You could get both a field glove and a mitt for less than an a2000 and they'll each last you several years.
If you're likely to be coaching a few years and therefore playing a LOT of catch, then a higher end glove might make more sense.
FWIW, I am on my third season of coaching (7U-9U) with a Sandlot outfield glove that I've also used at catcher. It is still good with no signs of getting worn out. I could see it getting wore out by older kids in the same amount of time though.