Baseball season is upon us, and games for the league I play for begin in just a few short weeks. I thought I would take you through a tour of my tools, and a little of their background.
I'll start with two of the most important possessions I own: my Rawlings 1B mitt and my OF glove. I purchased my 1st baseman mitt when I was a senior in high school. It cost me $70 and I love it. While I only played for fun with friends back then, I decided that 1st base was the position I would field -- even back then I knew I couldn't throw. There are five tools that a baseball player is evaluated by: throwing, fielding, running, hitting for contact, and hitting for power. Fielding is by far the strongest part of my game, and I can't think of anything more enjoyable than getting out there and fielding ground balls. Before this season I purchased a 13" outfielder glove, apparently of the same style worn by Ken Griffey Jr. Apparently with my speed, I am more suited to playing the outfield than sitting on my ass around 1st base awaiting throws. This glove is of the premium, "Heart of Hide" series from Rawlings, and cost me a pretty penny. There are few things worth investing in these days, but I think a quality baseball glove is one of them. I anticipate this glove lasting me throughout my "career". My cheaper 1st base mitt already broke once, which I found out when my teammate threw a ball and it went through my glove on the catch -- one of the web's laces had broken. Luckily laces are easily replaceable, but judging from the current quality of the leather, it will soon be time for me to retire this glove.
Under my glove, I wear a PalmGard hand protector. It has padding over the index finger as well as part of the hand under it. It serves two purposes: 1. It protects my hand from the sting of hard throws that I don't catch in the web; 2. It absorbs the sweat from my hand so the glove doesn't have to. This protects the leather of the glove, so the palm part won't start deteriorating. You don't see too many pros wearing these: I guess I'm not as core as they are. But I also don't want to invest in a new glove every two or three years.
Players are very picky about the equipment they use. This is not more true than for their bat. My normal game bat is a Easton Reflex that was given to me as a present during my sophomore year at college from my friends. It is a 33"/30 oz. bat (all metal bats must have a -3 length-to-weight differential in high school, college, and our league). I have fattened the taper of the end of the handle to resemble the C271 wood bat (seen below), and it has served me well -- despite me only getting seven hits all of last year. Definitely one of the coolest presents I've ever received.
Louisville Slugger has traditionally been the most popular brand of bats used at the Major League level. We have four wood bat games throughout the season, and when I saw one of these on Craigslist I jumped on it. I drove out to Southcenter Mall where I met a guy that was skinnier than me, and came home with a quality bat. The C271 model is touted as one of the better balanced ones from the Louisville Slugger, and is the same model used by Ken Griffey Jr. Hrm... I guess I like Griffey's stuff! I found two more of these on Craigslist about a year later at a price that I could not pass up. The guy selling them turned out to be a player in an independent league, who was seen striking out on ESPN MLB draft videos against the Mariner's #1 pick last year -- 6'7" 18 year old Phillippe Aumont, a right handed pitcher from Canada. The seller was living the dream, playing in an independent league, hoping to break into the big league within the next few years. I was promised that if he ever made it, he would supply me with all the wood bats I could ever want. These two that I picked up from him are of the same quality wood only available to major and minor leaguers (or eBayers willing to shell out big bucks), and I'm lucky to be able to have picked up two for $75. All three of them are maple.
While I'm not so picky when it comes to batting gloves, they are a necessity to help grip the bat, prevent blisters, as well as take some of the sting away from poorly hit balls. I decided not to go the Moises Alou way and pee on my hands in lieu of batting gloves, and I think everyone is happier for it. and let's be reasonable -- functionality is only half of the equation, with style being as important.
I settled on these Mizuno ones after my original ones broke. They were discontinued, but since I liked them so much I stuck with Mizuno and got these. The helmet is a simple Rawlings one that I slapped stickers with my number on (as well as the Seattle Mariners logo). I wish I was cool and got the one ear flap version, but I needed it desperately and got it at Sports Authority the night before tryouts. My cleats are Reebook (brand loyalty!). I used to clean them every time I used them, toothbrush and everything (OCD?), but I was told by one of my baseball friends that some umpires actually looked for clean cleats (signifying newbies) and wouldn't give them calls.
And last but not least... the Nutty Buddy. Its purpose is probably self explanatory. I got it last week, as it was touted as the next best thing in testicular protection. Notice that it is not in the traditional triangular shape of cups, and is made of a sleeker and sexier material.
I once heard that baseball was a purely American game because of all the crap you had to buy to play it. Judging from the above, they might be right. While there is a definite financial investment, it allows me to able to play the best game ever invented, so I'm certainly willing to make that sacrifice. Play ball!
