Breaking in a Catcher’s Mitt… Help Please!

[Vinsk]

I got my 13 year old a Rawlings Heart of the Hide catcher’s mitt about 4 months ago. Now I’ve read all the hoopla about breaking in these things. Hell it’s almost as controversial as golf instruction! Oven good/bad, oils, shaving cream. Then of course the old schoolers who just say play with it and break it in naturally.

I’ve done all the above and I’ll be damned if this mitt still feels brand new. It’s like that f****** car from the movie ‘ Christine.’ I even did Bryce Harper’s dad’s technique of soaking it in water for 24hrs...beat the hell outta hit...tie it back up and soak for 24 more hours. 

Damn thing is still brand new. Guys I’m sorry for the expletives but this glove is killing me. $300 and it’s unplayable still. I can’t even get a ball to stay in it very well. The ball literally pops out like a spring board.

I don’t care about the ‘ you'll lose life of the glove if you do that...’ sort of thing. Does anyone have any methods to soften this hard piece of satan’s hide? Thank you.

[klineka]

I have a bit of experience breaking in gloves but not a catchers mitt specifically. 

All of the things you mentioned were ones I was going to suggest, I always had the best luck taking a softball and keeping it wrapped inside the glove any time I wasn't using it. Some guys would do that and then put it between their box spring and mattress and sleep on it for a few nights, not sure how comfortable that would be though.

My college coach was a minor league catcher when he played and he always used to break in our catchers mitts using the oven method, and I think he used that method because they got new mitts each season so longevity/leather drying out wasn't a concern. 

One thing that will help a catchers mitt is just repeated use, the faster someone is throwing the better. I assume you got it to catch your kid who pitches? How fast does he/she throw? If they don't throw that hard yet, you might get some weird looks and some places might not want you to do this, but you could always take it to the batting cages and just catch the ball instead of hitting it, depending on what batting cages are around you it could possibly be a higher speed than what your kid is capable of throwing right now. I had some by me growing up that reached 80+ mph.

[Vinsk]

Thanks for the reply. The glove is actually for my kid who is catcher for his teams...and apparently a damn good one. I don’t know Baseball that well other than what I’ve learned from his playing. He has an old cheap and worn out glove that needs replacing and since his coach has told me he’s got real promise I thought I’d get him a nice glove. So I’ve been throwing to him along with all the other stuff and this glove just won’t break in. Now I’ll admit I’m impatient but we’re in Florida so there’s no real off season and he has tournaments quite often and he’s not able to use this thing. 

[klineka]

10 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Thanks for the reply. The glove is actually for my kid who is catcher for his teams...and apparently a damn good one. I don’t know Baseball that well other than what I’ve learned from his playing. He has an old cheap and worn out glove that needs replacing and since his coach has told me he’s got real promise I thought I’d get him a nice glove. So I’ve been throwing to him along with all the other stuff and this glove just won’t break in. Now I’ll admit I’m impatient but we’re in Florida so there’s no real off season and he has tournaments quite often and he’s not able to use this thing. 

Yeah I would just keep throwing to him, as fast as he can handle really, wrap really tight with either 2 baseballs or a softball if it will fit any time its not on his hand, and have him use it for all practices, even warming up the pitcher in the bullpen pregame he should be using it (maybe the last couple warm up pitches he could switch back to his old glove just to get the feeling back if need be) 

Some oil occasionally might help, but too much and the glove will just become saturated and heavy, not to mention the dirt will just stick to it and make it look awful. 

Catchers mitts are a lot thicker than normal gloves so they just take a lot longer to break in especially at that age when he isn't catching pitchers throwing 90+ mph.

[amished]

Wrapping a ball in the glove can cause some unnatural folding patterns, so I'd just be careful when doing that.  Using something to soften the leather, then just sitting down on your couch while watching tv or a movie or something and trying to move the glove back and forth is how I got all my gloves broken in.  Another option that I've done with my last glove is we went to a place (Scheel's, for me) that sold Mizuno gloves and they had some sort of steam treatment that was free if you bought Mizuno, otherwise $25 bucks for any other glove which seemed to get it out of the "too stiff to play with" phase much quicker.  Finding a larger sports shop that would have that can work depending on where you're at.

[Vinsk]

20 minutes ago, amished said:

Wrapping a ball in the glove can cause some unnatural folding patterns, so I'd just be careful when doing that.  Using something to soften the leather, then just sitting down on your couch while watching tv or a movie or something and trying to move the glove back and forth is how I got all my gloves broken in.  Another option that I've done with my last glove is we went to a place (Scheel's, for me) that sold Mizuno gloves and they had some sort of steam treatment that was free if you bought Mizuno, otherwise $25 bucks for any other glove which seemed to get it out of the "too stiff to play with" phase much quicker.  Finding a larger sports shop that would have that can work depending on where you're at.

