Baseball season is starting up, and it’s time to get your gear ready for the beer league softball team. One of my fondest memories growing up was getting a new baseball glove and breaking it in. I remember my dad letting me in on all his tips and tricks on how to get a nice, broken in glove that would make Willie Mayes jealous. There are nearly as many ways to break in a glove as there are men who have played the game. Every player has their own ritual, one they’ll staunchly defend as the best and only way to break in a mitt.
With that in mind, I’ve included several tips and suggestions on how to break in a baseball glove that I’ve seen and heard throughout my baseball playing years. Try them out and find the one that makes your glove feel just right on your hand, with a pocket that seems to magnetically attract the ball.
Soften the leather
Brand new baseball gloves are pretty stiff, so the first thing you need to do is soften up the leather. . Here are a few of the ways to do it:
Just use it. Probably the best way to soften up a baseball glove is to get out there and let it see some action. Find a buddy, go out to a park, and play catch. After weeks of fielding grounders, shagging flys, and just plain old playing catch, your baseball glove should be nice and soft.
Of course, the problem with this method is that it a can take a long time, and the whole reason you’re breaking it in is to make it more comfortable for playing ball. If your team has a game next Monday and you need to break a glove in fast, keep reading.
Oil it up. There’s a lot of controversy among baseball players as to whether you should use oils and other lubricants to soften up a baseball glove. There’s a contingency that says you shouldn’t, because it deteriorates your mitt faster and can make your baseball glove heavier since the leather soaks up all the liquid.
I’ve always used some sort of agent to soften up my glove. It’s worked for me, and I haven’t noticed any detriment to the condition of my glove. If you decide you want to soften your baseball glove by rubbing it down like a Swedish masseuse, you have to choose what lubricant you’re going to use. Here’s a non-exclusive list of things you could try:
- Baby oil
- Vaseline
- Shaving cream
- Saddle soap
- Special glove oils
What you decide to use is a matter of personal preference. Growing up, I always used a can of my dad’s Barbasol shaving cream. It’s cheap, and it works. Experiment with different substances, and see what works for you.
Whatever you decide to use, don’t go overboard. You don’t need to douse your glove in baby oil for it to get nice and soft. Just use a drizzle and work it into the leather. Repeat as necessary.
Beat it up. Another time saving (and cathartic) way to soften a baseball glove is to just beat the hell out of it. Get a hammer, preferably a ball-peen hammer, and start pounding on the outside and inside of the baseball glove. You can also lay your glove in the dirt and take a baseball bat to it like a bookie to some knee caps. I’m personally biased to this method. The combination of manly aggression, a baseball bat, and real dirt seems to please the baseball gods and they bless your sacrifice with a nice soft mitt.
Heat it up. I never did this, but I’ve heard from several players that the best way to soften up a glove is to heat it up. Again, using heat to soften up a baseball glove is a touchy subject. Like using oils to soften a glove, heat can cause the leather on a glove to deteriorate faster than normal. Some players would rather cut off their pinkie than let that happen.
If you decide to use heat to soften up your glove, here are a few ways to do it:
The microwave. Yes. The microwave. I knew one player who put his new baseball gloves in the microwave to get them toasty and soft. Be careful with this method or you could end up making your kitchen smell like a cow that just got struck by lightning.
The oven. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it gets to the pre-set temp, turn the oven off. We’re not baking cookies here, so we don’t need it to be at a constant temperature. Next, place your glove on a cookie sheet, and put it in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Check on it every now and then to make sure it’s not catching fire.
Leave the glove in the car. The inside of your car can reach up to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. So while it’s a crime to leave a baby in there, it’s a good idea to abandon your glove to the heat. On a hot day, park your car outside, and leave your glove in it. The next morning, your glove should be nice and soft.
Form the pocket
The pocket of the glove is the space between your thumb and forefinger. A well formed pocket makes catching baseballs much easier. Again, just playing catch for a few weeks can help form the pocket. But if you don’t have time, you need to bust out some tricks.
Store a ball in the pocket. The old standby method involves putting a baseball in the pocket of the glove, wrapping it up with twine, and leaving it overnight. Rawlings makes rubber bands just for this, but why spend $3 when you can do it for free? If you decide to tie down your glove with twine, make sure to not do it too tight or you’ll leave some wicked creases in your glove.
