Did you know that you can use Vaseline instead of oil to soften the leather of a baseball glove? Works just fine!
By Robin
This page contains the following solutions.
The best way to break in a baseball glove is to use it, but here's a way to speed up the process. The goal of breaking it in is to create a nice pocket for the ball and soften the leather.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My son just started baseball he has played for a few years. This year he had to get a new glove. Can anyone give us an idea on how to break it in. He has a game and we need to get his glove broke in before the game.
You can buy glove softener at most sporting goods stores, but my boys used to use white vaseline and put a ball inside to form a better pocket and tie something around it if you don't have a rubber band that big use something like an old tie. After they left it like that for awhile they'd regrease it and take the ball out and tie it together flat. Takes alittle working with for a few days till you get it like you want it. Let me share a little story with you about those Baseball years.
Breaking in a new baseball glove is a bit of an art form. (It's also changed a bit over the years, with the advent of newer "pre-broken in" gloves.) Generally, the higher quality the glove (the better the leather) the longer it takes to break it in. Catcher's mitts are the hardest. In the pros, they send new catcher's mitts to be used in the bullpen for a full season before they're game ready. They do sell stuff for breaking in gloves faster. I forget what it's called, but there's a spray on foam which you rub in and then you put the glove in the oven at a low temperature for something like four minutes. You probably do this two or three times. You want to be careful with this and adhere to the times and temps exactly. And you don't want to do it too much because basically what you're doing is breaking the leather down. They also sell oils, like gloveolium, which are good, but which you want to use sparingly or else the glove gets saturated and very heavy. (Those oils are actually best for re-conditioning older gloves.) But even after you do all that stuff, you still need to break it in.
Many years ago I was faced with the same problem. My daughter won a new Wilson glove. She was very young and had small hands. I took the glove outside with a piece of wood and a hammer and folded the webbing all different ways and started hitting it with the hammer.
use rawlings glove oil, not too much, then put a ball in it where u like the feel, then tie rubberband around it for a day. just throw the ball in it how you like it, and play catch
Ok, this sounds weird but i swear it works.
You begin by soaking your glove in a bucket of water, not long, maybe 2 to 3 minutes, then let dry by hanging it in a cool dry place, so as not to form mold, for a week or until it is completely dry. Then, you can rub petroleum jelly as a leather conditioner on the entire glove. The leather should soften. THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THIS WILL WORK.
Also if your glove seems to be over oiled
This may seem weird, try rolling your glove in kitty litter. Kitty Litter is grounded dried clay, and is routinely used at car service stations to sop up oil spills. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THIS WILL WORK.
Never put your glove in the oven!
Rub well with Dubbin and put in the sun to soak in.
Put some olive oil in it or any kind of oil in it then put it in the microwave for about a minute then play a good game of catch.
Editor's Note: I don't know about putting a glove in the microwave. I'd be afraid it would damage it. I have never tried it but I'd use caution.
I prefer the old fashioned way. The best way is to just keep whipping git into your glove to form your perfect pocket. I do use glove conditioner the first day and not again until the color of the pocket wears off a bit. But in the beginning apply glove oil (any kind) and whip the ball into your glove repeatedly.
Rub pocket of glove with lanolin oir shaving cream.This will soften the leather. Wrap it with a ball in the pocket and play a lot of catch.....DON'T PUT A LEATHER GLOVE IN WATER OR OVEN.....
Play catch, use it and be competeitive and more importantly have fun.
I watched something on t.v. and Orlando Cabrerra said he puts his glove in a microwave to get it nice and soft. I tried it. All I did was put it in the microwave for about 45 seconds, then took a stick taped to a baseball and pounded it for a while to get the form of your hand and also makes it softer. Wait about 5 minutes and put it back in the microwave and pound it again. Repeat this it should get it soft. Ive only been doing this for about 10 minutes and its already getting soft. So keep doing this it should be soft and formed to your hand without using any oils or anything like that.
