How To Break In Your Baseball Glove Fast
Glove Mallet
Good Leather Oil Is Essential
When breaking in your baseball glove some good leather oil is the key. You want the oil to soak in but not be too greasy as to where it will pick up dirt and grime. Take the leather conditioner or oil and rub it thoroughly into the mitt and cover it completely so there is no dry spots. Then work it in with some elbow grease. Do this every day until the oil penetrates deep into the glove making the leather more plyable. You will want to use the glove as much as possible during this time and constantly bend and flex the glove as your playing to loosen up the leather. Depending on the grade of the leather it should take only a couple of weeks to a couple of months to break in the glove. If it's a low grade leather it could take longer. Without any treatment it may take years to get your baseball glove to have that soft and pliable feel we all want.
Relaxing the Leather is Key
One of the best ways to break in your glove after the oil treatment is to just literally beat your glove with a hammer or glove mallet to relax the leather fibers and make them softer. Make sure the hammer doesn't have any sharp edges that could cause cuts in the glove, usually a rubber mallet or specially designed glove mallet that you can find at most sporting goods stores works best. Make sure the hammer has rounded edges as to not risk damaging the glove.
To form a pocket for the ball when you're not using it you can place a baseball in the pocket and tie the glove shut, this will make the glove form to the ball giving you that nice pocket for catching. Before you know it the glove will start to stay that way even without the ball inside.
Practicing With it is The Best Way
Playing catch is not only the best and most fun way of breaking in your baseball glove but it also builds your skill along with hand eye coordination. But if you don't have the time or the weather prohibits you from playing theses are some great alternatives.
There are many ways to break in baseball gloves and these are just a few, however some are damaging to the mitt and are not recommended for someone who has to pay for their own. See some of the useful tools below for the best results.