Yeah they steamed it the store when I bought it. I’ve also taken a clothing steamer to it, glove butter and worked it. I’m just surprised that even if this glove was getting 90mph pitches thrown to it...is that any more ‘working’ it than me beating it like it owes me money with the wooden mallet or a baseball bat? I’ve literally looked like an enraged Sasquatch beating this glove in the pocket and the sides to try and soften/loosen it. 

[iacas]

10 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Yeah they steamed it the store when I bought it. I’ve also taken a clothing steamer to it, glove butter and worked it. I’m just surprised that even if this glove was getting 90mph pitches thrown to it...is that any more ‘working’ it than me beating it like it owes me money with the wooden mallet or a baseball bat? I’ve literally looked like an enraged Sasquatch beating this glove in the pocket and the sides to try and soften/loosen it. 

What the hell is this glove made out of?

Can we get a photo or two?

Is this a video of your neighbors pulling you away from another beating you administered to the glove?

[dennyjones]

I've used leather soap and oil but the glove became a dirt magnet.   

Here's something from Wilson baseball:

Wilson Baseball

[Vinsk]

36 minutes ago, iacas said:

What the hell is this glove made out of?

Can we get a photo or two?

Is this a video of your neighbors pulling you away from another beating you administered to the glove?

Lol! Pretty much yes. I’ll post a pic tomorrow. Great movie by the way.....great scene with the copier there.....

33 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

I've used leather soap and oil but the glove became a dirt magnet.   

Here's something from Wilson baseball:

Wilson Baseball

Yeah I’ve done that but with more aggression. Hell I’ve actually wondered if this thing has ‘defective’ leather it’s so damn strong. I’m at work and will post a pic of this mysterious monster tomorrow.

[Vinsk]

I had my kid send these pics:

The first one is inverting the pocket so yu can see the leather closely. Look at this glove...hard to believe it’s been through:

4 months of catching, steamed multiple times, glove butter and Rawlings Break In Foam and Break in Oil, Soaked for 2 days in hot water and beaten senseless with the wooden mallet and a baseball bat, tied up with two baseballs in the pocket every night, put in the oven for 10 minutes along with glove butter afterwards ...4 months later it still looks like this:

[Patch]

My Daughters both played fast pitch softball, and they both pitched. The younger more so than the older one. 

I would catch them in the back yard just about every evening they wanted. 

I bought a catchers mit because they threw fast enough, they could sting my hand when using a regular glove.

Had the same problem being tough to break in. 

I smeared a copious amount of vasilene in the pocket, wrapped twine around it to close it around a regular baseball. I then baked it on low heat for an hour. Then repeated the vasilene process and baked it for another 30 minutes. Took it out, and let it cool, and set for 24 hours, still wrapped up. 

When I unwrapped it, the mit had a hard ball pocket, and would close easier. I then put dirt in the vasilene area, and wiped it out several times. 

Use that mit for 10 seasons, and 1000s of pitches. That was about 30+ years ago. Still have it, and it's still looking good. 

 

[Vinsk]

Thanks @Patch. I was thinking of doing some more heating as it seems to me that would help loosen it up. I only did the 10minutes plus steaming it with a hand held steamer.

Ok glove....let’s do this! Lol.

[Patch]

5 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Thanks @Patch. I was thinking of doing some more heating as it seems to me that would help loosen it up. I only did the 10minutes plus steaming it with a hand held steamer.

Ok glove....let’s do this! Lol.

Remember, "Low Heat", and keep checking it. 

Edited September 7, 2019 by Patch

[Casualgolfer]

It's a heart of the hide glove which can be a a bear. They are good gloves and if treated well can last a very long time. The oven treatment works fairly well but there is nothing that will break that glove in better than working it by hand and using it as intended. Tell him to catch every bullpen/practice etc up until game time until it is broken in. Won't take that long honestly. Don't go beating on it anymore. That glove should last several years after broken in properly.

[The Flush]

Steam

A glove mallet

1000s of pitches from a pitching machine

Work the hinge back and forth for hours and hours

My son has a HOH catcher's mitt and he quit catching before it got fully broken in. He has other HOH gloves and they broke in from normal use plus the steam and mallet.

Catchers are insane.

 

[Vinsk]

5 minutes ago, The Flush said:

Steam

A glove mallet

1000s of pitches from a pitching machine

Work the hinge back and forth for hours and hours

My son has a HOH catcher's mitt and he quit catching before it got fully broken in. He has other HOH gloves and they broke in from normal use plus the steam and mallet.

Catchers are insane.

 

It certainly shows the quality of leather used..I’ll give ‘em that. His previous mitt broke in after a couple of weeks. Yeah...my little dude is pretty boss back there. He did great in Cooperstown, NY.