Baseball Equipment Buying Guide

Baseballs

Baseballs have very little flexibility: the official league baseball is 9 inches to 9.25 inches around and weighs 5 ounces to 5.25 ounces. Manufacturers also offer "training balls," "competition balls" or "league balls." This baseball equipment is made to less stringent terms and, being less expensive, is great for practice. All baseballs are clearly marked with their intended play level.

Core, Cover & Stitching

Corks wrapped in rubber, wound in 85-15 wool-cotton mix threads and covered in cowhide or horsehide with rolled stitching are the Major League standard for baseballs. The rubber-wrapped cork makes the ball more durable; the high-wool windings retain a more spherical shape after batting; premium hides perform more consistently and rolled (flatter) thread creates less wind resistance.

An economy baseball may have a lower grade cork or a pure rubber core, more cotton and a synthetic cover; lowering their cost. Synthetic covers do stay clean longer. Raised stitchings are usually easier to control when pitched, making them excellent choices for practice or instruction. The rubber cores and synthetic covers don't stand up as well against power hitters, but, overall, lower-grade baseballs can perform as well as premium-grade, if only for a shorter time.

Baseball Bats

Terms:

• Barrel: The wide portion of the baseball bat, it varies with player size. Longer and wider barrels have a larger sweet spot.
• Taper: The handle of the baseball bat narrows down from the barrel and, so, has come to be called the taper; about 1 inch in diameter on most baseball bats.
• Sweet spot: The part of the baseball bat that delivers maximum energy to the ball; connecting with the ball at the sweet spot means the longest drive.

The size of the sweet spot is partly determined by the bat material:

• Wood: Traditional baseball bats are still required in the major leagues and in some smaller leagues. Ash is the most popular; hickory is falling out of favor because of its weight; maple is growing popular, but tends to shatter rather than just crack. Look for long, thick grains which indicate wood from the oldest trees.
• Aluminum: Aluminum baseball bats are lighter and have a larger sweet spot than wood, giving hits more distance. Higher in cost, there's almost no chance of splitting or breaking, so aluminum baseball bats last longer. Aluminum bats have leather or foam grips to absorb vibration, reducing the sting the hitter feels; leather provides the best grip, but foam absorbs more vibration.
• Graphite or titanium: High-tech reinforcement is sometimes added to aluminum baseball bats, allowing use of thinner aluminum, again decreasing weight while increasing sweet spot and cost. They also lower the vibration of a metal baseball bat.

Baseball bats vary much more than balls in size. All tapers are about 1 inch in diameter, but different overall lengths and barrels apply to different age groups in league play:

• Youth: Up to 33 inches long x 2.25 inches diameter
• Adult: Up to 35 inches long x 2.625 inches diameter
• Senior: Up to 35 inches long x 2.75 inches diameter

Weight

Many guidelines have been published suggesting proper bat weight for various players. For example:

Ages 8 to 10 years (by height)	Bat weight
48 to 50 inches	16 to 17 ounces
51 to 60+ inches	19 to 20 ounces
Ages 11 to 12 years (by weight)
70 to 80 pounds	18 to 19 ounces
81 to 140 pounds	22 to 23 ounces
High school / college (by height)
66 to 68 inches	27 to 28 ounces
69 to 77+ inches	30 to 33 ounces

Individual bat weights are listed in ounces, or, as a group, they can be listed by length to weight ratio. The ratio is difference between length and weight; for example, if a manufacturer has bats with a -3 ratio, their 34-inch bats weigh 31 ounces. Larger or stronger players tend toward the greater power of heavier bats; smaller, younger or less experienced players find lighter bats give increased control and a higher swing speed.

