Game Gear: Our Favorite Baseball Equipment

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Welcome to the Complete GamePodcast where we're all about baseball
with Ethan Dungan, owner ofGlovehound baseball glove repair
shop.
Rick Finley, founder of MDNIBaseball Academy and the creator
of George Foster Baseball, theMVP himself, Reds hall of Famer George
Foster.
I'm your host, Greg Dungan.
Now let's talk baseball.

(00:27):
All right, welcome to episode.
I don't know what episode is this?
Episode eight.
Yes, welcome to episode eight.
We're going to talk about gear today.
Equipment.
So we're going to start with anew segment today called Featured
Faves.
Features Faves.
Yep.
And what we're going to do iswe're going to go around the table
and have everybody talk aboutwhat their favorite gear was to use

(00:48):
when they played.
And so we're talk about mainlyfour categories because basically
in baseball you've got yourbat, your glove, your, your footwear
and then whatever accessories.
And accessories can be extraclothing that you like to wear or
can be protective stuff,batting gear, you know, like batting

(01:10):
gloves, sliding mitts,whatever, whatever it is.
Okay, so.
So we'll start with.
We'll start with George andwe'll go bat, glove, footwear, accessories.
That'll work.
It'll work, work, work.
Well, I had a.
I loved.
Well at the time, LouisvilleSlugger was the only bats that were
out there.
Later on, andiron had comeinto play, but I couldn't leave in

(01:32):
Louisville.
But I had the P72 3535 andthat was my favorite and it did me
justice.
But it started in minor leagueball that I had run out of bats.
And when you major league getas many bats you want.
But in minor league ball, youhave to make sure you ration or make
sure you don't break bats orhave somebody else use your bat.

(01:53):
So this guy, Hal King had abat, P72 Hickory Stain and Thin handle.
And that's the thing that kidsgotta realize, that if you have long
fingers, you gotta have athicker bat, have a short fingers,
have a thinner bat.
Cause you don't wanna have to.
The way you grip the bat, youwanna grip it with your fingers in
the base of your fingers.

(02:14):
So that P72 had the thin handle.
Cause they have short fingers.
And.
And it was just right for me.
So as I left the minorleagues, Indianapolis come back to
the major leagues, I keptusing it because I thought I had
to have a P72 Hickory stain.
Then from then on, it becomeknown that I had a black bat.

(02:34):
And people wonder why you hada black bat.
I said, then people offfielders were saying that we couldn't
see the bat go through thehitting zone at night.
I said, it doesn't really matter.
The ball's gonna be out of theballpark anyway.
So the P70 become, become thebat that I, I used.
There was one game though Iwas in where I was at the Mets at

(02:57):
the time we played against the Astros.
Some way the bat order, eitherthey were shifted to the wrong place
or the order didn't go in.
And I had to use an ash color bat.
But it's a P72 and I went fivefor five with that bat.
So as now I'm thinking shouldI go with the ash color bat or go
back to the picture Hickory State?
You know, I was in a dilemma.

(03:18):
I said, well, since I've beenfive for five and perfect with that
bat, I think I just put it onthe shelf and use it as like a souvenir.
So yeah, that was a dilemma atthe time.
Everybody said you went fivefor five, you should keep using that
bass.
I don't know.
My P72 made me a little jealous.

(03:38):
So what about the glove?
Oh, the glove McGregor it's,it was kangaroo made of kangaroo
skin and it, I liked itbecause you could stretch it beyond
regulation.
I don't know what size waslength that we should have had, but
we can stretch it and on theout in the inside of it you see would
tear.
But Willie Mays, I got it forWillie Mays, Bobby Bond, those guys

(04:02):
always use the, the McGregorglove with the kangaroo skin.
So I love that glove because Icould stretch it and then than having
a great pocket.
So when you get a glove thatyou have got, have a great pocket
and, and, and it's going tohelp you have a longer reach and
with that glove you have alonger reach and balls that you may
have not caught before, you'reable to catch it and, but having

(04:25):
that pocket form right therebecause I always have two gloves,
one for the game, one forpractice and.
But don't mess with my game.
My gamer, just like with thebat, don't mess with my gamer.
Pitchers like go out there andtake batting.
Oh, let me see.
I can hit home run with thisbat, but when they see me coming,
oh, you're in trouble.
So McGregor was the one.

