Ultimate Sizing Guide to Baseball Equipment

What You Should Know

• Complete resource guide to properly measure and size for all baseball related equipment and accessories
• Manufacturers may have a slightly different measurement definition so check for fit and comfort

Intro

There are so many different pieces of equipment, manufacturers, models, etc., it can make your head spin.

Because manufacturers mass produce products with as few size variations as possible to lower cost, it can be difficult to find the right piece of equipment for your child.

In addition, the industry lacks the standard sizing reference guide, a same-sized baseball fielding glove from one manufacturer may be significantly different than the one from another maker.

I am going to hopefully alleviate some of these confusions by providing you with a clear, concise “how-to-size” information for your child.

Table of Contents

• Size Categories
  • CDC size chart, Age, Height and Weight
• Sizing a baseball glove
• How to size a baseball Bat
• Sizing a catcher’s gear set
  • helmet / mask
  • chest protector
  • leg guards
  • knee savers
  • forearm pads
  • thumb guard
  • index guard
• Sizing baseball accessories
  • athletic cups
  • sliding shorts
  • chest guard shirts
• wrist pads
• Sizing Baseball
• Sizing Cleats
• Sizing Shirts
• Sizing Pants
• Sizing Socks

Size Categories

Most baseball equipment manufacturers create size designations using the US CDC Growth charts.

Broadly speaking, companies try to target sizes based by capturing roughly 75% of the children belonging to a particular age bracket.

To assess where your child falls in one of these brackets, follow these instructions:

Step # 1 – print the applicable chart(s):

• If you have a boy, print the “Boys-Stature-for-age and Weight-for-age-2-to-20-years” chart
• If you have a girl, print the “Girls-Stature-for-age and Weight-for-age-2-to-20-years” chart

Step # 2 – Measure your child’s height and weight and plot it on the chart.

For example, this where a 10 year old boy measuring 57″ in height and 90 lbs in weight would plot on the chart:

What the chart is showing is that this hypothetical child is at 90% percentile in height (green line) and weight (blue line). Another words, your child is taller and heavier than 90 percent of his peers.

Step # 3 – Determine the size of a particular piece of equipment and compare that with the growth chart.

For example, let’s hypothetically say that a youth-sized catcher’s chest protector from Rawlings is designed for 8-10 year olds. Since your child is 10 years old and is at the 90% percentile among his peers, you probably would want to look at the intermediate-sized catcher’s chest protector as well.

It is important to remember that this is just a guide to help you determine the proper baseball equipment size for your child so please don’t forget to focus on their comfort!

Sizing a Baseball Glove

Please refer to The Complete Guide to Baseball and Softball Gloves and Mitts article (link coming soon)

What size baseball bat do I need?

Selecting a correctly sized bat is critical in making consistent hard contact at the plate.

I have seen too many young players make the mistake of thinking that swinging a longer and heavier bat (than what they can handle) makes them “look cooler” and hit more home runs.

This is absolutely false and parents should not fall into the same trap.

Hopefully I can cut through the clutter so that you can help identify and properly size a baseball bat for your child.

But first, I highly recommend my post “What Should I look for in a baseball bat?“

Bat Length

When a batter steps into the batter’s box,

Bat Weight Classifications

Baseball bat weight is measured by the “drop weight” designation where drop weight is the difference between the length and weight of the bat.

That means you don’t go around looking to buy a 28 oz or 32 oz bats.

Instead, you first settle on the proper length then look at the “drop minus” number.

Bat weight is measured by the minus or drop weight. Drop weight is the difference between the length and weight of the bat, so a bat that is 30 inches long and has a drop weight of -10 will weigh 20 ounces. The bigger the drop weight is, the lighter the bat will weigh (i.e. The higher the drop weight, the easier it will be to swing; Drop Weight = Bat Length (inches) subtracted from Bat Weight (oz))

Baseball batplease remember that weight varies greatly among manufacturers. I recommend checking teh actual weight

Bat sizing for 5 and 6 Year old players

Kids in this age group normally play in T-ball and the primary focus should be having fun and teach some solid swing mechanics.

Because kids in this age group are physically weak, you want a lighter, not heavier, bat to develop proper swing mechanics. I would rather see a t-baller with a shorter bat than a long one which will allow him to make frequent swings without slowing him down.

The same goes for the barrel size. If your child is considerably bigger than their peers, you may want to go with a 2 5/8″ barrel. Otherwise 2 1/4″ barrel is fine.

All being equal, if you have some extra money, I would consider buying a composite bat because it tends to have a larger sweet spot than a single-piece alloy bat and many composite bats come with better grips. A larger sweet spot and better hand grips work together to minimize the hand stings.

If your league requires you to buy a USA Baseball approved bats, the bat should indicate “ONLY FOR USE IN TEE BALL”. As far as I know, USSSA approved bat manufacturers do NOT make tee-ball bats.

To see the latest T-ball bat recommendations, read my pos, Age-by-Age Guide to Best Baseball Bats for T-ball

Bat for 6 and 7 Year old players

Bats come in a mind-numbing assortment of sizes, lengths and weights and are fashioned from several  different materials. So choosing the right bat size is no simple task, unless you know what to  look for. And that’s what we’re going to discuss here: how to measure for a bat to ensure the proper fit. 

hollow vs solid end cap for wood bats

Key Takeaways

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• What size baseball glove Should a 14 year old use?
  • The best way to learn the fundamentals of fielding and catching is by wearing a glove that fits well. 14 year old player generally can wear intermediate or adult baseball gloves
• What age is an adult baseball glove?
  • Once a player reaches 13 years old they should consider using an adult style glove
• What size baseball glove do adults use?
  • Adult 11.00″ to 11.75″ is the typical baseball glove size
  • Second basemen prefer a smaller glove to help make those quick throws while still having control. Shortstops typically use something in the middle for grounders and quick throws. Third basemen generally prefer a larger glove.

Related Posts

Reference Links

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