Baseball glove

A baseball glove or mitt is a large leather glove worn by baseball players of the defending team which assist players in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter or thrown by a teammate.

By convention, the type of glove that fits on the left hand is called a "right-handed" or "RH" glove. Some websites and catalogs refer to these gloves as "Right-Hand Throw" gloves, meaning the glove is worn on the left hand. Conversely, a "left-handed" glove is worn on the right hand, allowing the player to throw the ball with their left hand.

History

Early baseball was a game played without gloves. During the slow transition to gloves, a player who continued to play without one was called a barehanded catcher. This did not refer to the position of Catcher, but rather to the practice of catching with bare hands. The earliest glove was not webbed and not particularly well suited for catching, but was used more to bat a ball to the ground so that it could be picked up.

One of the first players believed to use a baseball glove was Doug Allison, a catcher for the Cincinnati Red Stockings, in 1870, due to an injured left hand. The first confirmed glove use was by Charlie Waitt, a St. Louis outfielder/first baseman who in 1875 donned a pair of flesh-colored gloves. Glove use slowly caught on as more and more players began using different forms of gloves.