(04:47):
There you go.
What about footwear?
Oh, footwear with the reds,you know, you cannot, your shoes
are always black.
I mean no matter what, what company.
So we didn't really get manyany endorsements because you couldn't
tell it was Adidas.
Or Nike or what.
Cause it's all the stripesalways painted black.

(05:07):
But I love the Adidas shoes.
They were nice and light.
Cause guys like Griffey andMorgan, they can run fast anyway.
So I don't want to have a shoethat's heavy going to weigh me down.
So I love the Adidas shoe.
It fit well to my foot.
You got to make sure itdoesn't hurt your feet.

(05:30):
And that is very importantwith the footwear because if it doesn't
fit your foot, you're gonna have.
Your feet's gonna be hurting.
You're not gonna be able torun or move about as well.
And once again, I have two pair.
One for the game, one for, onefor practice.
When the gamer started to getolder, I would break in another pair

(05:54):
gradually.
You wanna make sure you breakthem in on time and not wear a new
pair of shoes that game,because you're going to pay for it.
But with the Astroturf wouldhave been so hot.
You want to have therubberized bottom, not the spikes.
Because when you use thespikes, you got to see the print
mark of that spike on thebottom of your foot on a hot day.

(06:15):
So that was what I'd love to wear.
Cool.
And then.
Well, we've already talkedabout the fact that you were not
a regular batting glove guy,but were there any accessories that
you like to use on a regular basis?
I only think that I.
It was more of a strategy, the accessory.
I would tape my wrist and itwas more of a strategy because now

(06:36):
the.
The pitcher think that mywrists are hurt.
And so what are they going to do?
They try to throw me insideand that's where I want.
I want it.
So, you know, just use being.
I guess use psychology,knowing that, okay, okay, he was
going to throw me outsidebefore I said, no, I don't want it
outside.
So I take my risk and makingsure that now I'm going to encourage

(06:57):
him to throw inside.
So taping my wrist made a big difference.
And maybe that one at bat mayhave made a big difference.
But the guy on the moundthinking that, okay, they think you're
going to be slick, but I'malready ahead of the game.
So the taping of my wrist madea big difference.
And I guess the other one mainone, when it's sunny outside wearing

(07:19):
sunglasses, a lot of guysthink they could see the ball out
of the sun.
But.
But sunglasses are very important.
And sometimes just wearing thesun glasses out there, you look cool.
Yeah.
All right.
Ethan, what about you?
All right, so we'll start with bat.
And this is kind of a funnyone because my favorite bat of all
time is not even my own bat.

(07:39):
I have one high school homerun in my whole career and I hit
it with my best friend's bat.
For whatever reason, I hadbeen practicing with his.
I don't remember if I hadforgotten mine or what had happened,
but he let me use his bat andit was his brother's bat before him.
So it was a hand me down.

(08:00):
And it was nothing special.
I think.
I believe it was theLouisville Slugger Omaha.
I think it was about 31inches, which was really shorter
than I was used to.
But for whatever reason, onthat cold weeknight game in the Mason
Sports complex, I took a pitchthat was way too high inside.

(08:20):
I put it over the fence and atthe time I was.
I was a PO and they were justletting me hit.
So that was.
That was kind of an iconic batin my.
In my career.
So it will always have aspecial place in my heart.
Even though it was not a superfancy or special bat is so nice.
And then as an honorablemention here, I do have my favorite
wood bat.
Oh, I like of all time.

(08:41):
This was my first maple bat.
That is pretty.
I had been using ash up untilI finally got this one.
And the sound is just different.
I love the way maple sounds.
And this is a LouisvilleSlugger Prime C271.
So I.
It was just the maple one atDick's and unfortunately it's gone
on to a better place.

(09:03):
But.
But yeah, that was my firstmaple bat.
That was.
That was really cool.
For glove, I brought my 44that I gamed in high school.
And the reason I chose thisglove was because this was the first
glove that.
That really, really got meinto gloves.
This was one I had saved upfor and used my own money to buy.

