Fielding Glove Size Guide

The size printed on a glove is its length along the palm side, from the bottom edge of the heel to the tip of the index finger, following the curve. An 11.5 inch glove is 11.5 inches along that line. The number says nothing about how deep the pocket is, how wide the hand opening is or how stiff the leather is, which is why two gloves of the same size can fit and play differently.

First base mitts and catcher's mitts are the exceptions. A first base mitt is also given in inches but is a different shape, without separate finger stalls. A catcher's mitt is usually sized by circumference, in the low thirties of inches, rather than by length.

Smaller gloves are quicker: less leather to close, a shallower pocket to find the ball in, a faster hand to the throw. Larger gloves give reach and a deeper pocket. The ranges below are the ones most adult baseball players work within; they are a starting point, not a rule.

Bass fielding gloves are listed in the sizes their records hold. The Hawk Series Talon and the Hawk Series Albino Snake are each listed at 11.5 inches. That is an infield and pitcher size by the ranges above.

A quarter of an inch, measured along the palm from the heel to the tip of the index finger, is the whole physical difference between an 11.5 and an 11.75 inch glove. It is felt less in reach than in the pocket: the 11.75 is usually a little deeper and a beat slower to close, the 11.5 shallower and quicker to the throwing hand. Middle infielders commonly play 11.5; shortstops and third basemen commonly play 11.5 to 11.75. Neither is wrong for either, and the hand decides.

• Pocket. On the same pattern, the longer glove usually carries a slightly deeper pocket. Deeper holds a hard-hit ball better; shallower lets the throwing hand find it faster.
• Closing speed. A little more leather takes a little longer to close and to open. On a double play that beat is the difference the middle infielder notices.
• Reach. A quarter inch of reach is not the reason to choose either; it is not enough to turn a miss into a catch.
• Fit. The hand opening and finger stalls are decided by the pattern, not the length, so an 11.75 from one maker can fit a hand more closely than an 11.5 from another.

A youth glove is not only shorter. It has a smaller hand opening, tighter finger stalls, a shallower pocket and softer leather, so a young hand can actually close it. A child in an adult glove of the "right" length will catch with the glove rather than the hand, because the glove will not close around the ball, and a glove that only closes when the arm swings shut is a glove that drops balls.

• Roughly ages 7 to 9: 9 to 10.5 inches.
• Roughly ages 9 to 12: 10.5 to 11.5 inches, moving up as the hand grows.
• From about 12 or 13: adult sizes, chosen by position as above, once the hand fills an adult opening.

The test is the same at any age: put the glove on, and see whether the fingers reach the stalls and the hand can squeeze it shut without the wrist doing the work.

Gloves are listed by the hand that throws, not the hand that wears them. "RHT" (right hand throw) is worn on the left hand; "LHT" (left hand throw) is worn on the right. A right-handed thrower buys an RHT glove. The same convention runs through under-gloves: a right-handed thrower wears one on the left hand.

• The hand goes all the way in, and the heel of the hand sits against the heel of the glove.
• Each finger reaches its stall. Some players leave the index finger outside the glove; that is a preference, not a fit problem.
• The wrist strap, lace or opening holds the glove to the hand so that turning the wrist turns the glove with it.
• The glove closes when the hand closes. Nothing else should have to move.

Firm is not painful. A glove that pinches across the back of the hand or stops the fingers reaching their stalls is too small, and no amount of break-in fixes an opening that is the wrong width.

When a glove is loose, the hand moves inside it on contact. The pocket is not where the fielder put it, the ball finds the heel, and the glove has to be found again before the throwing hand can get to the ball. On a routine play that is a slower transfer; on a hard one it is a ball on the ground.

If a glove that fits everywhere else moves on the hand, the fixes are, in order: tighten the wrist closure or lacing, wear a thin under-glove to take up the slip and the sweat, or size down. See the under-glove guide for what an under-glove does and does not change.

An under-glove is a thin glove worn on the glove hand, beneath the fielding glove. The Bass Second Skin is recorded as ultra-thin and form-fitting, with a hexagonal grip pattern across the palm and fingers to stop the hand slipping inside the glove, a moisture-wicking fabric and a low-profile elastic wristband. It is sold for the left or the right hand, in adult M, L and XL, and is made to be worn beneath a fielding glove. Because it is thin, it does not change the size of glove a player should buy.