This Is The Most Important Blog I've Ever Written: What Is The Best Baseball Glove Money Can Buy?
Last week, I joined Hector Peñate on his podcast, "A Catch of Positivity" and out of all the ancillary podcasts I've been asked to come on, this was my probably my favorite one. If you recognize Hector's name, it might be because you've heard him on Token CEO before. This is a dude who gets it; we shot the shit about anything and everything. A few topics we touched on were our baseball backgrounds, how to approach hitting, our careers, and how we stay motivated to operate at our highest levels.
No bullshit - I learned a ton from Hector in our hour + long convo. I enjoyed every second of it and it is well worth your time. Give it a listen:
We ended the convo talking about baseball mitts. I told him my absolute unquestionable favorite glove, and the glove I used in HS and college was Rawlings Heart of the Hide. Fast forward a week later and this shows up in my damn mailbox!
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CALL TO ACTION: I am not joking when I say this, if anyone wants to play catch today or tomorrow, shoot me a DM on Twitter or IG and we'll meet up in Lincoln Park and throw the ball around a little bit. It's a beautiful day and we don't have a lot of beautiful days left, so let me know. This is not a joke in any way.
Anyways, I want to break down the best baseball gloves money can buy. These are my rankings as the forefront expert in baseball at not only Barstool Sports, but on the entire planet. This list is final and any other breakdown will be rendered irrelevant.
I'm going to do it like this and start with overrated mitts. I don't and won't bother putting Nike or Under Armour gloves on any of these lists because they all stink equally IMO. That may have changed since I haven't played in 10 years and it's been a minute since I've coached, but when I was "in the game" Nike and Under Armour gloves sucked balls.
1. Wilson A2000
2. Nokona
3. Akadema
I just never liked A2000 mitts. They weren't leather and when used for multiple seasons, the material they make it out of would start to fall apart. They broke in well, but I couldn't stand the material. I had an A2000 catcher's mitt and it only lasted 2 seasons. I want my mitts to last fucking forever, and some mitts can. We'll get to those gloves in a moment. People fucking LOVE A2000s though, but they're all the same lemmings that swear that Denzel Washington is the best actor alive. He's good, he's not great. A2000s are good, not great. 2nd tier class of gloves.
This guy fucking NAILS it:
Just a moderate quality mitt.
Nokona is sort of the opposite. They're made out of premium Indian leather, but I had a brutal time breaking in the one Nokona I had and didn't like it at all. Just didn't do it for me, and because they didn't do it for me, they're overrated. No other answer will be tolerated.
Akadema I don't have a ton of history with, but in my limited experience I remember putting them on the same level as Nokona. Just didn't like how they broke in.
Now let's get to the rankings
5. Rawling's Primo:
Great gloves, but they're $500+ dollars, just about the most expensive gloves one can buy. The only problem is is that they're no better than the gloves that will be ranked higher than them. The quality is the same for a higher dollar amount, just not good bang for your buck. If they were $300 or so, the primo gloves would make a case for the #1 spot.
4. Mizzuno
I played CF through my sophomore year of HS. One of my teammates had a similar glove to the one above, but played 2B. He never needed this glove, so I used it because I fucking LOVED the mitt. Mizzuno price ranges fluctuate greatly; you can get a shitty version or an expensive version just like all other brands. Their best gloves don't get enough love. One of the best gloves money can buy IMO, right around the $300 price range. Good leather, breaks in like a beaut and has great webbing. Fantastic mitt that needs more shine.
3. A2K
IMPORTANT NOTE: A2Ks and A2000s are way, way different. A2000s are fake leather like I said. A2K's are made from authentic premium cowhide. AWESOME mitts that depending on preference, can make a case for the #1 spot. I don't understand how people love A2000s so much, but don't just spend the extra $100 on an A2K. The quality is night and day IMO. These gloves last forever; A2000s don't.
2. Rawlings Pro Preferred:
A perfect mitt. The leather, the webbing, the coloring, the style are all A1, top of the line. They break in so goddamn well, too. I fucking love these gloves and you should too. They blow all of the gloves out that we've already talked about out of the water.
1. Rawlings Heart of the Hide:
This is a picture of my new glove. I love this work of art as if it's my child. Heart of the Hide is the best combination of quality, durability, style, break-in-ability and price. For $250-350, you can buy a Heart of the Hide and if you just take just modest care of it, it will last you for life. This was the only glove I used in HS and college; I found out a player I coached stole the last one I owned from me. To this day I want to beat his face in because of it. That should be punishable by death.
These rankings are final. Let me know if anyone wants to play some catch in the coming days!!!
PS - We're in Verdansk right now. Come through and discuss.
Let's rock.