Best Batting Gloves: Choosing the Best Gloves for Baseball

Good batting gloves are crucial for any serious baseball player. A well-fitted water damage restoration new jersey pair of gloves is the key to obtaining the right feel and grip to aid in handling the bat or to get a solid swing. When your batting gloves blend in and create a glue-like bond between your hands and the bat then you know you have in your possession a pair of quality gloves.

The following guide provides a few tips on what to look for and the best batting gloves currently available in the market.

Why should you Wear Batting Gloves?

The primary purpose of batting gloves is to offer hitters a consistent and secure grip on the bat handle. They also reduce the shock of making contact with the ball outside the barrel’s spot not to mention the protection from cuts and scratches from sliding on the basepaths. It is advisable for all baseball players especially the newer hitter to always put on a pair of batting gloves.

Selecting the Right Pair and the Best Batting Gloves

A handful of leading companies supply quality batting gloves notably leading the line is the two known suppliers Nike and Franklin with Under Armour closely following the two companies. Other companies include Cutters, Easton, De Marini, Jordan, Louisville, Marucci, Mizuno, Worth and other upcoming sportswear manufacturers.

Why Should You Buy Quality?

  • A player looking to buy some of the cheapest brands should know that cheap gloves are prone to wear out faster than most of the best batting gloves present in the market.
  • Cheap gloves incorporate less fancy stitching which in turn ends in rips and tears.
  • Most cheap batting gloves tend to be thicker, making a firm grip on the bat quite cumbersome.
  • The cheaper brands create sweat build up, and afterward, they become brittle from the dry sweat making them more uncomfortable for the next wear.

So what are the best brands? The following are the batting gloves highly recommended in the market currently:

Nike Batting Gloves

Nike is a trendsetter in sports equipment; their batting gloves are a mark of quality. The popular ones are Nike batting gloves and Nike Jordan batting gloves. Amongst their features include:

  • Thin quality leather that creates a softer feel of the ball.
  • They fit well and have creases on the right spot to allow your hand to bend and move well.
  • They breathe and dry well hence they are durable.

Under Armour Batting Gloves

Under Armour leading brand include Cage and AU Yard batting gloves. They have the following features:

  • Durability
  • They are more stylish and colorful
  • They are a bit thicker and fit well.

Franklin Batting Gloves

Franklin Gloves are one of the highest quality batting gloves in the market; the CFX Pro Series ($29.99) is one example of a high-quality brand having the following:

  • Perfect fitting for a quality grip
  • Thin soft leather
  • Overall breathing capability.

Franklin also features cold weather batting glove for cold seasons.

Other high-quality gloves include the Louisville brand which breaths quite well and has soft, durable leather. The Evoshield batting gloves are also another brand offering good value for money currently retailing at $59.99; they have unique features like pockets for custom molding the hand shield for protection.

Some suppliers like Baseball Rampage have free shipping on orders over$49 and great discounts although they only carry Nike and Under Armour models. For other companies, we recommend Amazon, Baseball Express, and Baseball Monkey. For the best batting gloves, click on the relevant links above to check for current discount codes and online store Coupons.

 Best Places Online to buy Authentic MLB Jerseys

Its Baseball season and you want to upgrade your wardrobe to include all the latest Major League Baseball fan apparel – especially jerseys. So where do you turn if you want to buy these items on the internet? Do you try the auction sites like ebay?

Let’s take a look at the best places online to buy authentic MLB jerseys.

MLB.com is probably the most well-known source for purchasing jerseys online. The site is well laid-out and they often offer coupon codes for free shipping. You can also get 10% off by signing up on their e-mail list. Jerseys are available for men, women, kids and even baby and they have a section for Authentic – on field jerseys. Look for it under the Sub Department heading. You’ll also see Batting Practice, Throwback, Clearance and Cool Base jersey options. Cool Base jerseys are cool in that they help keep the players cooler in the summer time. The material is lighter and has venting. Look for the Cool Base tag on authentic jerseys of this type.

Authentic Jerseys will have lettering and sleeve and other patches sewn onto the jersey. For quick identification, take a look for the Major League Baseball logo which will be sewn on the back, near the top under the neck line.

