Weighted Balls and batting gloves

Delaware_Diamonds_8,

If you are looking for info on weighted balls I suggest you use the "SEARCH" function in the top left of the web page.   There is quite a bit on the topic.

Hitting gloves are a personal preference.  I suggest you try-on many to see what you like based on fit, price and durability.

Good luck w gloves- we go through 4-5 a yr. many rip/split. Wish someone could make some good ones. Wanted to try Marruci but only see them online. 

Weighted balls r out there. My son used them for 6 months but with specific instruction/supervision. Never just took them to field and threw them around. Most exercises indoors using net-never had arm problem and gained 4-5 on velocity. May use again in off season to keep shoulder in shape( just one part of shoulder program).if using them as a pitcher make sure mechanics r in place first or they can do more harm than good. Good luck. Keep us posted on how they worked for u.

For cage work my son uses Rawlings "The Workhorse" batting gloves and for games he uses customized Palmgard batting gloves.  Both are very good and will just wear out over time instead of ripping out early.  The Palmgard have great feel and the palms are slightly thinner than the Rawlings, they last (before holes) about a year (so HS, summer, fall ball, some cage work) before wearing out which isn't bad.  He use to use cheaper but they would rip, unstich, or wear out in a month or two.  Palmgard also make football gloves and their lineman and linebacker gloves are fantastic (many college players and NFL players use them in the trenches).  As for weighted balls I would go with anything over 6oz if you plan to throw it.  My son uses 4oz and 6oz for overload/underload training.

May I suggest getting two pairs of gloves? One strictly for practice/cage work and the other for games. The game gloves should last all season. Make sure you keep them zipped up in sandwich bags after each use. Once moisture saturates them, if they get dry, that's where tearing tends to happen most. Not to mention they get all crusty and tough to put on. I hope this helps...

First I'd like to address the weighted balls issue because so many players tend to use these. Using weighted balls is one of the WORST things you can do. It will completely alter your throwing motion, and when you use a normal ball you will not be throwing correctly. This same principle applies to swinging a weighted bat too. Because your swing is made for a normal bat, it will not work the same with a heavier one, thus making your swinging longer and less efficient. As for the batting gloves I love swingman, their my favorite but thats up to you. Whatever feels right.

By the way, really like your suggestion on putting the batting gloves in zip lock bags. Very good idea, ill try it myself.

for the cage I would go with thicker gloves.  You want them to handle more wear than your gamers with possibly less feel.  In the cage you can use leather work gloves if you want (they last a long time).

I disagree that weighted balls are bad for you. As everything - it depends upon how you use them. My son and I use 4oz and 6oz balls. 1oz accounts for a 20% increase in weight - more than enough to help build arm strength but not so much is alters throwing motion and/or damage shoulder. Overloading and underloading programs are widely accepted as proven to help in building strength/speed. We throw 25 with heavy - then 25 with light and then go to normal ball(5oz). We do the same with a bat - he has weights he attaches to bat we use in practice - then we use a wiffle ball bat and hit wiffle balls. Fast twitch muscle fibers need to be worked as much as heavier slower muscles. A good swing is a good swing - obviously - you don't want to swing so much weight that it does not match your normal swing.

I learned this by trial and error. I was tired of my gloves always getting crusty and hard to put on. That's when I noticed the holes would get bigger and the seams would start tearing. Even though it may smell like a dirty foot locker when you open the baggies, it should preserve the leather a lot longer by keeping them moist.

I encourage my son to wipe them off on a towel, let them air dry, and condition with a bit of lexol when needed - just like a glove.

Adding extra weight to any normal motion in sports should be done slowly. I would not advise weighted balls solely for the purpose of strengthening your sons arm. The only way to strengthen your arm for throwing is simply...by throwing. Long toss is great. I learned this the hard way last year. After using weighted balls to play catch with my older brother, My arm motion changed when I threw the lighter baseball, and I began to let my hand get under the ball, making my throws wild even from second base! Took me a while to get my throwing motion back.

What is your goal for using 4oz and 6oz balls? Strength? Velocity? warmup? stretching?  My son uses 4oz and 6oz balls for underload/overload training - only.  This assumes that you're in condition for pitching hard as underload/overload training requires throwing with max effort (i.e. throw as hard as you can with control), same as underload/overload training for hitting or running.

Wet batting gloves in a zip lock bag breeds mold and mildew......both will attack and degrade the leather just as bad and be a health hazard.....let them dry, then lightly put some hand creme on your hands......put on the gloves, then  lightly spray a leather conditioner on the gloves..( lexol is a good choice).....rub it in.....gloves stay supple, and not moldy or smelly......

Nothing is more damaging to player (or umpire gear) more than damp storage in a hot locations....

What a great idea about teh sandwich bags, my son's do exactly what you said, wet, dry out, rip. thanks!!!

Long toss and band work mostly, a course of overload/underload training periodically as an option (i.e. if you plateau in velocity).