For a different take on this method, place a ball in the pocket and put it under the mattress for the night. This was my favorite way of doing it as a kid. It’s probably because the idea of sleeping on top of my baseball seemed like the coolest thing in the world to my 10 year old brain.
Repetitious beating. Another way to form the pocket is to throw a ball into it as hard and as frequently as you can. This is a nice activity to do when you need a break from work.
Form the glove
During this whole process, I would always bend and shape my glove to my liking. The goal is to make the glove as comfortable as possible on your hand. There’s really no exact way you should do it. Just keep bending it until it fits like, well, a glove.
Alright, now it’s your turn. Got a killer tip on how to break in a baseball glove? Share your secrets in the comments.
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Good post, I slept on mine as a kid too!
We would rub neat’s foot oil into the glove, tie a ball into the pocket and then sleep on it. If it was really stubborn and stiff, we would soak it in a bucket of water, tie the ball into the pocket and then dry it in the oven. Have gloves changed in the last 50 years?
I like to heat up the oven to about 200 degrees F. Put the glove in and leave it for 10 or 15 minutes. Take it out, and while it’s still warm, rub generously with mink oil. The leather will soak it right up! I repeat this process two or three times. After the final application of mink oil, I put a baseball in the pocket, rubber band the glove around it, and leave it like that for a day or two. Now your glove will feel like an old friend!
Nice post. As far as I can tell a “baltine” hammer does not exist. I am guess you meant a “ballpeen” hammer.
Very good article. I worked in sporting goods for 7 years and passed on very similar knowledge to many glove buyers.
I tend to disagree that glove oil causes a glove to deteriorate more rapidly. I have seen many well maintained gloves last years longer than un-oiled, un-maintaned gloves.
Also, heating a glove is probably the fastest way to break-in a glove, but is very detrimental to the well being. One should also be careful with heating gloves as some do have metal hooks and things on them.
@Dan-
Thanks for the correction. I’ve apparently been mispronouncing it my whole life and it does not in fact rhyme with saltine.
Growing up, as the middle child of nine, my brothers taught me to spit in my glove. Though they never told me how, they said it would “give it character.” I think I’ll have my children spit in theirs. Character’s important ya know?
All great ideas. Neat’s Foot Oil is another lubricant to consider. Any shaving cream used should contain lanolin. Not all do. That’s why Barbasol works so well. Check out DirtDog Baseball for other manly advice on not only breaking in a glove but actually relacing it… If you’re Man Enough!
I’ve always slathered some oil all over the glove and baked in the oven for 10-15 minutes. This combinations seems to work the quickest and gives a beautifully supple leather texture and softness.
After reading some of these comments though, I can imagine the heat damaging the leather a bit, but it seems to be OK. I just did this with a new glove I bought a week ago and it feels beautiful on the field.
I’ve always slathered some oil all over the glove and baked in the oven for 10-15 minutes. (Petroleum jelly works fine) This combinations seems to work the quickest and gives a beautifully supple leather texture and softness.
After reading some of these comments though, I can imagine the heat damaging the leather a bit, but it seems to be OK. I just did this with a new glove I bought a week ago and it feels beautiful on the field.
I was always a Barbasol and hours of catch kind of guy, but I heard that running it over with the car a dozen times or so softens it up.
If you’re going to use oil, try sewing machine oil. Very light stuff. Pocket formation: instead of putting a baseball in the the mitt, try a softball before wrapping with rubber bands. I used to do both.
Try going to local garage sales to find mitts that have already been broken in. They are cheaper, and having more than one will help you figure out what you really want in a mitt.
Of course this stuff really needs to be taught to the 9-11 year olds just getting past their first mitts.
I’ve always heard baking is bad because it dries out the leather. May help in the short term but will cause it to degrade quicker. If you want your glove to be workable in 30 years (I think my dad’s is even older)… not a good idea.
I’ve done linseed oil… seems to do a good job. Supposedly it’s also somewhat protective for the leather.
Ahh such nostalgia from this site; I have articles delivered via e-mail daily-
I love stuff like this, it takes me back to when my dad walked me through such lessons as a boy growing up.
Excellent community and content here-
“like a bookie to some knee caps” – love that analogy!