If you are still interested...I have a proprietary process that creates flexability in a new glove, making it playable in days, not weeks or months. I don't use heat, oil or harmful chemicals in this process. Call 203-487-8997, leave your name, number and the day you called. I will return your call by ASAP. YOU WON'T REGRET IT.
Rub Vaseline or shaving cream all over it until it's rubbed in, it makes the glove smoother. After that, put a ball in it tie it with a rubber band or something so that the ball stays in the glove & put it under your mattress. Your glove will then be perfect!
I have in the past searched the web for the best way to condition a leather baseball glove since I more or less collect them and I have never seen so many suggestions and poor ones at that as to how to condtion a leather baseball glove. Start with saddle to clean it. Then rub in lanolin (hydrous type) using a damp sponge. Do this until you feel the glove has benn treated sufficently. Apply LEXOL again sparaingly two or three times , wiping off access and allowing the glove to air dry between applications. This process takes time but the glove will last longer. Buy a regulation hard ball (softball), drill a 3/4 inch diameter hole about an inch deep. Using a "super glue" secure a dowel in the hole then cut the dowel length to suit. Use this to hammer a pocket in the glove. This method will save wear and tear and your throwing arm. Should the glove be a brand new glove the use of saddle to clean it at this time won't be necessary but should be used at the close of the season before "retiring it to the closet shelf".
Poor kid probably couldn't flex his new glove when he went to his next game.
Obviously, the above "typical baseball Mom," Kate, asked the above question prior to the 2005 season We are now starting into the 2009 season. It sounds like they had days or hours until her son's first game. Her problem is long gone but the identical question is still asked a thousand times a year on a hundred baseball sites.
So. What's the answer now that the newest readers understands the question better than most of the following helpful crew:
1. First, irst, first. Don't confuse the slang term "breaking in a glove" with the process of carefully maintaining it for years with oils and creams. "Breaking it in" means: the once in its lifetime process of stretching of the palm, its pocket, and strategic lacing - to its limit without (slang) "busting it"
So.Why risk perfectly stretching a glove, perhaps to its breaking point, when only one out of 2500 ball players even bother?
Because it takes things to the next level.
Once it is stretched, it probably will "play" better ball its whole playing life; or it will soon reveal some of its cantankerous ailments in time to treat it ("spot work" on its tough parts) with oils and shaving cream. Worse yet, a cantankerous glove may even require using a disgusting "loogie" (spit) during a game or practice. A mitt that is too cantankerous, gets replaced ASAP because its a lot of trouble, and because your team hates catching your spit balls,,, so you might as well find out early.
2. If you, a working normal parent, suddenly discover there is only a day or even hours left to do all the "break in" work that takes most kids 5 seasons to complete; WELL OK, you merely have to take a couple risks. Forget the greasy exotic glove oils and any fried mitt cooking recipes, unless you want to "make do" with a mitt that still is not broken in.
Focus on what "breaking in" means. Go straight to the nearest mechanical batting cages with the mitt, about $10, and a thick leather work glove.
3. Find the fastest hardball pitching machine they have (usually the 60-80mph cage). Put your hand in the work glove and stuff them both into your son's new mitt. If your son is right handed, go stand on the Lefty side of the plate and have your son fire up the machine.
Do not let your youngster in the cage with you- because you might deflect a pitch to him, or (chuckle) you might smother him when a pitch knocks you down.
Now, this part is VERY important: If you stand directly in front of the 80mph machine pitched ball; and just stick your mitt out front trying to "hard hand" catch an 80mph heavy rubber jug ball; you are going to bruise yourself and "bust" even a medium quality mitt. Even if you land on your rear, six feet back of the plate. The next pitch might hit you in the face so wear a good helmet like a responsible parent does.
To succeed with your task:
You must use a "soft hand" style from the side of the plate; twisting and reaching forward, and immediately giving way at least three feet with your arm and body on every impacting pitch. Think of yourself as a human shock absorber during the process. If you can hold on to about half of the first set, as they try to tear the mitt off your hand, you are breaking in his mitt in the fastest possible way.