(09:27):
I got it customized exactlyhow I wanted it.
And I took really, really,really good care of this.
It did not ride in the bag.
It rode up in the front seatwith me on the way to games.
It had its own little bag.
Had its own little bag.
I took.
Took amazing.
You put.
You slept with it.
Not all the time.
Yes, but this was.
This was my favorite glovethat I ever used as far as footwear

(09:51):
goes.
I picked the cleats that Iwore my sophomore year.
They were the Nike Trout fours.
Mike Trout.
Zoom Trout fours.
Yeah, Mike Trout.
And the reason I picked thesewas because my freshman year, the
summer before that, I playedwith a blue team.
And so I had blue cleats andWhen I came into school playing for

(10:13):
Fairfield, played for a red team.
Yeah.
And it drove my.
My freshman coach nuts becauseI was the only kid on the team with
blue cleats.
And I was like, coach, I justhaven't had a chance to go get new
ones.
It was like, dungan, you gotto get rid of those blue cleats.
We need red cleats.
And so finally, we finally gota free night.
My mom and I went out toDick's and spray paint.
We were getting close to that,but my mom and I went out and we

(10:36):
got some.
Some red cleats.
And so that was just a funnymemory that those will.
Those red trouts will stickwith me.
And then last but not least,for accessories, I have the Oakley
sunglasses with the prism lenses.
I had a teammate let me borrowthem to play third base one time.
And with the prizm lenses, itwas supposed to highlight the ball,

(10:57):
make it easier to see.
And I played third base forlike one inning, and I was like,
no, I have to have these.
Like this.
This is a game changer becauseit just made it so much easier.
And cool.
And cool.
I did feel cool.
And so again, this is.
I was working a job and Isaved up, and these were like $200
sunglasses.
And so that was a first, like,big, big purchase for me.

(11:19):
Your dad was proud of you.
You earned your own money.
You didn't say, dad, I needsome money.
Yeah, it was my own money, butthat didn't make it feel any better
to the wallet.
So.
Right.
And my mom's like, are you sure?
I was like, no, these willmake me play better.
And I don't know, maybe theydid, maybe they didn't, but a cool
accessory.
Look like a player.
All right, Rick, what do you got?

(11:40):
Well, making sure.
High school, from the youth,high school, we pretty much used
each other's bat.
Pretty much.
So we would use a Eastonaluminum bat, which was the silver
and green.
Oh, the green one.
The green iconic.
Yes, the iconic bat or theblack bat with the yellow writing

(12:02):
on it.
Yeah, it had a white or yellowwriting on that.
So we would use that bat.
And that was the first batchthat Easton came out with back in
the.
In the early 80s Wood, wewould use Louisville Slugger.
And so those are the bats thatwe use.
And those, again, I thinkEaston brought back that silver and

(12:24):
green bat about a couple ofyears ago.
Glove wise, Spalding.
Yeah, Spalding gloves, man,they were a little bigger and stuff.
But again, Spalding orMcGregor was one of our gloves that
we Used.
And as far as footwear, a lotof the guys in our neighborhood and

(12:47):
a team use spot built.
That's going way back.
I know.
Or pony.
Yeah, we use pony.
And with the spot.
Soft leather.
Yes.
It was all white cleats.
So you could, like, take amarker and whatever color your team
was, you could color it.
Color the colors in, you know, and.

(13:09):
And as far as accessories were.
Really didn't use anyaccessories except for some guys
used to have a golf glove fora batting glove.
Might use one hand.
So as far as equipment wasconcerned, I don't think from our
neighborhood and guys that didplay high school, we kind of shared
a little bit of the equipmentand passed it down to each other.

(13:32):
Expensive stuff.
Yeah.
So that was it.
Because I don't think I.
I know we didn't.
I didn't buy any.
Now, as we moved on to plansemi pro and everything like that,
it seems like there wasseveral bats.
So again, never used a bat.
But a Louisville Slugger was anice bat.

(13:53):
And we had.
Jimmy Parker was Dave Parker's brother.
He was on our team.
He played one year.
And I learned a lot from Jimmy.
And.
And so he had a.
I believe he had a.
A Louisville Slugger.
I know there were plenty of them.
And, you know, whatever batwas available, you kind of used it
and went with that.

