How to Choose the Right Batting Gloves

Key Points

• Batting gloves are part of an important baseball or softball equipment
• Learn how to identify and select a quality batting gloves for your child

Table of Contents

Intro

For some reason, parents of young baseball and softball players seem to not bother getting a pair of batting gloves for their child.

I consider batting gloves to be an important part of baseball equipment for youth players because they:

• Provide shock absorption when hitting a ball
• Minimize the risk of blisters from repeated hitting during practice
• Provide warmth during early spring and late fall games
• Improve grip

A good pair of batting gloves typically come with a genuine leather palm for grip and shock absorption and synthetic materials for the top side of a hand for breathability.

Just keep in mind that batting gloves tend to not last more than a season due to change in hand size (for younger kids) and durability so don’t overthink this purchase decision.

Shock Absorption

During my many years of coaching youth baseball teams, one of the most common reasons why kids quit playing baseball at young age was getting their hands “stung” when batting a ball.

All baseball bats come with “sweet spots”.  A sweet spot is an area of a bat, usually about 2 to 3 inches off the top of a bat, extending down about 6 inches.

Hitting a baseball or softball in this sweet spot produces a solid hit with little to no bat vibrations. On the contrary, hitting a ball outside of this region causes nasty bat vibrations known as a “bat sting” that is very uncomfortable, especially for a young child.

Learning to hit a baseball or softball off of a sweet spot takes a lot of practice and upper body strength for bat control. Since young players lack physical strength to effectively control their bats, it is recommended that they wear batting gloves to minimize the shock to their hands.

Blisters and Calluses

In order to get good at hitting, your child needs a lot of practice. 

Whether hitting baseballs or softballs off a tee, pitching machine, or a live pitcher, it’s not uncommon to hit a bucket or two (around 30 balls per bucket) at each practice.

All that friction caused by bat swinging and hitting balls is really hard on soft and tender hands on a young child and can result in blisters.

Learn more about what you can do to prevent blisters and calluses by reading my post, “Blisters and Calluses in Youth Baseball: Understanding, Prevention, and Treatment” (link coming soon)

Comfort

Another benefit of owning batting gloves is comfort.  When my son was young, he played baseball in spring, summer, and fall which meant he spent a lot of time at the plate swinging and hitting.

In spring, games played in the northeast region can be quite cold and wet so wearing batting gloves can provide warmth and grip necessary to protect their little hands.

In summer, palm sweating is quite common because of heat and humidity.  Sweaty hands tend to result in bats slipping out of a player’s hands while swinging so wearing batting gloves can alleviate that problem.

For fall, especially the playoff games played during late October nights can REALLY be cold so batting gloves are almost a must-have item (along with hand warmers).

Some batting gloves come with hard plastic inserts on top to protect against errant pitches.

Improve Grip

Holding on to the bat with a right amount of grip strength is a fine art that must be learned through experience so wearing batting gloves can improve the grip on bats.

Most young players grip their bats too tight, preventing their wrists from rotating properly as they swing the bat.

On the other hand, gripping bats too loosely will results in bats possibly flying off their hands, increasing the injury risk to other players as well we spectators.

This is especially true for youth ball players who have not developed the strength and finger dexterity to securely hold on to the bat.

A good pair of batting gloves will provide a sticky grip that allows these players to firmly hold on to the bat with confidence.

Quality Batting Gloves

When it comes to batting gloves, you really do get what you pay for. 

Cheaper batting gloves tend to be made from inferior synthetic material with poor seams that comes apart only after few uses.

So what are some of the good characteristics of a quality batting gloves?

• High quality Leather – Made from sheepskin, Cabretta leather provides excellent comfort, second skin-like feel, and grip tackiness due to thinner, softer, and more supple characteristics.
• Rounded finger tips – quality gloves come with shaped fingertips that provides better fit
• Articulated fingers – articulated thumb and finger cutouts prevent materials from bunch for better fit
• Wrist support/protection – thick wrist strap provides enhanced support and protection against errant pitches
• Excellent craftsmanship – high-end craftsmanship cost money
• 100% satisfaction guarantee – allows you to return if not satisfied

Prices vary from $20 to $120, depending on leather quality and craftsmanship.

How to Size Batting Gloves

When it comes to batting gloves, you want to go with a pair that is slightly smaller than your child’s hands for a tight fit because loose or otherwise ill-fitting batting gloves are very uncomfortable to wear and will actually provide negative feedback to your child.

How to Measure

To get the most accurate measurement, plop your child’s hands on a piece of white paper and trace both with a pencil.

Then measure from the tip of the middle finger to the base of his hand (just above the wrist).

Size Chart

Below is the sizing chart for youth and adult (men and women) batting gloves.

Batting gloves sizes are different across manufacturers, so please double check!

