HOW TO TAKE CARE
    OF YOUR GLOVE

    Simple habits that keep your pocket game-ready and add seasons to your leather.

    A broken-in glove is an investment. Whether you broke it in yourself over months of catch or had it professionally formed, the pocket, hinge and close are exactly where they need to be — and every one of those things can be lost to neglect.

    The good news is that glove care is simple. A few minutes of attention after each game keeps the pocket shape you paid for and adds seasons to the leather. Here's the routine we recommend after 36 years of working on gloves.

    After every game or practice

    Wipe off dirt and infield clay with a dry or slightly damp cloth
    Put a ball in the pocket and close the glove around it
    Wrap it or use a glove band to hold the shape
    Store it in a cool, dry place — not crushed in the bottom of a bat bag

    If your glove gets wet

    Wipe off surface water and let it air-dry at room temperature
    Keep a ball in the pocket while it dries so it holds its shape
    Never use a hair dryer, oven, microwave, heater or direct sun — heat dries out and cracks leather

    Rain happens. A wet glove that dries slowly and naturally will recover. A wet glove that gets "helped" with heat may never be the same.

    Conditioning

    Condition only when the leather looks or feels dry — usually a few times per season
    Use a small amount of glove conditioner on a cloth, rub it in, and wipe off the extra
    Too much oil makes a glove heavy and floppy and breaks down the leather

    Think of conditioner as medicine, not food: the right dose at the right time keeps leather healthy, but more is not better. If you're not sure your glove needs it, it probably doesn't.

    Storage in the off-season

    Clean and lightly condition it, then store it with a ball in the pocket
    Avoid hot cars, trunks, garages and damp basements

    Where a glove spends the winter decides how it plays in the spring. A closet shelf inside the house beats a garage, trunk or damp basement every time.

    Check your laces

    Laces are the frame of your glove, and they wear out before the leather does. Every few weeks, look for fraying, cracking or loose knots — especially at the thumb, pinky and web, where the tension is highest.

    The warning signs are easy to spot once you know them: a snapped or hanging lace, a pocket that won't hold its shape, dried or brittle laces, webbing that shifts when you squeeze, and knots that keep coming undone. Any one of these means it's time.

    Read the Relacing Guide

    Mistakes that ruin gloves

    Sitting on it or stuffing it in a bag

    Crushing the glove flattens the pocket and bends the hinge in places it was never meant to fold. The shape you paid for disappears one car ride at a time.

    Leaving it in a hot car

    Heat dries leather out and makes it brittle. A glove that lives in a trunk ages seasons in a single summer.

    Over-oiling

    More conditioner is not more care. Saturation adds weight, makes the glove floppy, and breaks down the leather — and once it's in, it can't be taken back out.

    Letting teammates use it

    Every hand closes a glove differently. A teammate who borrows your glove reshapes the pocket to their hand, not yours.

    Common questions

    How often should I condition my glove?

    Only when the leather looks or feels dry — for most players that's a few times per season. Use a small amount of glove conditioner on a cloth, rub it in, and wipe off the extra. If your glove feels fine, skip it: over-conditioning does more harm than under-conditioning.

    What should I do if my glove gets soaked?

    Wipe off the surface water, put a ball in the pocket, and let it air-dry at room temperature. Never reach for a hair dryer, oven, heater or sunny windowsill — heat dries out and cracks leather. Once it's dry, a light conditioning helps restore what the water took out.

    Should I store my glove with a ball in it?

    Yes. A ball in the pocket — with the glove wrapped or held closed with a band — trains the leather to rest in the shape you want. Leather has memory, so how you store it is how it plays.

    Can you fix a glove that's lost its shape?

    In most cases, yes. A professional reshape works the pocket, hinge and break points back to where they should be, and a relace restores the frame if the laces are stretched or worn. Send us a photo of your glove and we'll tell you honestly what it needs.

    Need a tune-up?

    If your glove has lost its shape, gone stiff, or the laces are on their last leg, we can bring it back. The Glove Pro offers professional relacing, reshaping and reconditioning — every job done by hand, with no heat, no steam and no shortcuts.

    Standard turnaround of 7–10 days, or 72 hours expedited
    Ship your glove from anywhere in the country, or drop it off locally
    Start Your OrderAsk a Question

    More guides: How to Break In a Baseball Glove · When to Relace Your Glove

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