(14:13):
That's it.
Cool.
Well, I.
I retired from baseball aboutthe same year that George did, so
I.
I didn't play very long, just right.
Right up to high school.
So I didn't really have.
I.
I had a couple of preferredthings as far as gloves go.

(14:34):
It was whatever we could findthat was affordable, that we could
get our hands.
Yeah, sometimes it'd be a handme down.
I had an uncle who was eightyears older than me, so sometimes
he would have some gear hewould hand down.
I had a catcher's mitt that wefound at a local sporting goods store
that was a brand actually.
Ethan found that it actuallywas a brand.
I didn't know what it was forever.

(14:54):
Yeah, I can't even rememberwhat it was off the top of my head.
But I had to.
I had to do some diggingbecause it wasn't a.
It wasn't like a nationwide brand.
It must have been some sort of local.
It was whatever they had atGold Circle, man.
That's what Hutch was it.
Hutch.
No, not even Kmart.
So it was.
Yeah, so that was.
That was my favorite glove Iever had.
But you know what?

(15:14):
That glove was all leather,and it made it all the way to me.
And I used it for, man, atleast quality.
At least three or four years.
So I, I loved that glove.
As far as bats go, the first,first home run I ever hit, I hit
with a.
It was.
Well, of course, everythingback then was just this sort of silver
aluminum.

(15:34):
Kind of looked like a fencepost with paint on it.
Yes.
You know, and so this one was bombat.
You remember Bombast.
Okay.
There was a guy on the team.
Team had a bombat.
And.
And so I, I, I managed to get one.
I don't know how.
I don't know where.
Where it was, but I had onethat had blue paint on it.
And I hit the.

(15:55):
I hit the.
It was a high one.
I happened to get my hands on.
I didn't even know it wentover the fence until I passed second
base and I was trucking.
I mean, I was just hustling asfar as I could go.
And the second basement waslike, slow down, dude.
It went over.
I'm like, I didn't even know that.
So when they gave me the ballback, it had a big blue spot on it.
And I thought that was thecoolest thing in the world.

(16:16):
So.
So that was my thing.
I had those torpedo bats likethe Yankees are using.
Yeah.
So.
And then as far as cleats go,it was whatever, Whatever we could
find.
So I, I'm sure I probably hada pair of.
You remember Brooks?
Yeah, yeah.
Brooks had.
Wow.
Yeah, So I probably had a pairof those.
And then as far as accessoriesgo, I was a catcher, so it was just

(16:39):
whatever.
You know, usually the team hadgear, and you would use whatever
the team had at that point in time.
And so, yeah, really, I didn'thave a whole lot of preference.
Now when I did, when I, When Ibecame an adult and I decided I want
to buy a glove for myself, I.
I decided I was going to gowith Rawlings.
And so I bought a fastback, okay.

(17:01):
At dick's sporting goods orwherever we were, and I found it.
And so I have the one with thebasket weave that, like every person
has.
It has Ken Griffey Jr.
Sized on the inside of it.
And that's the funny thing,because Ken Griffey Jr.
Did not use a basket webbecause he was an outfitter.
That's a pictures web.
But Rawlings would put.
It was just kind of the samefastback basket web, and they would

(17:22):
just put a different signaturein it.
So.
And that's probably the mostcommon glove I get from dads to work
on.
And so I've seen Robin Yountand Ozzie Smith and you know, just
a, you know, a dozen differentnames in the same glove.
But, you know, just to get there.
Well, it was, it was bigenough to hold a softball so you
could, you could, you couldplay softball with it if you wanted
to.
And that's why I bought interchangeable.

(17:42):
Yeah, yeah, I bought it toplay softball with.
So anyway, that was, that was what.
But my, my very, very firstglove, someone had given it to me
and they had.
You could tell that it hadbeen used a lot.
So.
So it had scuff marks on it.
So what I did, I actually gotred paint and I painted it.
So from then on, I startedusing things that are red.

(18:04):
I think that was a coming ofplaying with the reds.
There you go.
But I cherished that glove.
I didn't have a glove at the time.
And someone said, hey, youwant this?
Sure.
Went home and painted.
It looked brand new.
Ethan got a painted glove onetime in the shop, didn't you?
Yeah.
Was that gold glove?
It was gold.
I had a guy come to me.

