A must-read for all baseball players! ShuSpo's recommended glove care method

If you've been playing baseball for a long time, it can be hard to ask about glove care now, can't it?

"How are gloves being cared for in the baseball world today?"
"Which manufacturer's care products are popular?"
"How often should I do it?"

We'd like to share real feedback, such as customer reactions when we sell products in the store and our staff's actual experiences using them.


First of all, why do gloves fundamentally need to be maintained?

Reason 1: Extends the life of the glove

Since gloves are made of cowhide, they will dry out and become brittle if not maintained.
If used or left in a brittle state, they can tear.
This could lead to repairs or, in the worst-case scenario, the need to replace the glove, so proper maintenance significantly impacts the glove's lifespan.

Reason 2: Improves fielding skills

Proper maintenance means taking good care of your glove and being mindful of it.
This prevents it from losing its shape, and by truly interacting with your glove, you can reflect on your day, thinking things like, "It's easier to catch here," or "I should have caught that hit this way," which leads to improved fielding skills.

Reason 3: Develops character/patina

Gloves are leather products, so with proper care, they will develop a shine and become more luxurious.
Neglecting them can also lead to color fading, making your cool new glove look uncool.
You want your own glove to look its best, right?

There are a few other reasons, but these three are probably the main ones.
Reason 2 is almost entirely psychological, though (lol).

I believe the first step to becoming a better fielder is definitely to cherish your glove!!

Sato's batting was disastrous, and he was the type who had to survive on defense, so he took great care of his glove.
Thanks to that, I think my fielding improved quite a bit (lol).


What about professional baseball players' gloves?
You've never seen a player using a muddy glove covered in dirt, have you?
Even those at the pinnacle of Japanese baseball treat their gloves with care.
All baseball players should learn from this 👀

Care Method

Now, let's get to the main topic!
There are roughly 4 categories.
The order is also important, so don't get it wrong... (・∀・)ﾆﾔﾆﾔ

1. Brushing

When I ask people, many of them don't do this step.
Brushing removes dust and invisible dirt.
If you don't brush after every use, dust will accumulate and can make your glove heavy.
It's a misconception that applying too much oil makes it heavy; it gets heavy because you apply oil without removing the dust.
Gloves these days are light, you see 👀
Brush thoroughly!!

2. Removing dirt

You might think, "I just brushed and removed dirt!", but this second step of dirt removal is for visible dirt.
The tool used for this is called a cleaner.
There are cream types, lotion types, and recently, even body-sheet-like dirt removers.

If you play baseball on a black dirt field, your glove will get dirty, especially in the catching area, as shown in photo 1.

High school students probably practice every day, so their gloves will get even dirtier.
Some people might say, "It looks cooler with black dirt on it," but in reality, you're just catching with dirt on it (・∀・)ﾆﾔﾆﾔ
So, I think it's better not to have this dirt on it!!

If you use a cleaner on this stubborn dirt...

It gets this clean!!!!!
Isn't that amazing!?
Seeing this makes you want to remove the dirt, doesn't it? (・∀・)ﾆﾔﾆﾔ

The method is to apply cleaner to the glove, but here's a tip ♪

Use your finger to remove dirt and wipe with a towel!


Imagine lifting the dirt by drawing circles with your finger.
That way, the dirt will come off more easily than before!

To use a human analogy, it's like removing makeup and becoming bare-faced.
It's important to go bare-faced once in a while ♪

3. Moisturizing

Here comes the well-known oil.
If you leave the glove alone after just cleaning it, the leather will dry out, so apply oil.
Just like with dirt removal, I recommend applying conditioning oil with your "fingers"!
If you melt the oil with your body temperature as you apply it, the oil will blend well into the leather!

This is where preferences differ, but

It splits into two camps: those who want the catching surface to be a bit sticky to improve grip, and those who prefer it smooth.

For those who want stickiness, Mizuno's Sayaka Mamori series, Junkei's grease, and Hatakeyama's glove wax, which Shohei Ohtani also uses, are recommended!

For smooth types, Slugger's oil and Wagyu JB's Proteos are recommended.
Among them, my top recommendation is Gorilla Sports' Closer!

It's a spray type, and all you have to do is spray it generously (・∀・)ﾆﾔﾆﾔ
The good thing about Closer is that you can spray it thoroughly on the laces, which are often neglected.
If you don't take care of the laces, they can break ( ﾉД`)ｼｸｼｸ…
Laces can be annoying to deal with, but Closer solves that problem!

If you use Cy Young, a polishing oil, in addition to Closer, it will become super shiny and look incredibly cool!

4. Final Brushing

Even if you apply oil evenly, unevenness can still occur.
The final brushing helps to spread that unevenness uniformly!
Also, friction will bring out the shine on the glove.
You buff and brush leather shoes at the end to make them shine, right?
It's the same principle (lol).

What you absolutely must not do is
use the same brush for dirt removal and finishing

If you use the same brush, you'll just re-dirty the glove that you've just cleaned and conditioned.
Please, never do this.

Always separate your dirt removal brush and finishing brush.

Glove Storage Method

Are you leaving your glove in its bag after use?
Actually, this is...

the absolute worst thing to do!!!

Especially in the upcoming season, you'll be sweating a lot, and your glove will get soaking wet (´；ω；`)ｳｩｩ
If you leave that wet glove in its bag, it will start to smell really, really bad Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉｷｬｰ
Moreover, the leather of the glove will deteriorate from the sweat and moisture...
It's all bad: the leather will weaken and become prone to tearing.

So, what should you do?

Brush it after use and air dry it in the shade!

To be more specific, air drying in a well-ventilated, shaded area is recommended.
Doing this makes a HUGGEEEEE difference!!
Try it, even if you think it's a trick (lol).

After letting it dry for half a day to a full day, you can put it in a glove bag, or wrap a shape-retaining band around it.
The key is to do this after it has completely dried.

~Summary~

Basically, if you follow these four steps in order, you won't go wrong!
If you want to be "more particular!" or "make it look cool," you can rub it with a sheepskin applicator after the fourth step of finishing brushing to get even more shine.
Using the Gorilla Sports polishing oil "Cy Young" that I recommended earlier will make it super shiny!

Various manufacturers offer different types of products, so it's worth trying anything that catches your eye.
The more you polish, the better you become. Approach your glove care with that mindset!