From: bprisco@shearson.com (Bobby Prisco)
Subject: Re: Oiling a glove over winter ?
Reply-To: bprisco@shearson.com
Organization: Lehman Brothers, Inc.
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 13:17:18 GMT

In article 241292093609@elvis.swarthmore.edu, wall@cc.swarthmore.edu (Matthew Wall) writes:
> I have a nice Rawlings RMG Fernando Valenzuela (undoubtedly the last of its
> breed) deep-pocket glove which I got about three years ago.
> 
> My question is this: I was brought up with the idea that you had to oil a
> glove every winter in order to keep it supple. I did that the first two
> winters I had the glove. But is this really necessary these days? If so,
> what's an approved modern technique? I'm again using folkloric methods
> passed to me from my dad of soaking most of the glove with oil (using a rag
> to apply it), sticking a ball in the pocket, wrapping it tight with string,
> and leaving it in a dry, coolish place until late February. If there's a
> way more appropriate to these new-fangled gloves, I'd appreciate hearing
> about it.

Passed on by tradition, many ball players oil their gloves and tie them
up with a baseball inside. Most will also place the glove in a plastic
bag and store it in a dry place.

IMHO, this is not always neccessary. I have a Rawlings Heart of the Hide 
Gold Glove Series glove that is now 3 years old. When I first got the glove,
I soaked it for a day in a bucket of water, let it dry, then oiled it. For
the first 3 months, I only used the new glove in practice 'till it was
broken in just right.

After that first season, I oiled and wrapped the glove up for the winter. The
glove was just a little soft during spring training. After a few weeks, the glove
dried up perfectly for the rest of the season.

After my second season with the glove, I stored the glove in a bag without oiling
the glove or wrapping it. When spring training came around, the glove was
perfect all season.

This winter, I oiled the glove and wrapped it again. The reason? I felt that the
leather was a little dry and the glove felt a little stiff. I personally
do not like an over soft glove (too floppy), so I am very conservative
when applying the oil.

Evaluate your glove at the end of the season. Does it need oil? This is a 
matter of taste when it comes to glove stiffness. There are two things
which I do to my glove every year: Oil the laces twice during the season;
and oil the inside of the glove during the winter (I don't use a batting
glove so my hand dries out the inside of the glove).

> Oh, one more thing: I play mostly softball now (although I'd love to find
> an amateur league in the Philly area if anybody knows of a good one that
> accepts all skill levels), so I'm asking myself whether I shouldn't stick a
> softball in the pocket over winter instead of a baseball.

Out here in Long Island, there are 2 baseball leagues that probably exist
in Philly: Stan Musial Baseball League and Men's Senior Baseball League.
The latter has 2 divisions, a league for players up to 29 years old, and
another for 30 and over.

Try the Yellow pages or check the ads in the sports section for hardball leagues.
Good Luck!

Bobby Prisco
bprisco@shearson.com





Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball