Author: Brian Davis | Updated: May 8th, 2025
Many players have a close relationship with their baseball gloves but probably haven’t given much thought to how they were created. Even back in the days when baseball gloves looked primitive, they required a high level of craftsmanship. And while the gloves made today look vastly different and have advanced leaps and bounds in terms of performance, the level of craftsmanship and attention to detail has remained the same. Essentially, how to make a baseball glove involves five major steps:
1. Die-Cutting The Glove Parts:
When the cowhides, which is the most common leather that makes up a baseball glove, arrive at their respective factories, they are graded for quality and tested for strength. If the leather meets certain requirements, they’re ready to be turned into gloves. It takes approximately twenty pieces of leather to make a single glove, and the process begins by die-cutting the cowhides into four parts: shell, lining, pad, and web. The cutting is done by a machine similar to a cookie cutter style of cutting.
2. Shelling And Lining:
The shell of the glove is sewn together while inside-out. It’s then turned right-side out, at which point the lining is inserted. Before being reversed the shell is typically steamed for flexibility so it doesn’t crack or tear when it’s turned. The next step is by far the most crucial: The lined shell is placed on a device known as a hot hand. This heated, hand-shaped metallic form helps the shell form to its correct size and ensures the finger stalls are opened correctly.
3. Inserting Plastic Reinforcements:
A pad is then inserted into the heel of the glove. For infield and outfield gloves, this pad is usually made of two pieces of leather hand-stitched together. Catcher’s mitts, however, require a thicker pad to ensure the protection of a player’s hand, so they’re typically made with five layers of leather. Plastic reinforcements are also placed at the thumb and pinkie finger sections, which provide added support for the glove and help protect the fingers from being bent backwards.
4. Web:
The web is constructed separately with anywhere from two to six pieces of leather depending on the type. Once the web is finished, the entire glove is laced and stitched together.
5. Stitching And Lacing
Most baseball gloves are laced with a single piece of rawhide that is approximately 80 to 90 inches long. The craftsman generally starts at the thumb or pinkie finger and laces the entire glove together, concluding at the web. Additional nylon thread is often used to strengthen the web section since this is the area that will take the most abuse. Catcher’s mitts and first base gloves are sewn together from four parts: palm, pad, back and web. The palm and back are sewn together with rawhide lace first, followed by the pad and web. The final step places the baseball glove back on the hot hand for final shaping and to ensure the finger stalls have remained open throughout the entire manufacturing process.
Knowing how baseball gloves are made isn’t crucial to your success on the field, but it can give players an appreciation for the amount of time spent and attention to detail given to ensure your most important defensive tool holds up and performs season after season. The next time you’re shopping for gloves at BaseballSavings, remember you’re only seeing the finished product, not all the work that went into it!
