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Batting gloves are a component in
bat-and-ball games Bat-and-ball games (or safe haven games) are field games played by two opposing teams. Action starts when the defending team throws a ball at a dedicated player of the attacking team, who tries to hit it with a bat and run between various safe ar ...
sportswear. Typically consisting of a leather palm and back made of nylon or another synthetic fabric, the glove covers one or both hands of a batter, providing comfort, prevention of blisters, warmth, improved grip, and shock absorption when hitting the ball. Batting gloves are considered an essential part of
cricket equipment Cricket clothing and equipment is regulated by the laws of cricket. Cricket whites, sometimes called flannels, are the loose fitting clothes which are worn while playing cricket so as not to restrict the player's movement. Use of protective equi ...
, though they are not mandatory at any level of the game.


Purpose

The majority of professional and high-level amateur baseball players wear batting gloves. They are worn because they help increase the quality of the grip on the bat. Maintaining a tight and controlled grip is essential to successful hits. Even the slightest slip or variation in grip can cost the team greatly. They also act as a protector of the hand when one slides into a base. Another prime use for batting gloves, especially in amateur leagues that permit aluminum bats, is shock protection. On a cold day, a swing can fracture fingers.


History in baseball

During the
1932 Brooklyn Dodgers season The 1932 Brooklyn Dodgers season was the first season the franchise was officially known as the Dodgers, with the name making its first appearance on some of the team's jerseys. The Dodgers nickname had in use since the 1890s and was used interch ...
,
Lefty O'Doul Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul (March 4, 1897 – December 7, 1969) was an American Major League Baseball player who went on to become an extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues. He was also a vital figure in the establishmen ...
and
Johnny Frederick John Henry Frederick (January 26, 1902 – June 18, 1977) was a Major League Baseball outfielder. He played six seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers, compiling a .308 batting average (954-for-3102) with 85 home runs and 377 RBI for his career. Ba ...
began experimenting with accessories as "shock absorbers" to combat hand injuries. O'Doul wore "an ordinary street glove" to the plate during games while Frederick bandaged his hands "with the same sort of material that is used to stuff shoulder pads worn by football players." ''
The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'' reported, however, that O'Doul was expected to stop using the glove as soon as his hand was back to full health. Some claim the first player to wear a batting glove was
Bobby Thomson Robert Brown Thomson (October 25, 1923 – August 16, 2010) was a Scottish Americans, Scottish-born American professional baseball player, nicknamed the "Staten Island Scot". He was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants ( ...
of the
Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...
, who wore golf gloves during spring training in 1949. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson has been credited with being the first player to wear a batting glove in an actual game (as opposed to usage during
batting practice B backdoor breaking ball :A breaking pitch, usually a slider, curveball, or cut fastball that, due to its lateral motion, passes through a small part of the strike zone on the outside edge of the plate after seeming as if it would miss the pla ...
). In 2013, an hour-long documentary, called “Hawk: The Colorful life of Ken Harrelson,” began airing on the
MLB Network The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox Com ...
. At roughly the 22-minute mark of the presentation, Ken describes his involvement in the origin of the batting glove (although he calls it the "hitting" glove in the documentary). Ken does not state the year, but describes that in his first two years in the big leagues, he made more money playing golf, shooting pool, and armwrestling than he did playing major league baseball, and goes right into a story. Ken describes, after playing 27 holes of golf with fellow players,
Ted Bowsfield Edward Oliver Bowsfield (born January 10, 1935) is a Canadian former professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher born in Vernon, British Columbia, and raised in Penticton, he appeared in 215 games pitched in Major League Baseball over seve ...
,
Gino Cimoli Gino Nicholas Cimoli (December 18, 1929 – February 12, 2011) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh ...
, and
Sammy Esposito Samuel Esposito (December 15, 1931 – July 9, 2018) was an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 10 seasons on the Chicago White Sox (1952, 1955–1963) and Kansas City Athletics ...
, he went straight to the ballpark for a game against the
Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
, whereby he developed a blister on his left hand during batting practice. He goes on to say that he remembered he had his golf glove in the pocket of his jeans and that he went to bat wearing the "flaming red golf glove" in the 1st inning to face Whitey ord He claims that in that 1st-inning at bat, Whitey hung him curveball that he hit it "450 feet" for a home run over the left-center wall. He goes on to say that in about the 6th inning, Whitey hung him another curveball and he hit that one about "480 feet". He concludes the story by saying the next day, all of the Yankees came out of their clubhouse with flaming red golf gloves on, as Ken stated that Mickey antlehad the "clubby (clubhouse attendant) go out and purchase them. Harrelson laughs and states, "and that's how the hitting glove got started.”


See also

*
Golf gloves Golf equipment encompasses the various items that are used to play the sport of golf. Types of equipment include the golf ball, golf clubs, and devices that aid in the sport. Equipment Balls Originally, golf balls were made of a hardwood, s ...
*
Baseball clothing and equipment ; Bat : A rounded, solid wooden or hollow aluminum bat. Wooden bats are traditionally made from ash wood, though maple and bamboo is also sometimes used. Aluminum bats are not permitted in professional leagues, but are frequently used in amateur l ...
*
Cricket clothing and equipment Cricket clothing and equipment is regulated by the laws of cricket. Cricket whites, sometimes called flannels, are the loose fitting clothes which are worn while playing cricket so as not to restrict the player's movement. Use of protective equi ...


References


External links

{{Cricket equipment Baseball equipment Cricket equipment Sports gloves