Baseball Equipment You Must Have Throughout your Baseball Career

Baseball Equipment You Must Have Throughout your Baseball Career

The Baseball Equipment Guide by The Dug Out Pros

Yankee Stadium! The House that Ruth built has always been the pinnacle of baseball. Twenty-seven rings, 12 American League Championship Series, and 41 total American League Pennants. The Yankees are a team of Hall of Fame skill. Hall of Fame players like; Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and future Hall of Famer, Aaron Judge. The question is, what makes a player a Hall of Fame player? Most will say coaching, practice, and exposure to the game.

Dugout Pros knows every player goes through these happenings to become better. What makes a Hall of Fame player is the type of equipment and consistent practice strategies they use from an early age and all throughout their career. Here at Dugout Pros, we have everything a Hall of Fame player needs from the very start of their career to the very end. If you want to get shopping, checkout our Used Baseball Bats.

Does Having New Equipment make you a better baseball player?

Not every Hall of Fame player starts with new equipment. Many, like the Great Bambino, used an old, worn out outfielders glove. He famously gave the glove to Jimmy Austin, which later sold at auction for $1.5 million. Used baseball and softball equipment can have great value. Every youth player should start with used baseball equipment or used softball equipment; progressing to better and more sophisticated equipment and techniques.

Starting off, a used baseball glove or used softball glove, a used baseball bat or a used softball bat does the trick. Check out our "Everything you need to know about Softball" blog to know the type of equipment you need as well as the specifications and details of equipment you'll need for the sport. 

Selecting the Proper Baseball Glove is crucial for success

Selecting a glove can be a tricky task. Many gloves are made by different manufacturers; they come in different sizes and forms depending on your position. Here is a break down of the types of gloves there are and the importance behind them.

See below for the Types of baseball gloves & Importance of Fielding Gloves:

Baseball Gloves by Position and Length:

  • Catchers Glove - (29.5”-34.5”)

  • Pitcher’s Glove - (11.5”-12”)

  • Infielders Glove - (11”-12.25”) 

  • First Baseman Glove - (12.5”-13”)

  • Outfielders Glove - (12”-13”)

  • Ambidextrous Glove - (11.5”-12”)

Material used in Baseball Gloves:

  • Synthetic Leather: Affordable, soft pliable leather for short/easy break-in period. Recommended for Entry Level/Beginning Players

  • Cowhide Leather: Less durable than Steer-hide/Full-grain and Kip leather. Shorter break in period. Recommended for Youth Players

  • Steer-hide Leather: Provides heavy durability, long-lasting, long break-in period. Recommended for High School, College and Professional Players

  • Full-grain Leather: Provides extreme durability, has a very long break-in period. Recommended for High School, College and Professional Players

  • Kip Leather: Long lifespan, light leather, heavy durability. Medium break-in time. Recommended for College and Professional Players

Baseball Glove Web Design:

  • Open Web Glove: Intended use is for quicker transitions and visibility during pop-flys. Recommended for First, Second and Third Baseman as well as Shortstop.

  • Closed Web Glove: Provides more secure pocket for fast hit balls. Acts as a sun blocker. Recommended for Catchers, Pitchers, First and Third Baseman as well as Outfielders.

What size baseball glove should you wear?

Catchers Glove (29.5”-34.5”): Extreme padding on the palm, heel and finger stalls of the glove. Allows catchers to catch incoming pitches without hurting their hand. Will always have a closed webbed pocket. A catchers mitt is the biggest of all gloves. This is due to the excessive padding and to allow catchers to catch incoming pitches and to give pitchers a big target to aim at. Steer-hide/Full-grain Leather best suits Catchers Gloves due to its durability. 

Pitcher’s Glove (11.5”-12”): Will always have a closed webbed pocket to hide pitches from opponents. Small range in size will provide control and speed for fast hit ground balls. As a player progresses throughout their career, they should move up in quality and preference of leather choice. 

Infielders Glove (11”-12.25”): Preferably open webbed for most infielder gloves. An infielders glove typically has a small-mid range in size. This provides quick transitions, loose dirt to fall through and visibility during pop flys. Third Baseman and some First Baseman may opt for closed webbed to provide  more stability for their gloves. Most college and professional level infield players choose Kip Leather due to it lightness and ease of break in time compared to Steer-hide/Full-grain Leather. Middle and high school players may want to opt for Steer-hide/Full-grain Leather due to its affordability and durability over each season.

First Baseman Glove (12.5”-13”): One of the longest finger stalls of all gloves. Allows for more reach to catch incoming throws from surrounding positions. Has a rounded outer finger stall to increase the surface area. This allows the player to scoop incoming throws that are in the dirt more efficiently. Heavy padding on all finger stalls. Steer-hide/Full-grain Leather best suits a First Baseman's Mitt due to its durability. 

Outfielders Glove (12”-13”): Also one of the longest finger stalls of all gloves. Long finger stalls gives outfielders an edge for catching fly-balls. The extra inch helps outfielders block out any sun that is needed as well as gives them that extra inch needed for catching fly-balls on the run. Most Outfielder Gloves have closed webbing. Some may have open webbing due to preference of sun blocking/visuals of the ball during a pop-fly. Most choose closed webbing for complete sun blocking, stability and longevity of the glove. 

Ambidextrous Glove (11.5”-12”): These gloves are designed for ambidextrous pitchers. These gloves are unique in the way of expelling the traditional webbing of the glove and replacing it with an extra thumb finger stall. This allows ambidextrous pitchers to switch throwing arms between batters. Ambidextrous glove designs are still coming out today. Some may split the finger stalls, putting three finger stalls on each side of the mitt, with webbing in the middle. The glove length/material replicates that of a pitching glove since these mitts are designed specifically for ambidextrous pitchers. 