** If your child’s hand measures 6-1/2″ to 6-3/4″ and is big for his age, they can probably wear Youth Extra Large or Adult Small.

Recommend Batting Gloves for 2023

Batting glove designs are constantly evolving and there are lots of options available so it can get confusing when trying to decide which batting gloves to buy.

So to help you with your purchase decision, I have listed few batting glove choices for each age bracket.

5 to 8 year old players

The purpose of buying batting gloves for these young children is to get the acclimated wearing gloves while swinging their bats.

Since coaches pitch to these players, you don’t really have to worry about choosing a pair of batting gloves to prevent their hands from getting hurt.

Most children in this age bracket have hand sizes ranging from 4-3/4″ (tee ball) to 5-3/4″ (extra small)

9 to 12 year old players

Players in this age bracket will be playing in recreation league, as well as at competitive levels (tournaments and travel teams).

Here are three best batting gloves suitable for 9 to 12 year old players.

13 to 15 year old players

Most 13 to 15 year old players are actively growing so you may need to replace their batting gloves more often.

Here are three best batting gloves suitable for 13 to 15 year old players.

16+ year old players

16 and older players are often found wearing adult sized gloves where Franklin Sports batting gloves absolutely dominates the market.

However, I can personally attest to one of the newest entrant, BRUCE BOLT. Yes, the gloves are very expensive at $80 but it is absolutely made with highest quality materials and craftsmanship is next to none.

After chewing through multiple batting gloves in a given season, my son has managed to hold on to his Bolt batting gloves for the second season.

Batting Gloves Care and Maintenance

Much like caring and maintaining baseball gloves, baseball or softball batting gloves are fairly easy to take care for, as long as you frequently clean them.

Follow these tips to make your child’s batting gloves last a season.

• After each use, shake them to remove any dirt from inside and brush off any crud from the surface
• I do not recommend turning them inside out to air out because you will over-stretch the gloves
• Stuff the glove with loose and crumpled paper towel or newspaper
• Place batting gloves in a cool, shaded spot with lots of air movement
• Do not place moist batting gloves in direct sunlight as the material will dry and crack

Some websites erroneously recommend throwing your batting gloves into a washer to clean them.  PLEASE DON’T DO THIS.  Batting gloves are NOT meant to be washed this way.

After gloves have been dried, rub a small amount leather conditioner (or glove oil) to keep the gloves soft and supple (you may want to ask your child to wear the gloves and rub their hands together)

Conclusion

To recap, keep the following four points se in mind when looking to buy a pair of batting gloves for your child:

• Size – Batting gloves should NOT be too loose when worn as folds and wrinkles can be uncomfortable. Also, batting gloves will stretch a bit so buying a tight fitting gloves should be okay (i.e. you should be able to make a fist with resistance)
• Type of Material – High-grade leather will be far more durable and provide better grip than cheap synthetic leather
• Protection – wider wrist strap can provide support as well as protection from errant pitches. Some batting gloves come with strategically placed plastic inserts for the top side of your hands
• Adjustability – wider and longer hook-and-loop strap provide better adjsutability

Finally, kids love wearing cool-looking baseball gear so don’t forget to consider the style and design of the gloves. There is a plethora of batting gloves in a wide range of colors and designs, so get your child involved when making a purchase.

In conclusion, I wholeheartedly believe that batting gloves are a must-have equipment for any baseball or softball player.

Invest in a good quality batting gloves to help your child take their game to the next level!

FAQ

• What do pro players wear?
  • Many players are starting to wear BOLT BASEBALL gloves due to it’s use of high quality leather and superior design. Many more wear Franklin Sports batting gloves because they have a good line of batting gloves and have been around since 1960s

• Do MLB players wear batting gloves?
  • Most baseball players since 2000 tend to wear batting gloves

• Do batting gloves really make a difference?
  • Yes, they do by improving bat grip. Many batting gloves come with sticky palm material for a controlled grip

• Should batting gloves be work tight or loose?
  • Batting gloves should be snug and should feel like a second layer of skin. A simple test is to make sure that you can make a fist with resistance

• How can I stop my hands from hurting when batting?
  • “Bat sting” occurs when a ball is hit off the sweet-spot. Focus on trying to hit the baseball on the sweet spot. In the meantime, install a better bat grip and wear an high quality batting gloves

• Should I wear one or both batting gloves
  • Bat sting is usually felt on the bottom hand (hand that is closest to the bat knob) so some MLB players wear a batting glove just for that hand. However, you will see that players who wear batting gloves will wear both gloves

Related Posts

• Ultimate Sizing Guide to Baseball Equipment
• Age-by-Age Guide to Best Baseball Bats
• How to stop getting blisters
• Different Types of Baseballs for Different Ages
• Best Backyard Batting Cages – Top-Rated Hitting Cage Solutions
• Complete Guide to Youth Baseball Catchers Equipment Gear

Reference Links