Length

Like bat weight, preference on length varies somewhat with the individual, but, as a general guideline:

Weight	Height / recommended bat length (inches)
(in pounds)	36-40	41-44	45-48	49-52	53-56	57-60	61-64	65-68	69-72	73+
Under 60	26	27	28	29	29
61-70	27	27	28	29	30	30
71-80		28	28	29	30	30	31
81-90		28	29	29	30	30	31	32
91-100		28	29	30	30	31	31	32
101-110		29	29	30	30	31	31	32
111-120		29	29	30	30	31	31	32
121-130		29	29	30	30	31	32	33	33
131-140		29	30	30	31	31	32	33	33
141-150			30	30	31	31	32	33	33
151-160			30	31	31	32	32	33	33	33
161-170				31	31	32	32	33	33	34
171-180						32	33	33	34	34
Over 180							33	33	34	34

Baseball Gloves

Technically, if it has individual fingers, it is a baseball glove, if it has a single finger pouch, it's a baseball mitt. Often, the terms are used interchangeably. Baseball gloves are not essential, but catching a 100-mph baseball bare-handed takes a lot of the fun out of the game. The choice of baseball mitt depends chiefly on position:

	Pad / pocket	Size (inches)	Notes
Catcher's Mitt	Heavily padded	31-33  (in circumference)	Heavily reinforced because they get the most use per game
First Base Mitt	Well padded	Youth: 11-12 Adults: 12-13	Long fingers help catch wild throws from second or third
Infield Glove	Shallower pockets for quick pick-ups	Youth: 9-11 Adults: 10-12	For those who play several positions, a mid-range glove provides greater versatility
Outfield Glove	Deeper pockets give players added reach	Youth: 9-12 Adult: 12-12.5

A pitcher's glove is mostly an infielder's glove with one distinctive feature, closed webbing, allowing the pitcher to hide the ball while preparing to throw.

Materials

• Leather: Cow or steer hides are the baseball glove standard, but some makers use buffalo, pig, even kangaroo hides, all of which can be good leathers. Higher grade leathers will last longer and perform better, but have a higher price. Lightweight buffalo and kangaroo leathers actually last longer than steer or cow hide, but do not hold their shape as well. Pigskin is a low-cost alternative to steer; it breaks-in quickly, but will wear out faster.
• Full-grain: "Real" leather, which has not been altered beyond hair removal and tanning. Full-grain leather is the complete hide. A full-grain baseball glove needs thorough oiling and a longer break-in before use.
• Premium steer hide: Heavy, stiff steer hide, almost equal to full grain. These sometimes come pre-oiled, and, like full-grain, require a lot of break-in.
• Top-grain: Leather whose top (outermost) layers are intact, it is thicker and more durable that split leather, suede or other cuts. Also pre-oiled by some makers, this is the standard for baseball gloves.
• Synthetic: Vinyl or plastic, synthetic baseball gloves are, comparatively, very low cost. They can retain their new glove stiffness and will wear faster. Overall, synthetics make good discount baseball gloves for fast-growing younger players.

Breaking-in

Why don't baseball players tell ghost stories around campfires? They have breaking-in-your-glove stories. There are as many stories as there are players, and they can be pretty frightening:

• Don't smother your baseball glove with shaving cream or soak it in water!
• Don't put your baseball mitt in the oven or microwave!
• Don't run over your new baseball glove with a car!
• Do rub your new baseball mitt with a good grade of oil. (Not too much, and be sure to wipe it down with a clean cloth afterwards to remove the excess.)
• Do put a baseball in the pocket of the glove and gently tie it closed for a day or two.
• Do play with your baseball mitt. (A few games of catch make a world of difference.)

Baseball Equipment care

Balls

No way around it, baseballs get most of the action in a game, and once they've been through their paces, there's no way to bring them back. Buy inexpensive baseballs for practice and premium balls for games.

Bats

Don't use aluminum bats when temperatures go below 50 degrees; the cold increases ball density, producing more dings. Don't store baseball bats in very hot places, like car trunks.

Gloves

To keep your glove in good condition, do what you did when you were breaking it in: Once or twice a year, oil your baseball glove, rubbing gently with a clean, dry cloth all over the surface. (There are many leather oils and conditioners on the market.) Very little oil is needed, so be sure to wipe down the glove afterwards to remove the excess. Put a ball in the pocket, tie it with a shoestring and let the baseball glove sit for a full day. Open it up and play catch for 15 minutes or so. If the glove gets wet, dry it slowly (no ovens or microwaves) and re-oil it. In between conditionings, check the laces regularly and retighten if the leather has stretched, but avoid over-tightening. With proper care, almost any baseball glove, even a discount baseball glove, can last many years.