I used to put a softball in the pocket, tie it up tight with some twine, and soak it in a bucket of water for a few days. Then, just throw it in the backyard to dry, and use it until it was broken in.
take it out to the yard and hit it with a baseball bat. improves your swing and breaks in the glove
I used baby oil, then put it under the mattress for a few days with a baseball in it. I still use the glove 10 years later. I would also add that none of these works on synthetic leather, which you should probably avoid like the plague. Now I’m off to go play some catch.
For catchers:
I used to keep a belt (those stretch-style uniform belts) around my catcher’s mitt with a softball stored inside. I kept it in my bag that way all the time – after every practice, game, etc… it’s actually still being stored like that now in my garage (ready for when my 10 month old son is ready to get started)
It helped with breaking it in… it helped form a very nice and deep pocket… and it helped force the mitt to break-in to the proper shape (that was the main reason I could never borrow a mitt – they were never broken-in right)
I never used one of these, but it looks like a good idea for forming the pocket:
http://baseballtips.com/glovehammer.html
You can probably make the same thing by sawing off the first 10 inches of an old bat and screwing a ball to the end.
Great post! If I weren’t at work right now I’d be on my home to work on it right now.
After every practice my dad would have me throw my glove up in the air and whack it. After about 20 times I was exhausted, the glove was dirtier and softer and it helped me go from hitting (a ball) off a tee to hitting out of the air.
The absolute best thing for your glove is Kiwi Mink Oil, rub it down with the mink oil, play a good game of catch with it, then tie it together with a ball in it when you’re not using it. Mink oil also works great on your boots.
If you have an old belt that you don’t mind punching a hole in, that can be preferable to twine, in my opinion. With the added width, you can get a bit tighter without leaving a mark (obviously there are still limits). And it’s easier to have it in the belt, take it out for a catch, and then redo the the belt than to deal with untying and retying a rope.
I got my last glove about 13 years ago and it is still holding up like a champ. When I first got it is cleaned it with saddle soap and then covered it in mink oil. After that I tied a softball in it (I used the laces from my cleats to get it good and tight).
The things that I like about mink oil is that it does not soak in too much and it does not contain any alcohol or petroleum distillates that can break down the leather. Once you’ve let the glove sit over night with the ball tied inside you open it up and wipe off the excess oil with a dry towel. Then go beat the hell out of it.
I’ve never baked my glove but I would definitely oil it before and after to keep the leather from drying out.
As a side note, the saddle soap and mink oil treatment works great to loosen up a new pair of work boots as well.
From my experience, the absolute best way to break it in is to just play catch a LOT. No oil, no liquids (other than occasional spit) as these will only break down the fibers of the leather and over time, break the glove down causing it to fall apart. Yes, it took a few seasons to get it there, but I’d say my glove has been absolutely perfect for at least the last 6 summers.
My brothers broke an old glove in using crap like vasoline and baking it in the oven. Yeah, it became flexible quickly, but completely fell apart after two seasons of heavy use. He followed my advice with the current glove and after a few years his glove is in FAR better shape then the last one.
Ahhh, the memories. I taught my (then 10 year old) son that the best way was to liberally rub a conditioning oil all over it, beat the pocket with a baseball, wrap it with an old belt with the ball in the pocket and then to drive over it a few times in the dirt. Gravel or asphalt is too graphic. Within a short period of time the glove was sweet and soft. Thanks for a timely (baseball season is here) article.
please don’t bake the darn thing. Pure lanolin. That’s the best way, hands down. Trust me on this. And, use the softball to form the pocket as others have said. Then, use it, use it, use it.
I second the catcher above. Oil the glove good … something like Mink Oil works wonders … use it a lot and keep a ball in it when you are not using it. The last step is especially true for catchers mitts because nothing is worse than a mitt with that has been folded flat during the off-season!
Really wish that I still had time to play ball …
I’d be wary of heating a glove in the microwave. The metal parts would cause problems.
I would highly recommend not putting it in the microwave.
Probably the best way to soften up a baseball glove is to get out there and let it see some action
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I liked your blog that led me to comment on it.