(18:25):
He was, he came to me straightout of prison.
He had just gotten out like acouple days before.
And he brings me this gloveand it's a black baseball glove,
spray painted gold.
And he's telling me he'srunning me through his highlights

(18:45):
in the clink.
He was a gold girl.
He was like, man, I was so good.
I'm shortstop and gold glove.
Whatever.
I'm like, yeah, okay, cool, cool.
He's like, yeah, I traded acouple packs of cigarettes for it
and I got this glove.
I was like, oh, okay.
And he wanted it turned aroundnext day because he was heading out
to go play.
He was already in a slow pitchleague and ready to go out there

(19:05):
and go.
But that was, that was aninteresting one for sure.
The question is, did you buyit out of fear because you knew he
was just got out of prison?
Yeah, I was.
Well, I certainly wasn't goingto judge him to his face because,
you know, I wasn't going todoubt his highlights.
Because, well, and he washeading out to do something constructive.
So good for him.
So you finished the seasonlast year exhausted from all the

(19:28):
travel and the tournaments,and you tossed your gear in a bag
where it's been sitting all winter.
Now you're ready for another year.
But your favorite glove thatfits just right is an error waiting
to happen.
The leather is dry, the lacesare brittle, and this year you're
on a new team with new colors.
And it sure would be Cool.
If it matched well, wouldn'tit be great if you had a glove guy
who could help you out with that?

(19:48):
You do.
His name is Ethan and he ownsGlovehound baseball glove repair
shop in Fairfield, Ohio.
Just contacthim@glovehound.com and upload pictures
of your glove.
He'll give you a call back totalk it over and then you can send
it in for a repair.
Relays, recondition, whateveryou need.
If you're in the area, you caneven just stop by the shop.
That way you don't have tobother with shipping.

(20:09):
And a lot of times he can evenfix it while you wait.
Rawlings, Wilson, Mizuno, allStar, Nakona, he's seen them all.
And he's helped players at alllevels, from beginners to pros.
Last year he worked on a glovethat Jose Trevino used in the World
Series.
And he can help you, too.
You can find Glovehound onGoogle, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
and on the web@glovehound.com.

(20:30):
you're only going to get busier.
So reach out today and giveyour glove the love it deserves at
Glovehound.
All right, well, today on the,on the main thing, we're gonna tackle
a few, a few different things.
We're gonna make some recommendations.
Yeah.
At several different levels.
So we're going to start withthe youth level.
And by youth, what I mean isfrom that first, like, you know,

(20:54):
post T ball coach, pitch up toabout when you're ready to jump to
your first selector, travel team.
And then the second would bewhat I'm calling intermediate, which
would be from like your firstselect team at 9 or 10 or 11, whatever
that is, up until high schooland then advanced, being high school
and beyond high school,college, and anything beyond that.

(21:15):
And so we're going to make.
We're going to stick withthose same four categories.
We're going to start with bat,and then we'll go to glove and then
footwear and then accessories.
And then we're going to makerecommendations to each of those,
each of those groups of people.
So.
Well, let's start with you,Rick, with what would your recommendations

(21:36):
be for youth players thatyou're buying that very first gear
as far as bats go.
Okay.
First, I would go to play it again.
Sports.
Yes.
Right.
That's the first thing I would do.
They have so much of a widecollection and, and, and their kid

(21:57):
can get it, get it, go inthere and.
And kind of choose and see ifthey want to buy used.
Of course, you know, so theydon't have to spend a whole lot of
money on it.
Especially from 6.
The youth age is from 6 towhatever it is, T ball.
And it doesn't matter anywaythe, you know, the cost and stuff
like that.
So that's what I would do.

(22:18):
Go to play it again sports,you know, swing some bats there and
get something that doesn'thave to bring new.
But if it is new, I think atthat age it's not going to be, it's
going to be cost effective.
So I would start off with justa regular bat.
Do you, do you have any tipsfor picking size?

(22:40):
Size in terms of length?
I think when I was, when wewere trying to choose, it was usually
something about waist.
It's about waist or armlength, one of the two.
So they still use those kindof measurements to, to see, you know,
for those kids.
And then obviously, you know,that depends on the size of the kid
and whatever.
But as a, as a starting point,it was usually about, does it come
to.
About your, about your hip?