Depending on where your position is, your glove makes all the difference. Entry level players should start with softer synthetic leather or a used baseball glove. It is more affordable for parents and the glove will be softer and more pliable, allowing entry level players better maneuverability of their glove. As your child climbs the ladder on the field, equipment should be upgraded. 

How to Select the proper Baseball Bat

Selecting a baseball bat can be an overwhelming task. Especially with all the different brands, lengths, color schemes, and bat/barrel certifications needed for each league. For those interested in used baseball bats, it's often difficult to tell how much life a used baseball bat has left in it. Our new and used baseball bats catalog makes it easy to filter options so you can find the specific bat you're looking for. Below, we broke down how to identify and pick the right bat for you in order of most to least important when picking a bat.

Material: Bats vary in the type of material that is used. Wood(Maple, Ash, Birch, Composite-Wood), Composite, Metal Alloy and Hybrid(Metal/Composite or wood/composite)

Baseball Bat Length:

  • Bat length is the most important when picking your bat. A good rule of thumb when picking the length of your bat is to place the head of the bat on the ground and stand net to it. If you can comfortably grasp the bat in your hand, then that's the right bat length for you. Keep in mind, you can always go up or down an inch when choosing a bat. This is preference; with a shorter bat, you gain in bat speed but limit your strike zone. Same goes for a longer bat; you gain in the strike zone, but lose bat speed. If you're buying a baseball bat as a gift for someone, you can always refer to our sizing chart on our other blog "Dugout Pros Method on Evaluating the Condition of Used Baseball Bats"

Baseball Bat Weight:

  • Like bat length, bat weight is closely tied to the length of your bat. Depending on the league, the weight of the bat co-insides with the length. For example: a bat that shows or reads (-10) means it is 10oz less than the length of the bat. So a 30inch (-10) bat would weigh 20oz. Same goes for a (-3) bat. a 30inch (-3) bat would weigh 27oz in that scenario. Bat weight can also be distributed differently through-out the bat. some bats may have weight that is evenly distributed and other are top heavy, meaning the weight is at the head or end of the bat. 

Baseball Bat Barrel Size:

  • The most common barrel size for baseball players below professional play is 2 5/8" barrel size. This barrel size is certified for: USA Baseball bats, USSSA 1.15 bats, and BBCOR bats. Players can go up to a 2 3/4" barrel size in USSSA 1.15  Leagues. For Fast Pitch Softball Leagues, players must use a 2 1/4" barrel size. Wood bats are subject to different rules within certain leagues. Wood bats typically have a slightly smaller barrel size compared to that of metal bats. A slightly smaller barrel size makes the weight of the bat easier to swing, while also giving the sweet spot of the bat a more denser composition, giving the ball more pop off of the bat. Wood bats have a barrel size of a minimum of 2.5 inches to a maximum of 2.61 inches in professional ball. Wood bats are allowed in most high school leagues, college play, and are only allowed in Major League Baseball. 

Bat Certifications:

  • For a new or used baseball bat to be usable in a league, it must have proper certification stamping on the bat. These stampings include: USA Baseball stamp, USSSA 1.15 stamp, or a BBCOR stamp. Before buying a bat, check with your league what the bat requirements are. This will help you narrow down your search before purchasing. If you are buying a baseball bat as a gift, you can refer to our other blog post "How to Select the Proper Sized Baseball Bat for Juniors", where we show our sizing chart for all and go more in depth of how a player should go about picking their bat.

How long should a baseball bat last for

Life Expectancy can be hard to tell when buying a used bat. Physical damage, sound, performance, and loose parts all play a part. Most bats have a 1-4 year life expectancy based on how much they have been used. Younger players typically use a bat for one to two seasons before switching to a new one.

The reason being is because young players are growing and are naturally going to be changing leagues as they grow. For example, a player transferring from middle to high school will need a new bat; and then again when they become a junior in high school. Leagues that follow may have different requirements for summer and fall ball, requiring the player to have more than one bat with different specifications.

If the owner doesn't tell you how long the bat has been used for, we have to circle back to the physical damage on the used bats, test the sound/performance and analyze for any loose parts to determine the amount of time left in your bat. Dugout Pros makes this process easy for the customer by testing our used bats. Sounds odd, I know. We test our used baseball bats with a a Two-Swing Method, this will help tell us where your used bat stands in terms of life expectancy. We promise your bat will be polished and looking new after our Two-Swing Method. Want to learn more about the Two-Swing, One Tap Method, visit our other blog, "Two-Swing Method" to learn more about it.

Which Baseball Bat Brands are best

Brands play a role when it comes to popularity of bats. Most if not all brands have their higher quality bats as well as their low quality bats. A branded baseball bat of high quality may make your hits a tad-bit more solid or go a couple feet further than the bat before. When it comes down to picking a bat, don't let the brand decide your choice.

Let the length, weight distribution, and ease-of-swing let you decide. Hall of Fame players did not get to their level of play by using a $400 bat. They got to that level by working on their mechanics of baseball(hitting, fielding, throwing) as well as building up their bodies for professional level play.

Color Scheme: 

  • Like choosing a brand, the color scheme of your bat is purely preference and has nothing to do with the performance of your bat. Granted, certain color schemes can cause the price of the bat to go up or down in price. For example, if there is a limited edition color scheme baseball bat like the Easton Hype Fire Pool Party USSSA , the price of the bat is likely to be much higher than that of a normal new $350 baseball bat.
Back to blog