A baseball glove is a baseball player’s ultimate defensive weapon and once a player and glove have joined … don’t come between them. A mild-mannered boy turns into a junk dog and you’re between him and his plate of food.
This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I remember my first baseball glove and I bet most major leaguers remember the first.
In my day there were only a few glove manufacturers. Spaulding, the first glove manufacturer, Rawlings and Wilson. Knowing that those were ancient times, I thought I would do a review of the current manufacturers and pass on any knowledge or information that I collected.
I was surprised to see how many baseball manufacturers there are today. I knew there would be more, but ….. Unfortunately I cannot review each glove as I would like.
I could especially draw attention to Katz Gloves, whose concept I found fascinating. This firm does not manufacture gloves, but specializes in the restoration of Baseball Gloves.
Akadema – $ 40 – $ 100 – Hamilton, New Jersey – Asia
Easton – $ 30 – $ 200 – Van Nuys, CA – Asia
Wilson – $ 15 – $ 200 – Chicago, IL – Asia
Louieville Slugger / TPX – $ 40 – $ 150 – Louieville, KY – Asia
Rawlings – $ 40 – $ 400 – St. Louis – USA
Nike – $ 60 – $ 100 – Beaverton, OR – Asia
Mizuno – $ 20 – $ 250 – Japan – Asia
Nocona $ 125 + – Nocona, TX – USA
Glovesmith – $ 20 – $ 230 – St. Louis, MO – USA
SSK – $ 50 – $ 100 – California – Asia
DeMarni – $ 40 – $ 50 – Hillsboro, OR – Asia
Yennaco Custom Gloves – $ 100 – $ 500 – NH – Mexico
Kazuma – $ 50 – $ 200 – California – Asia
Kelley – $ 50 – $ 500 – Fort Worth Tx – Asia
Custom Hobby Creations – $ 150 – $ 550 – Bronx NY USA
Salinas Gloves – $ 50 – $ 200 – Corpus Christi – USA
Barraza Pro – $ 150 – $ 300 – Buena Park, – Mexico
Warrior Gloves – $ 125 + – Lansing MI. – Mexico
Value – $ 50 – $ 175 – Tullahoma, TN – USA
NV Custom Gloves – $ 160 + – California – Mexico
Brady Custom Gloves – $ 200 + – Park City, UT – USA
Vinci Pro – $ 75 – $ 300 – Richmond, VA- USA
Katz Gloves – Meriden, CT specializing in US catering.
Catchers Mitts LLP – $ 150 + – White Bear Lake- USA
SAF Gloves $ 100 – $ 130 – West Covina, CA Mexico
As you can see, the list is quite extensive, but if you’re not in a rush, researching the various baseball glove companies can be quite interesting.