I'll start with two of the most important possessions I own: my Rawlings 1B mitt and my OF glove. I purchased my 1st baseman mitt when I was a senior in high school. It cost me $70 and I love it. While I only played for fun with friends back then, I decided that 1st base was the position I would field -- even back then I knew I couldn't throw. There are five tools that a baseball player is evaluated by: throwing, fielding, running, hitting for contact, and hitting for power. Fielding is by far the strongest part of my game, and I can't think of anything more enjoyable than getting out there and fielding ground balls. Before this season I purchased a 13" outfielder glove, apparently of the same style worn by Ken Griffey Jr. Apparently with my speed, I am more suited to playing the outfield than sitting on my ass around 1st base awaiting throws. This glove is of the premium, "Heart of Hide" series from Rawlings, and cost me a pretty penny. There are few things worth investing in these days, but I think a quality baseball glove is one of them. I anticipate this glove lasting me throughout my "career". My cheaper 1st base mitt already broke once, which I found out when my teammate threw a ball and it went through my glove on the catch -- one of the web's laces had broken. Luckily laces are easily replaceable, but judging from the current quality of the leather, it will soon be time for me to retire this glove.
Under my glove, I wear a PalmGard hand protector. It has padding over the index finger as well as part of the hand under it. It serves two purposes: 1. It protects my hand from the sting of hard throws that I don't catch in the web; 2. It absorbs the sweat from my hand so the glove doesn't have to. This protects the leather of the glove, so the palm part won't start deteriorating. You don't see too many pros wearing these: I guess I'm not as core as they are. But I also don't want to invest in a new glove every two or three years.
Players are very picky about the equipment they use. This is not more true than for their bat. My normal game bat is a Easton Reflex that was given to me as a present during my sophomore year at college from my friends. It is a 33"/30 oz. bat (all metal bats must have a -3 length-to-weight differential in high school, college, and our league). I have fattened the taper of the end of the handle to resemble the C271 wood bat (seen below), and it has served me well -- despite me only getting seven hits all of last year. Definitely one of the coolest presents I've ever received.
Louisville Slugger has traditionally been the most popular brand of bats used at the Major League level. We have four wood bat games throughout the season, and when I saw one of these on Craigslist I jumped on it. I drove out to Southcenter Mall where I met a guy that was skinnier than me, and came home with a quality bat. The C271 model is touted as one of the better balanced ones from the Louisville Slugger, and is the same model used by Ken Griffey Jr. Hrm... I guess I like Griffey's stuff! I found two more of these on Craigslist about a year later at a price that I could not pass up. The guy selling them turned out to be a player in an independent league, who was seen striking out on ESPN MLB draft videos against the Mariner's #1 pick last year -- 6'7" 18 year old Phillippe Aumont, a right handed pitcher from Canada. The seller was living the dream, playing in an independent league, hoping to break into the big league within the next few years. I was promised that if he ever made it, he would supply me with all the wood bats I could ever want. These two that I picked up from him are of the same quality wood only available to major and minor leaguers (or eBayers willing to shell out big bucks), and I'm lucky to be able to have picked up two for $75. All three of them are maple.
While I'm not so picky when it comes to batting gloves, they are a necessity to help grip the bat, prevent blisters, as well as take some of the sting away from poorly hit balls. I decided not to go the Moises Alou way and pee on my hands in lieu of batting gloves, and I think everyone is happier for it. and let's be reasonable -- functionality is only half of the equation, with style being as important.
I settled on these Mizuno ones after my original ones broke. They were discontinued, but since I liked them so much I stuck with Mizuno and got these. The helmet is a simple Rawlings one that I slapped stickers with my number on (as well as the Seattle Mariners logo). I wish I was cool and got the one ear flap version, but I needed it desperately and got it at Sports Authority the night before tryouts. My cleats are Reebook (brand loyalty!). I used to clean them every time I used them, toothbrush and everything (OCD?), but I was told by one of my baseball friends that some umpires actually looked for clean cleats (signifying newbies) and wouldn't give them calls.
And last but not least... the Nutty Buddy. Its purpose is probably self explanatory. I got it last week, as it was touted as the next best thing in testicular protection. Notice that it is not in the traditional triangular shape of cups, and is made of a sleeker and sexier material.I once heard that baseball was a purely American game because of all the crap you had to buy to play it. Judging from the above, they might be right. While there is a definite financial investment, it allows me to able to play the best game ever invented, so I'm certainly willing to make that sacrifice. Play ball!
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