The Care and Cleaning of Your Baseball Glove

By Peter V. John Baseball glove care is often overlooked during the season and the off-season. Many players simply throw their gloves into their bags and walk away. To get the most out of your glove, one must take care of it in season and in the off-season. Here are a few tips for caring for your baseball glove: Keep it clean! Cleaning the glove periodically not only keeps it looking better, but it keeps the pores of the leather clear. Keep your glove dry, wipe off built up dirt with dry cloth. Never soak your glove in water or put it in a microwave oven to dry it off. Keep the glove conditioned with proper baseball glove conditioner. This keeps the glove leather hydrated and supple. After all, a glove's leather was alive at one time. It's skin. While conditioning, you don't need much. Put a small amount of oil on a cloth and lightly rub in and coat the glove. Do not allow oils to soak in as this will cause the leather deteriorate faster. Store a ball in the pocket of the glove. Whether it is in season or off-season, this will help keep the shape of the glove's pocket. Place a baseball or softball in the pocket and tie the glove shut with a rubber band or belt. A regular practice workout of at least 100 good tosses daily will continue to soften the glove and help mold the pocket to your hand. Store the glove in room temperature. Extreme heat will cause it to dry out and become hard. Extreme cold will cause the glove to become hard and not pliable until it warms up. Keeping a baseball glove at a constant room temperature when it is not in use will keep it from deteriorating as quickly. Keep the laces tight. Tighter laces keep the glove in shape. Loose laces are more susceptible to breakage and place tension on other parts of the glove, speeding its breakdown. This can result result in the glove becoming floppy and needing to be replaced sooner than it would otherwise. Quickly replace any frayed or broken laces. Frayed laces will break quickly. Broken laces transfer the tension to other parts of the glove, usually the other laces. Added tensions to these laces cause them to stretch and break quicker. Simply using your glove will keep it in good shape. The more play time your glove experiences, the better it will properly mold to your hand. Once your baseball glove is broken in, it will be ready to serve you for many seasons to come. If you follow these tips, they will help maintain the longevity of your baseball glove and aid in helping you Make the Play! Vinci manufactures a full line of baseball gloves and equipment. Find first baseman mitts, catcher's mitts and more. The Vinci baseball glove break in kit includes a wooden mallet, baseball glove conditioner, rubber bands and a plastic ball. Made for players of any level! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_V._John Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6634755