Resurrecting a catcher's glove

Water, oven .......yikes! Play catch with it.

As an aside, perhaps the issue of the ball popping out of the glove is a technique issue rather then a glove issue? i.e. "boxing" the ball

not sure what "boxing" the ball means. If it means jabbing at it, then I don't think its that. He "sticks" it pretty good. I really think its because he jammed it inside the helmet, but I could be wrong..

We have 3 worn out A2000's in the garage. Seem to get no more than 2 years out of them, at 60 or so games a year, plus bullpens year round. They lose their stiffness in the upper half of the glove. It generally is off the plate pitches that are reaching catches where the first trouble shows up.

Here is a thought, try oiling the glove and see if you can find a pitching machine on high speed(local batting facilities are a good place) and catch about 200-300 pitches to see if there is hope. That is if you don't have pitchers around who need bullpen work.

Good luck.

I suggest you re-lace the mitt. That may sound easy but it can be a real chore especially with a catchers mitt. The laces follow a very indirect route from point "A" to point "B". Re-lace one lace at a time being careful to follow the path of the original lace. The new laces will actually add a certain degree of "newness" to the old mitt. I will also suggest he ALWAYS keep a ball in the mitt when not being used. This maintains the shape of the mitt. The brand new mitt should have a ball placed in the pocket (some use two balls) and be wrapped with a "saran wrap" type of material to help initially form the mitt's pocket. I'm not a big fan of most glove oils because too much oil softens the leather to a point the mitt can become too floppy too quickly. Cleaning the mitt is very important because dirt is an abrasive and creates premature wear. With the constant pounding of fast balls, the catchers mitt has a definite "cycle" in its life span and should be classified as 1. "too new", 2. "game mitt" and 3. "back-up mitt". When the mitt is new they are too stiff for game play and should be used only in practice or bullpens. A properly broken in mitt is the game mitt. Don't overuse this glove for bullpens. When they become too floppy, worn or stretched they should be used ONLY as a back-up to the game mitt.
Fungo
PS. This can be expensive if the parents have to buy the mitts. My son used two mitts in HS and then in college went to three (college provided) and in the pros was under contract with All-Star that provide all his mitts, gloves, and catching equipment.

Fungo,

I agree with the relacing idea. I have recently had 1 of my older son's glove redone and they show a noticable improvement in firmness in the pocket.

Also agree that gloves need to always have at least one ball in them when put in the equipment bag.

Many suggest only putting ONE ball in the glove for storeage as TWO may stretch the pocket to an undesirable size.

My son had his backup pudge glove repaired and the person put a softball in it for one week before he picked it up. My son felt the glove pocket was ruined.