How To Break In Your Glove

Got a brand new glove?  Let’s break it in!

There are a lot of crazy “tips” out there, but breaking in your glove will take a little patience.  The good news:  you can get the season started even if your glove isn’t broken in!  As you practice, your glove will naturally soften and conform to your hand.

Don’t do this:

You’ll come across suggestions to steam or bake your glove, to apply oils like petroleum jelly or cooking oil, even to run it over with a car (?!).  None of that is going to work, and it may damage your glove or void the warranty.

Want it done quickly?

The only short cut to breaking in a glove is to have a professional do it for you.  Dick’s Sporting Goods offers a glove break in service for $25 – even if you didn’t purchase your glove from them.

The traditional way to break in your glove:

·         Loosen it up – grab each side of your glove and alternate twisting the thumb and the pinky down toward the heel.  Repeat several times until the glove feels a little less stiff.

·         Soften the leather – you can skip this step if you want, but if your glove is particularly stiff, apply a leather conditioning oil (we like this one) to help soften it.  Only use oil on gloves that are genuine leather.

·         Form the pocket – place a baseball or softball in the pocket of the glove and fold it closed.  Secure it with a few rubber bands and leave it alone for a day or two.

·         Use it – Time to play catch!  The more you practice with your glove, the better it will serve you.  Check out our suggestions for practicing at home here.

Still shopping for a glove? Find out what to look for here. Have a new bat too? It also needs to be broken in! Find out how here.