Baseball Glove Repair Checklist

Baseball and softball gloves see a lot of wear-and-tear. Fielding and catching balls gradually takes a toll on the webbing and on the lacing. But there’s nothing like the feel of a worn in glove. Instead of buying a new glove, baseball glove repair is often a viable option.

In this quick checklist, we list relevant resources to help you understand glove repair options.

How to know your Baseball or Softball Gloves Needs Repair

Baseball and softball gloves see a ton of action in practice and during games. Most players use the same glove every day. Due to this frequent use, your glove incurs significant wear-and-tear over time.

Some common indicators that your glove is due for a repair include leather disintegrating in ares that make the most contact with the ball or playing surface. Lacing might be coming loose in one or more spots. If you aren’t consistent with oiling your glove, there may be areas that crack from being stiff or dry. All of these are signals that your glove is due for a tune-up.

Which Parts of a Glove are often broken?

Lacing: The lacing on your glove keeps it in shape and together. It also sees repeated stress during game play. When the lacing wears out, you may need to restring your baseball mitt. This is probably the most frequently needed baseball glove repair.

Leather: Leather is the most popular material used in constructing baseball and softball gloves. It’s extremely durable when taken care of. Leather can be prone to damage from extensive use or exposure to water, sweat and other elements. If you can see the leather on your mitt cracking or becoming brittle, your glove needs repair.

Webbing: The webbing between the thumb and index finger of the glove bears the brunt of most catches during a game. Proper catches of a baseball or softball strike the web before settling into the pocket. Over time, all those catches will wear the web of your glove down.

Baseball Glove Repair Options

There are two main options for baseball glove repair. Choose to repair your own glove or seek out a service that specializes in glove repair. Either option can be a viable solution to repairing your baseball glove.

Glove Repair Services

Major cites frequently have at least one glove repair service that fixes softball and baseball gloves. They typically offer a price list for each of the repairs and may have a deal if you pay to get a glove tune-up combing several services. Be sure to check the online reviews before trusting your glove to someone or better yet, ask coaches and players if they’ve ever used the service.

If you live in an area without a local glove repair shop, there are a few services that will let you ship your glove for repair. If you don’t feel comfortable shipping your glove to someone, the other option is to buy a repair kit and do it yourself.

DIY Glove Repair

Repairing a baseball glove at home can be a great way to learn more about your personal fielding tool. It can also be considerably cheaper than paying a repair shop to do the work. Glove repair does require a certain amount of skill, so be sure to do a little research before starting out.

This YouTube video is a great tutorial on a full glove re-lacing.

Equipment Required to Repair a Glove

If you are going to repair baseball or softball gloves at home, you need to have the necessary equipment. The right equipment is critical to performing an effective repair. DIY repairs generally use simple tools which are available from Amazon if you don’t already have them at home.

In general, you will need the following equipment for repairing gloves:

• Replacement Laces
• Glove Conditioner
• Knife or box cutter
• Glove Lacing Needles

Ways to repair Baseball or Softball Gloves – Quick Guide.

One of the most common types of repairs a baseball or softball glove needs is re-lacing. Glove laces experience significant wear and tear. In time, you may have to remove the laces and then re-lace the glove. This may be simply because you want to condition the glove or because the laces are so damaged that they need to be replaced.

In order to re-lace a glove effectively, follow these steps:

• Make sure to look at the typing pattern of the laces carefully. This must be done before you remove the laces. Use your phone to take pictures of the laces from different angles. This gives you a record that you can follow when you lace the glove later.
• Before adding new lacing, take a tiny amount of glove conditioner and apply it to the new laces. This will help you lace the glove more easily.
• One way to simplify the lacing process is to add new laces as your remove the old laces. This way, you can immediately replace the old lace with the new lace without losing any time.
• While your glove is unlaced, use the opportunity to add glove conditioner to parts of the glove that are normally hard to reach when laced. These include the spaces between the fingers. Be sure to apply ample conditioner to these areas.
• Make a small hole through the new leather and tie a knot at the other side of the lace using the grooved needle. Begin this process at the palm area, as the palm section is the hardest to lace. Ideally, start at the back of the pinky finger, then insert the needle through the hole and bring it to the front. Now trace the lacing down the palm line.
• Once you have traced the re-lacing through the palm line and reached the area where webbing begins, stop and tie off the lace in a knot near the bottom of the thumb.
• Use the same approach to lace the rest of the glove.
• Once you are done with the glove, it is time to lace the webbing. Make sure you have lined up the webbing correctly before you start lacing it to the glove.
• When lacing the webbing, start at the bottom of the thumb and move towards the top of the pattern. Once you are done, finish the lacing at the bottom of the outer side of the glove.

Ways Preserve Baseball Gloves

A baseball glove is an essential part of a baseball player’s equipment. If you have used your glove for a season or two, you already have an affinity for it. The good news is that you can keep going with the glove if you use and maintain it properly.

Here are some handy tips on how best to use and preserve baseball and softball gloves:

Keep your glove dry: This is one of the most important pieces of advice for baseball and softball gloves. Water, moisture, sweat or any other form of humidity will harm your glove, especially when the glove is exposed to them for an extended period. If the glove gets wet, use a cloth to wipe it and then let it air-dry.

Keep your glove flexible: Do not let your glove become over-dry or over-stiff. A glove that is too stiff may have its leather cracked. If you feel that your glove’s leather has become too stiff or dry, apply a small amount of oil or a conditioner to it.

Repair and service: A glove needs periodic maintenance and servicing. Servicing includes oiling the glove, cleaning it well and also cleaning the inside of the glove. If the laces are worn or the glove is bending out of shape, re-lace the glove.

In case you’re in the market for a new glove:

• Outfield Gloves
• Catcher’s Mitts