PHOTOS
MICHAEL MCNAMARA/
SPORTING NEWS
; COURTESY RAWLINGS
ways, it’sanextensionofwho theyare.”
Rawlingshasbeencrafting these
personalizedrelationships formore than
100years. In1919,CardinalspitcherBill
DoakaskedRawlings tomodifyhisglove,
enlarging the thumbandextendinga
web to the indexfinger tocreateapocket
forfielding.TheDoakmodel launched
themodernglove, andSt.Louis-based
Rawlingshasremained the industry lead-
er.Nearly50percentofallmajor league
playersuseaRawlingsglove, and60
percentofshortstopsdo.Rawlings isso
synonymouswithfielding that theaward
it founded in1957, theGoldGlove,has
become themeasureof“thefinest in the
field”andshorthand forsure-handedness.
WinnersareannouncedeveryNovember.
Championshipsarecaughtamonth
earlier.Asmuchasanyhomerunor
strikeout,defensecancome todefinean
October.ARawlingsglovehasbeenon
hand formanypostseasonhighlights.
OnSept.29, 1954, inGame1of theWorld
Series,WillieMays,hisback tohome
plate, caughtadrive tocenterfieldwith
aHarveyHaddixmodelRawlingsglove.
In2014,SanFranciscoGiantssecond
basemanJoePaniksnaredagrounder
andflipped it toBrandonCrawford fora
Rawlings-to-Rawlings title-savingdouble
play inGame7.During the2001American
LeagueDivisionSeries,NewYorkYankees
shortstopDerekJeterraced to thefirst-
base line toglovea throw thatmissed two
cutoffmenandmake“TheFlip” tohome
forhis iconiccatch-and-release.
GiantscatcherBusterPosey,whohas
morechampionships thananycatcher
in thepastdecade,hasretiredall three
ofhisWorldSeriesmitts to“somewhere
safe.”Theynowcradlesomethingmore
precious thanabaseball. “Theyhold
memories,”hesays.
Donecaring forhismitt,Molinaplaces
theLexol in itsspotandcarefullystacks
thegame-readymitts, calleda“gamer”
byplayers. Into today’s jerseyheslipshis
arms,bothdecoratedwith tattoos—a
WorldSeries trophyon therightanda
constellationofGoldGloveAwards inked
alonghis left.That’s trueglove.
SPORTS
84
OCTOBER2015
AMERICANWAY
DERRICKGOOLD
isanaward-winning journalist
and the leadbaseballwritercovering the
Cardinals for the
St. LouisPost-Dispatch
.
ASMUCHASANYHOMERUNOR
STRIKEOUT,DEFENSECANCOME
TODEFINEANOCTOBER.
“I need to takegoodcareof
mygirl,” says seven-timeGold
GlovewinnerYadierMolina
abouthisRawlings-mademitt.
PICKAPOSITION
Derek Jeter
used an 11-inchmodel with abasket
web and a smaller pocket toeasily
reach theball.Outfielder Jim
Edmonds roamedwith a 12-inch reach
and adeepwell for control.
CHOOSELACES
MarkMcGwire
helpedpopularize two-tonegloves
withdifferent-color laces.Now kids like
to relacewithneongreen, opticpinkor
“primoburgundy.” SanFrancisco’s Joe
Panik uses orange laces sohis black
glove isGiants colors.
PERSONALIZESTITCHING
Last
names, nicknames andBible verses are
most common.One youngMLB star
put his girlfriend’s initials onhis glove,
and after they split, hehad to change
gloves early in the 2015 season.
SOFTENLEATHER
Anewglove
needs tobeworked into shape starting
with tenderizing the leather.Minnesota
Twins outfielderToriiHunter soaks his
in a Jacuzzi and cooks it for 30 seconds
in amicrowave. FormerGoldGlove
catcherMikeMathenyprefers shaving
creamwith aloe to soften aglove
because someoils addweight.
REST INACOOL,DRYPLACE
FormerWorldSeriesMVPDavid
Ecksteinhadhis brother work in all his
gloves, putting abaseball or two in the
pocket, tying it closed, then stashing it
betweenhismattress andbox springs
for several days.
-D.G.
MAKING
ITPERSONAL
Here arefive tips onglove
care (you can customize
aglove at Rawlings.com)