(23:01):
Yeah, yeah.
Up about your hip.
So that's what I would do.
Glove.
There's something you don'twant to buy something that's too
cheap.
Yeah, that's one of thosethings where like you get what you
pay for and exactly whenyou're, when you're in that early
stage.
Let's see, what's our, what'sour age?
We're saying from just after T ball.

(23:22):
To so like 6, 7 up to about10, about to that age.
It does not matter.
You need to be able to squeeze it.
And that's the reason why I goto play it again.
Sports.
Because they have such acollection and gloves that, you know,
of course you don't want toget a glove that's too stiff for
a kid that don't have the handstrength to squeeze it.

(23:43):
But a soft, a soft glove, abeginner's glove.
Yeah.
Don't be afraid to buy usedand don't be afraid to buy cheap.
You don't, you don't needsomething high end of that age.
You need something usablebecause if you get something that's
meant for a higher levelplayer, a stronger player and the
kid can't use it, they'regoing to be discouraged because they
can't use the glove.
So it really doesn't matter.
No.

(24:04):
Pick something that lookscool, something that excites them,
that they're, you know, ifit's a cool color that they really
like, then they're more likelyto be excited about playing and want
to use it more Often.
Exactly.
And I always would recommendthe parents just stay within your
budget especially at thatyounger age.
You know, you don't want to goout and spend a whole lot and find
out they.
They don't want to playanymore just sitting there collecting

(24:26):
dust.
So stay within your budget.
They start liking the sport,they keep advancing.
Then you might be able toinvest more in a bat, a better bat
or a better glove and thingslike that.
So those are the two mainthings that I would consider.
George, did you have anythoughts on.
On bats and gloves at the, atthe young age like that?

(24:47):
I, I agree with Rickett.
In going to sport again playedagainst sports, you able to buy get
something at a reasonableprice and especially with a bat,
it's a big investment evenwith gloves today.
So you want to get somethingthat right away the kid can use.
And not getting a glove isgoing to take a while to break in

(25:07):
and it's going to cost 300 ormore dollars going there because
those are quality gloves andright away it's playable.
I mean being able to use it.
So getting a bat that becauseit's used doesn't mean don't feel
bad because it's used.
The main thing that you wantto have something you can use right
away.
And plus there are a lot ofdifferent changes.

(25:29):
Uh, maybe the next year youhad to go to another bat and now
that's more expensive.
Yeah.
So play it again sports.
It makes it reasonable for,for the parents and it's not as heavy
out of their wallet.
But getting a glove, getting aglove or bat at play against sports.
I really agree with that and.
But it's getting you right away.
When we talked earlier aboutmaking sure the bat fits the kid

(25:52):
not only if it's long enoughor heavy enough but.
But does it fit his hands andyou don't want a bat that's going.
The kid's going to say push it.
You want to be able to throw it.
But it had to fit in the baseof the fingers well.
And if you end up with a batthat's too big, it's going to screw
with their mechanics becausethen they.
Swinging with their arms.
You start forming bad habitsbecause early.

(26:15):
Right.
Because your equipment doesn'tfit your age.
Here's a term to offer fordads who are thinking about going
to playdyn sports.
Don't think of it as used.
Think of it as proven.
There you go.
Proven.
Broken in.
Broken in.
Think of it as proven.
These, these gloves haveproven effective otherwise they wouldn't
be here.
So There you go.

(26:36):
And like these car dealership,they, you.
They don't say use, they saypre owned.
There you go.
Certified.
Certified.
Certified.
Right.
All right.
So what Ethan, what.
What are some of the, what aresome of the more affordable youth
gloves you've seen?
You've seen some youth glovescome through that, that are expensive
for being a youth glove as a.

(26:57):
As opposed to some that mightbe a little more affordable?
Yeah.
For this really, really earlyage I'm not opposed to going to a
big box store, go to Meer orWalmart or you know, and it's okay
to do that.
I was try to stay under $100for sure for that beginning stage.
I after, when we get to thenext one, I think you're going to

(27:19):
have to break that $100 mark.
But, but stay under $100.
But there with Wilson, thehigher the number after the A, the
higher quality it is.
So you can be looking forsomething in the A400, A500 and there's.
Yep, there you go.
There you go.
They have a 400, 450, 500, 550.