First of all, oils for gloves are great between seasons…. Since leather is skin, just like yours…. And the oils in your skin help keep moisture in, that’s what glove oil is used for… So after the season, oil it up…. It will stop it from drying out, and breaking down… Oils immediatly applied to a new glove give the illusion of it breaking in faster…. It does make it softer, but only cuz it’s saturated and wet. Playing catch after is what will actually break it in and form a pocket…as for catchers gloves…. You gotta beat em up… I spent most of my baseball career behind the dish, and strange as it sounds…the best way I found is to run it over with a car immediately after purchase. About 4 times…. Then constant forming, and shaping….. After the season, oil it, store it with a ball in it… Booyah!
A note on oils- if you get a glove that has that natural finish to it adding oil completely changes the color to a much darker shade. I just bought a new Wilson glove and this happened when I used dubbin. Other than the color change though, I always use dubbin to soften up leather. Throwing a ball into it a lot works just as well as storing it tied up.
Also on the Wilson tags it now tells you specifically not to put your glove in the microwave or oven, as it WILL damage your glove.
Others have already said it, but nothing is better than mink oil. You can buy expensive mink oil sold specifically for baseball gloves, or you can go to a feed and tack store and get the same quality mink oil for a lot less money.
Chew spit seems to work on my glove
The good folks at Nokona, who made my amazingly great semi-trapese 12-incher, strongly advise *against* heating a glove in any way, and it voids the warranty. I tend to believe them.
Nokona suggests petroleum jelly, but my friend Noah Liberman, who wrote the great book Glove Stories, argues for Lexol, which is a few bucks at any hardware store.
It worked great on my A-2000, and even did a nice job on my first glove, a Rawlings Roberto Clemente autograph glove that my late brother-in-law bought me.
The problem with all of the methods suggested above: they require a trip to the store (or at least to the basement) or an unnecessary thrashing of a new glove. I’ll share an old family recipe. Take your new glove, tie a softball in the pocket, and let it soak in a bucket of water for two or three days, then let it dry. It’ll feel a bit crispy when it first dries out, but after a day or two, it’ll be just like old. It’s like cooking ribs…you just have to be patient. As a sidenote, I can’t believe that using vasoline or lanolin are even suggested on such a site. Those guys must be second-basemen.
Can we use crazy things like NIVEA, milk, butter, sperm(I’m not kiding), Febreze. Can someone give me a hint my e-mail is alexis.305@hotmail.com
The pros say the best way to break in a glove is to put a ball in the pocket and leave it in the back window of the car for a couple of days. Then, of course, if you play with it for 5-6 hours a day like they do, it shouldn’t take long.
First of all, don’t let anyone put their hand inside the glove if its not theirs! Only the operator gets to slip it on. I have tried it all, but what works best and doesnt weight down the glove is Wilson pro stock lanolin with vitamin E. After buying gloves for $300.00 dollars on up, Playing catch or Glove hammer is the way to go, Over night and every night put a softball in the pocket of the glove. Never put it underneath the mattress as you dont want to crease the glove. When you are working with the glove bend the glove fingers outward to have an open glove. Pros dont care about longevity because their gloves are free. They are always breaking in a backup glove. Go to the Wilson website and see the video of how to break in a glove properly. Good luck to all, and Play Ball.
Great post. I sleep with mine to. Try putting a softball in the pocket instead. The softball makes a really nice pocket.
I stand on my glove with the web to the palm of the mitt while the coach is talking, or fold down the web and put some textbooks on it after I warm it up and put some oil on it.
A local Radio guy and former major leaguer says rub down inside with shaving cream. Place ball in pocket and tie with socks and let it set over night. Wipe off any dry cream and play catch for 20 mins. the next day. I have been doing this the last few years and it works great for me.
http://jimtraber.com/tips_recipes.htm
I played AAA minor league ball and been around a lot of major league players. Most of them break in a glove like this…….put 2 balls side by side in the pocket of your mit then close it and tape it up. Dunk the taped up mit in water for about a minute or a minute and a half. Let dry then oil it with mink oil or vaseline. Use it and oil it then tape it with 2 balls side by side repeat this except the water part. You will have a professionally broken in mit in no time. The water opens the pour s of the hide and lets in the oil where its needed. It will not shorten the life of the mit!! Good luck…..
