How to Store a Baseball Glove: Dos and Don’ts

Baseball Glove Storage at a Glance

• Store your glove as close to its natural playing shape.
• Place a ball in the pocket, glove insert, lay it palm down and open or any method that prevents it from flattening.
• Don’t let bats, helmets, cleats, or other gear crush it in your equipment bag.
• Keep the glove cool and dry, and let it air dry if it gets wet.
• Avoid prolonged heat and moisture like your garage or trunk in the summer.
• The best storage method is the one that keeps your glove as close to the shape as if it's on your hand ready to field a ball. 

 

A baseball glove can take weeks, months, or even an entire season to get exactly how you like it. 

You break in and soften the leather, forming the pocket by playing catch. You establish the hinges so it closes just right. Eventually, the glove starts to feel like an extension of your hand.

Then practice or the game ends and the glove gets tossed into an equipment bag under your gear and you don’t think about it until the next time you need it. 

For most players, and myself included, glove care was an afterthought. But then as my son started playing baseball and I saw how quickly both of our gloves were wearing out I started to recognize the importance of glove care and how you store a glove.  

The good news is proper baseball glove storage does not need to be complicated, but how you store your glove can affect its pocket, shape and condition over time. The goal is actually simple, try to keep your glove as close to its natural shape when storing it. Your glove is probably spending 90% to 95%+ of its life sitting between games and practices. How it is stored during all those hours can matter.

Here are the biggest dos and don'ts of storing a baseball glove.

DO: Keep Your Glove in Its Natural Playing Shape

A broken-in glove has a specific shape and everyone’s glove is different. 

There is no right or wrong shape. Some players like to flare the thumb. I personally wouldn’t recommend doing this to the pinky but if it works for you that's all that matters. The palm and web are what form the pocket and the hinges are where the glove creases to close around the ball.  

The shape you created over time and while playing is what makes it feel like YOUR glove and if you ever had to use someone else's glove it's an awkward feeling, like wearing that cheap tuxedo rental that doesn’t fit, probably not a good look either. 

The glove manufacturers place a lot of emphasis on maintaining pocket shape for good reason. Rawlings recommends keeping a ball in the pocket during storage, while Wilson recommends using a ball or softball when reshaping a glove.

How you do this matters a lot less than the principle:

Support the pocket and avoid forcing the glove into a shape you do not want.

DON'T: Let Your Glove Get Crushed in Your Equipment Bag

This is probably the most common way baseball gloves are stored and the easiest mistake to make.

Practice ends and your glove gets stuffed into the bag with all of your other gear packed on our around it. 

Helmet, cleats, batting gloves, water bottles and other equipment smash your glove. 

Over time, and especially as the glove softens, that pressure begins to flatten the pocket or change how the thumb and pinky sit.

So if your glove is going into an equipment bag, the important question is:

What is preventing everything else in the bag from smashing my glove?

DO: Support the Pocket

The most tried and true glove storage method is to put a baseball or softball in the pocket.

A ball simply provides support inside the pocket and helps keep the glove from collapsing completely flat.

Some players prefer a softball over a baseball because it's larger and opens the pocket more. Where a baseball will fit the actual pocket but may not support the overall glove very well. I found two baseballs works well. 

You are not trying to force the glove into a specific shape, just maintain what you already have.

DON'T: Store Your Glove Flat Under Weight

A glove sitting on a shelf is very different from a glove lying flat underneath equipment.

The problem is not that the glove is horizontal.

The problem is prolonged weight and pressure.

Leather has a physical memory. This means it will retain the shape of whatever pressures or forms it over time. 

If the palm and pocket are compressed for days at a time, a softer broken-in glove will begin to take on that flattened shape.

This becomes more noticeable for older gloves.

A new glove and the leather will resist compression but a well broken-in glove will not.

This becomes a problem because when you have a nicely broken-in glove that feels perfect on the field it is also at the point where storage is most important to avoid losing its shape. 

DO: Give the Glove Room to Breathe

Leather and moisture do not make great friends. In fact they are enemies.

All that sweat from your hand, humidity or wet grass is absorbed by your glove. 

Avoid leaving a damp glove somewhere with little airflow like your bag or in the car.

At a minimum, wipe off the dirt and moisture and let the glove dry naturally. 

DON'T: Leave Your Glove in a Hot Car or Extreme Temperatures

A car trunk, garage or tool shed in the summer is like baking your glove in the oven. 

Heat dries leather and leads to stiffness or cracking over time.

If your garage stays close to normal indoor temperatures and is dry, it should be fine.

A garage that is extremely hot, humid or damp is another story.

If you want to play it safe, store your glove in the house.

DON'T: Try to Dry a Wet Glove With Direct Heat

If a glove gets wet in the rain, it’s tempting to speed things up and dry it with heat.

Don’t do this. 

Rawlings specifically advises against heating methods such as baking or boiling gloves during break-in because excessive heat can damage the glove.

The safe approach is to wipe away excess moisture, open the glove and allow it to air dry naturally.

Once completely dry, apply some glove conditioner if the leather feels dry.

What Happens to an Old Glove When Its Shape Is Supported?

We wanted to see how much difference storage could actually make.

So we took an older and broken-in glove that was past its prime and placed a Glove Taco inside it for 24 hours.

The goal was not to magically restore it or reshape it.

We wanted to see whether supporting the pocket and opening could help it return closer to its normal playing shape.

Before

• Pocket had collapsed noticeably
• Thumb and pinky sit together

After 24 Hours

• Slightly stiffer feel
• Thumb and pinky sitting farther apart

Video Test

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A post shared by Mike (@glove_taco)

 

I think this test shows that leather does have memory and that even after 24 hours the glove regained some of its former shape.

The takeaway- there is no storage method or product that will  miraculously bring an old glove back to its former glory.

Good storage habits will help preserve your glove’s shape not slowly undo it.

What Is the Best Way to Store a Baseball Glove?

It depends on the player and how much time and effort they want to invest in taking care of their glove. 

An MLB player has different needs and resources than a 12-year-old carrying a glove to four practices per week.

But good storage methods generally accomplish the same things:

Protect the pocket.
Maintain the glove's natural shape.
Prevent unnecessary compression.
Control moisture.
Avoid extreme heat.

Whether you use a baseball, softball, hard case, lay it palm down and open or some type of insert, the principles matter more than the specific method.

The worst storage method is also the one most are guilty of:

Tossing the glove in your trunk or bag and forgetting about what shape it's being stored in. 

Your glove took time to get just right.

Store it like you want it to stay that way.

Protect the pocket. Keep the shape.

Learn more about Glove Taco.