Glove Information

The Glove Doctor, LLC represents four major manufacturers and is able to obtain the glove you want, if not already in stock. Links to the web sites of these manufacturers are provided for your convenience. However, remember to contact The Glove Doctor directly to purchase your new glove!

Mike began selling ball gloves in 1995 after buying an American-made glove made by Glovesmith, Inc. , which has since closed. He became their first retail sales business without a store front. After several years of continued growth in sales largely due to his “break-in” service offered (no additional cost) on every glove he sells, he was contacted by manufacturers, Nokona, Rawlings, Mizuno and Wilson to sell their gloves.

The Glove Doctor specializes in breaking in gloves the old fashioned way, taking the pain out of buying a new glove. Each new glove is given his personal touch. Mike’s work ethic and honesty has helped the business grow steadily since 1995. He also will fit the glove to the player's hand and make modifications if needed to make the glove function better.

The break-in process used is very similar to that used by Wilson's Master Craftsman Shigeaki Aso. Mike has met with Aso on numerous occasions and learned much about glove design and break-in from him. He has also spent time with Bob Clevenhagen, the former designer for Rawlings. It must be noted that when a glove is broken in it may not necessarily be game ready especially higher end gloves. Every effort is made to get the glove or mitt as close to being game ready by making it flexible enough for the player to be able to open and close the glove to catch the ball. However game ready is a relative term based on the strength of the player and is not the same for all players. To be truly game ready, the player must be comfortable using the glove in game situations. This usually requires additional break in by the player. Depending on the quality of the glove this may take several weeks, or longer, of continuous use by the player. The glove needs to form to the players hand. This is why no one other than the player should use the glove. Catchers mitts can be especially challenging. One method to getting a catcher's mitt ready is to put on your catcher's gear and sit in front of a pitching machine and take a couple of hundred pitches at a time. I recommend using the new glove exclusively in practice until the player becomes comfortable replacing the old glove with the new one. The old one can then become the backup glove. 

There is no need to soak the mitt or glove with "oil" as this will only make it heavy and oily. Saturating the glove with oil will will cause the fibers of the leather to stretch causing them to become weak compromising the leather allowing the glove to get floppy, but not soft. There is no product that will make the leather soft by itself. Mike has been using a leather conditioner called LEXOL 2 All Leather Conditioner since he started working on gloves. This product moisturizes the leather keeping it from drying out. LEXOL has been an industry standard since 1933. It can actually be used everyday (a small amount) and it won't may your glove oily or heavy or change color. 

Steaming and heating in oven or microwave can damage a glove. My philosophy is "if you are not going to eat your glove don't heat it". These processes are not recommended by the manufacturers and generally will cause the manufacture's warranty to be voided. There are those on line who demonstrate how to break in a glove, but use caution if you try to do it their way. They do not have your glove in their best interest.

Mike recommends that if you purchase a glove and are having a hard time breaking it in contact the manufacturer and ask what process they recommend for breaking in their gloves. You can also contact Mike. He is very helpful.