Glove size for SS

TheGame

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What glove size does your 16u to college shortstop use?

And for the fun of it, does she have a favorite brand?
 

daboss

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Everyone will argue my opinion on this topic and my article on the subject written almost 20 years ago still rings of truth. I'll share the highlights;

Keep in mind the size of the player's hand can be a determining factor. My original article was written with the train of thought being cost effective for families. Most players don't want to have more than 1 glove. I still say a 12" to 12.5" glove is a good utility sized glove. Very versatile in size for any position. Some may consider an 11" to 11.5" for infielders while a 13" to 14.5" for outfielders. A girl playing college ball may want 2 gloves in her bag. Many playing infield still want a 12" to 12.5" glove for reasons of argument that suit their opinion. That's okay, my summary will explain.

The best glove for your daughter is the one she likes. If she believes in it she'll perform at her peak. Having said this, gloves still need to be replaced due to wear. Once they lose their shape or begin to break down, it's time to break in a new one. Pro baseball players will have professionals breaking in new gloves for them throughout the season. They are almost always the same brand and model they are comfortable with. They play over 100 games plus practices in a season and will some times use 3-4 gloves a season. Some may hate to hear this but if a normally maintained glove starts having string failure, you may want to start getting another glove ready. I know things can happen to strings but the leather strings are telling you something about that leather glove. The message is subtle but still a message.
 

DanMaz

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SS / middle infielder - 11.75 Wilson A 2000. she uses a larger Wilson for OF. I originally thought the 11.75 was too small but she absolutely loves this glove and plays very well with it. so much control.
 

tschromm3

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I have this discussion with my girls every year. They all roll in with the latest and greatest bat every season at $350. And yet they play every game with an over sized glove that is 7 years old and flops around on their hand like a wet pancake! Drives me crazy! daboss is exactly right, the best glove is the one they're comfortable with. But it kills me to see middle infielders wearing 12.5 to 13" gloves. How do you find the ball in there?!?!
 

daboss

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I have this discussion with my girls every year. They all roll in with the latest and greatest bat every season at $350. And yet they play every game with an over sized glove that is 7 years old and flops around on their hand like a wet pancake! Drives me crazy! daboss is exactly right, the best glove is the one they're comfortable with. But it kills me to see middle infielders wearing 12.5 to 13" gloves. How do you find the ball in there?!?!

I know baseball guys will have strong opinions about glove size as pointed out in your final sentence. Two factors need to be considered so we debate apples to apples here. 1. The obvious size of the ball in comparison. 2. We're talking about young ladies using them on their hands.

Lots of factors need to be considered that you may not generally think about. While many girls will have hands that may match their dad in size as far as finger length, notice they are slender in structure. Girls don't normally have the grip strength and the palm padding in their hands. It will not equal that of a normal male. It makes catching the ball in the pocket area of the glove just at the fingertips a priority.

Young ladies don't have Johnnie Bench hands. I swear that man could crush a walnut if he could find it in his super large hand. True story; he once told a pitcher to quit throwing his fastball because he had nothing on it while the hard-headed pitcher was determined to throw it anyway. After a trip to the mound, Bench ran the course of signals calling for anything but a fastball that the pitcher shook off. Bench succumbed to the idiot and gave him the fastball sign which the pitcher let it fly to home plate. Bench caught the ball with his bare hand, called time and walked it back to the mound. He gave the ball back to the pitcher and again reminded him he had nothing on his fastball and to throw what I call. I doubt we'll ever see that in Women's Fastpitch.
 
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