My Middle school baseball coach is a former MLB player but only lasted a month due to torn muscle….And he told me to break in a new baseball glove its best to put in an oven, for safer and better results put it at about 200 degrees for about 7 minutes, the glove would be hot but not so hot. Another thing you could do is put oil on a glove put a baseball in it and close the glove with tape then put in the freezer…once it is cold put it somewhere warm and the glove should be smooth….hope this help
I saw on MLB Tonight that Harold Reynolds puts two, or even three, balls in the glove. He says an infielder’s glove should be open and wide (do not curve the fingers in). Then he said you should tape up the glove and dunk it in water for 3-4 minutes. Then dry it off, hang it up, and let air dry over night. Finally, he said to rub either glove oil, or what he preferres, vaseline. He also said to keep rubbing vaseline into the glove throughout the season when your glove is looking dry.
another way is to roll the glove up and put it under your matress
like an old friend… couldn’t have been said any better
Don’t run the mitt over, I agree with putting shaving cream on it an put it in the oven for about four minutes, not to exceed,then put two balls next to each other and put it under your mattress and sleep on it for a couple of nights.
there r a few tips on breaking in baseball gloves…
1.) get it online. the gloves tht sporting good stores sell arent as good as ones from the interent
2.) do not put it under your matress or run over it with your car. simply rubber band it shut with a ball in the pocket
3.) always make sure you shape around your own hand!
4.) try not to bend the glove otherwise you will create folds and bubbles.
5.) beat the heck out of it. soften the leather as much as you can
the microwaving works but the smell is awful
just bend the heck out of it.
fold it turn it inside out and repeat.
For a ball hammer I took a cheap hard rubber mallet and shaped one end into a half sphere. I think I spent 4.00 on it and it works great for softening and forming pockets, no marring or tearing the leather.
I always have folded the pinky finger in when wrapping it up, and like to use plastic wrap to do so. Then again, I was taught to field off the back of my glove, rather than in the mitt whenever possible.
form your pocket and glove while softening the leather
A) it saves time
B) it makes the glove soften to a perfect form
DO NOT USE GLOVE OILS!!!
what I would recomend put the ball comfortably in the pocket then tie it up with rubber bans.
let it sit in the sun for aobut 4 hrs. then take it and put it under your matress do this for about 3 days and your glove will be good in no time.
Oil it down good with neatsfoot oil, jam a ball into the pocket, then with your hand in the glove have someone tie it at three points with ropes. This will set the pocket right where you want it.
Then, soak it for two hours in a pot on the stove, just nice and warm, not hot.
After that, stick it in the freezer overnight.
Next day you thaw it out, and congratulations…you’ve got the beginnings of a well-fitting glove with a good pocket.
i just ordered a wilson a2000. so i was looking up on different sites on how to break it in. it doesnt really say what the oproper way your glove should close?
Mink oil and tie a ball in the pocket! Re- mink oil a few weeks every year pre spring training camp.
My dad taught me this. I used it on my (then) new Wilson glove for my endeavors at 3rd and short. The palm has the “autograph” Mark “the bird” Fidrych in it. (for you “old schoolers” out there, you get an idea the age of this mitt) I just handed this glove down to my youngest son as he started his little league career this season. He is loving the game so he will be getting his own glove to break in this year.
Thats right boys and girls, my little league and high school years and 2 sons later (some 30+ years of service) this old mitt is still “shagging flys” and “scooping grounders”!!
Need i say more about the properties of Mink oil!!!
hey you can also put rubber bands around the pocket then slip a baseball in there and stick it in the freezer it works it just might be a little hard so put some petrolium jelly on it that’s all
What I do is I get the nokona glove conditioner, rub that into the pocket, the web and the creases where the glove opens and closes and then throw a ball in the pocket and wrap an Ace bandage around it, let it sit in the hot car for a day or 2 then go at it with the ball mallet or just throwing a ball into the pocket. This has worked very well on my Rawlings heart of the hide glove.
I never had any idea there were so many ideas about how to soften a glove. Heating it in the oven, beating it with a bat, and running it over with a car never would have occurred to me in a million years. Very interesting. The last time I bought a baseball glove, I bought a tube of Nokona to go with it, and I like it. My real problem is that I never get to use it much. Most of my friends aren’t big baseball, or sports, lovers. Ultimately, What I want is for my glove (a Rawlings) to last over twenty years like my dad’s old softball mitt.
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