Authentic Jersey Pros and Cons

Pro: They are more durable than replica jerseys
Con: They can be pretty pricey
Pro: They are just like the ones major league baseball players wear in the games
Con: They are sized numerically (40, 44, 48, 52) instead of Small, Medium, Large and XL. This can sometimes lead to confusion, so know your size before you shop.

Throwback Jerseys
If you’re ever watching a game played with throwback jerseys, you may notice that they don’t look very modern. These throwback jerseys are often styled to hearken back to the early days of the team. Some of them are downright groovy.

Game Worn Jerseys
These can cost several thousand dollars as they were actually worn by a player during a game. The product description should show the date of the game as well as the name of the opponent. The pricing of these jerseys often have a direct correlation to the amount of the contract signed by the player.

The Fakes
Counterfeit, knockoff and bootleg jerseys are not licensed by Major League Baseball. Their pricing is decidedly cheaper than the authentics but you won’t find all the same features and some of them may not even make it through the washing machine intact.

Replica Jerseys
If cost is a factor in obtaining an authentic jersey, you can opt for a replica. They cost about half the price. What you will notice is that the fabric they are constructed with is not as durable and lettering and patches will likely be ironed on instead of sewn.

Best Places Online to buy Authentic MLB Jerseys

Here are a couple of other great resources for authentic MLB jerseys online:

FansEdge: http://www.fansedge.com/MLB

Majestic: http://www.majesticathletic.com/mlb
Majestic Athletic is the maker of authentic MLB uniforms. They are produced in the firm’s Easton, Pennsylvania facility.

Buying the Best Youth Baseball Bats

When purchasing a youth baseball bat, there are a number of important things that need to be taken into consideration. The bat’s weight, length and barrel width are very important and must be selected based on your league requirements.

Some leagues will only allow a 2 ¼” barrel and this will change how you choose the proper bat verses leagues that allow 2″ barrels. Wood bats are still available and make an excellent choice for all of your cage work as it helps to develop a proper swing and gain an understanding of the sweet spots on wood verses aluminum or alloy bats.

For a list of baseball bats for older players, you can view this list of the best baseball bats currently available.

Types of Youth Baseball Bats

The most popular choice for youth baseball bats are aluminum or alloy. The technological advancements in these bats have come a long way and they keep improving from year to year. A basic rule for selecting the right bat is to choose the lightest bat for its length in order to fully maximize your swing power. In a lot of cases, lighter youth baseball bats are just as costly as some of the heavier ones, but with so many quality suppliers, you are sure to find one that will satisfy your budget.

When choosing a longer bat, you are insuring more plate coverage; but it might cause the bat to be too heavy and slow down or alter the mechanics of the proper swing. Not a good idea! Shorter, lighter bats will cause the player to crowd the plate a little more but will definitely create more bat speed. Bat speed is essential and choosing the right bat is very important. It would be best to have a bat that is a little too light than to choose one that is too heavy.

Barrel size has become the talk of the dugout. A larger barrel will produce more power and have a bigger sweet spot allowing the hitter to drive balls that would otherwise be harmless outs. Choosing the proper youth baseball bat is an imperfect science.

If you are playing in a league that will allow 2 ” barrels, I would always recommend choosing bat speed over any other factor. Players come in all shapes and sizes and all have different strength levels…this complicates the process when choosing. Before purchasing, you might talk to your coach or a youth baseball bat representative and get information based on your players age and size and what the general trend is.

Little League Baseball Bat Rules

The rules for Little League Baseball differ from most all other youth organizations on their bat requirements. A 2 ¼” barrel bat and a maximum length of 33 inches is all that is allowed. Little League bats are required to have a taped handle up to 10 inches. Youth bats are measured in inches for the length and ounces for the weight. Negative or minus numbers are used to determine the bats weight. For example if a bat is 29″ long and has a -10 rating the bat will weigh 19 ounces. The bat would be referred as a minus ten negative ten or a drop ten bat. The higher the negative number the lighter the bat is for its length.