Take a breather in between sets; and nurse your hands and swelling wrist for awhile, because it will let the glove/mitt retract a little. Throbbing and swelling while doing your part is common, but will only lasts a few minutes to an hour after you are done, IF you did it correctly. Believe me, you will get better at catching juggs with professionally softer hands, and you will NEVER forget your lesson as long as you live.
So, be tough, and get back in there for more sets, as soon as the glove seems to have retracted a bit.
3. Even if it takes you all $10, you need at least 50 really good attempts at hanging on to the heavy impacting fast balls (balls that glance off the side or miss the glove do not count).
Absolutely make no more than 100 good catches even on a premium glove like an A2000 catchers mitt. Nothing can take that kind of a heavy ball pounding forever, and besides; once it is ready it - is ready for its life. Do not try to break in a glove twice.
If you are easily addicted to temporary pain, and are a glutton for punishment; go buy your son's next "new" baseball glove and break it in too. Who knows, you might find out your hand is broken tomorrow. But if it's not, then play catch with him every chance you get, using both new gloves, because you've earned it.
Be certain to always remind him that as good as he is, he is always Lucky when he lets you help him. You will not be lying. My 8yr old demanded that I let him help me break in his 2nd Catcher's mitt, and he actually held on to a couple in the first set. Now, I will always be able to remind him that he was Lucky I was there to catch the other 98, and always will be.
Back to the subject.
4. Examine the "broken in" glove carefully and often during the process, to make certain the glove is a survivor. If you have 24 hours after breaking it in; clean the palm and pocket with saddle soap (glycerin exactly as directed) so there will not be any grime or grease left over from contact with jugg balls or whatever dirty baseballs he has used during prior practices. Always remember, whatever was on the ball, is now on the surface of his glove, and that is bad.
From that point on, during that season but particularly AFTER any muddy or dusty games; rub in plenty of a shaving cream that contains at least lanolin and and glycerin, and hopefully also contains vitamins and softeners like aloe. It is harder to find good stuff, but big chains carry it. A good shaving cream will dry in 5 minutes if the air is not to humid.
Ladies, I know what you are thinking but. don't use hand lotion because there is too much water in it and it takes too long to dry. The distilled water in shaving cream wets the main leather just enough to allow the good stuff in through the tanned outside, and because shaving cream contains very small amounts of water and foamy soap, it will not drain into lacing holes, or seams of the mitt. Typically it just foams over holes until it drys white. The white color on the holes helps the owner remember to wipe the infield dirt and the white residue out of the seams, the corners, and lacing of the mitt.**
** Dirt left in the seam's small holes is what wears out nylon seams. Infield dirt is like sand paper as leather hits leather, not to mention that it is mixed with lime and paint from the diamond's markings.
Use your head: Never soak a good leather glove by using it during rain or in wet grass. There are plenty of vinyl and rubber mixed mitts out there that are blatantly pretending to be leather on the sale racks, so get one and mistreat it. Vinyl is waterproof but it soon hardens, splits, flakes, melts, and tears at the seams. Who knows what Chinese vinyl is even colored with (probably lead paint mixed in).
If you tried to "break in" a vinyl glove, you would find it breaking into four pieces before the first set was done. While soaking wet leather will "bust" a hundred times easier than dry leather or vinyl; and I have seen jagged fingernails slice through wet leather glove; more importantly I have seen cracked vinyl slice an inch of skin off many a young player's throwing hands... Not once have I seen it done by a leather glove.
So... consider a $20 vinyl mitt to be a good rainy day investment toward preserving your favorite glove, and simply throw them away at the end of every season.
You can run over it with a car, I know doesn't sound like it will work, but it does. Another option is to put it under a mattress or just the simplest one, play baseball with it.
I was just getting ready to tell you what the other lady Sharon told you get some conditioning oil rub glove good.Get softball or baseball put in pocket glove wrap string around it leave it in there when you not using it. I've seen broken in gloves like that. Gonna take little time & work but it will happen,Good Luck as ref says "Play Ball" =Cookie17