(27:41):
And the basic rule is thehigher the number, it doesn't necessarily
mean better in terms of performance.
It means higher qualitymaterials being used.
But you don't necessarily needthat super high level material for,
for the young kid.
So I like that.
Rawlings has some really great ones.
A really popular one I'm seeing.
I think it's the Pro Light.

(28:03):
Select Select Pro Light Ithink is what it is.
It's on Amazon and it is.
I've done three or four ofthem and the glove is $60 full retail
and usually it's on sale.
And, and the ones that I'vegotten in and we're talking young,
young, young kids, they reallylike them.
Baseball savings has the same price.
About 69.99.

(28:24):
Yeah, it's a, it's a blondeChris Bryant model.
But I had one dad who bought areally cheap.
And it's.
That's very cheap, you know,considering some of the higher end
gloves.
He bought that glove sent itto me just before Christmas and put.
Had me put blue laces in it.
Brand new.
Oh, and embellish it.
Exactly.
But that's his kid's favoritefavorite color.

(28:46):
And so then for the price of abrand new glove and a relays, you're
still under 150 bucks.
And he's got a glove that he'sreally excited about using.
So that was a cool.
Laces are guaranteed now.
Well, yeah, I'll mention thisas well Obviously cheaper gloves
use cheaper materials andthat's okay because it's, it's meant
for the beginner player.

(29:07):
But I've also done a lot of gloves.
Usually it's a, usually it'sabout a 500, a 550s where the kid
is getting up into that next tier.
But they really like the gloveand we put new laces in it because
the laces are going to be thefirst thing that breaks.
And so I've been able toextend the life of a lot of these
cheaper gloves by putting highquality laces in it and they'll get

(29:27):
multiple more years out of itbecause of that.
Dr.
Ethan, the way that I metGeorge was he brought one of these
cheaper gloves that the kidreally liked, but we were able to
extend the life of it and nowthat kid's still using that glove.
That makes sense.
The laces are the ones thatare going to have that lot of wear
and tear.

(29:47):
So being able to reinforce that.
But I like what Greg wassaying is something that's affordable
and also something that youcan use.
And it's not just the look.
A lot of them get it just forthe look.
But a ball had not hit in thatglove yet.
But getting something that'saffordable and that it's usable and
not looking at the fact thatit's certified pre owned, you don't

(30:11):
have to have a brand new pieceof equipment.
I know you, you want to go outthere and, and show your teammates
or you don't want them teasingyou that you got something used.
But the thing is, how do youuse it if you're able to put it to
use?
Yeah, it'd rather be teasedfor using something used than for
making errors.
Right.
Well, and talk about a little bit.

(30:31):
So when you buy one of theseyouth gloves, it's not going to come
with any sort of guarantee.
But once you put laces in itnow they've got a year on the lace.
Yeah, a lot of times.
And a lot of timesmanufacturers won't warranty the
laces for any period of timebecause that is the first fail point
and they kind of know that.
They know, right?

(30:52):
I don't know.
I don't really fault them forit because it's not really worth
their time because you're justas likely to buy a new one.
But when I'm able to put newlaces in it, I guarantee my laces
for a whole year.
And if it breaks within ayear, I'll fix it for free, you know,
no questions asked.
And I've only ever had.
I've only had two broken lacescome back to me, and they were both
over multiple years, and I wasable to get that turned around real

(31:15):
quick.
But that is.
It's a great way to get some business.
Well, some.
Some reassurance in.
In your equipment on the fieldthat you are covered if something
does happen.
So.
Yeah.
So the father that buys theinexpensive glove and then immediately
has the relays now has aninexpensive glove and better laces
with a guarantee.
Yeah, exactly.

(31:35):
So that's kind of how he cameahead there.
So just.
Just.
There's lots of different waysto do it, so just don't feel like
you have to go out and spend aton of money.
There's other.
There's other ways to do it.
Yes, it is like Rick had.
He would wear a tuxedo.
What?
He'd go get some Chuck Taylor shoes.
You know, man, I'll be.
I'll be looking sharp.
He would.
They come in different colors now.
Yeah.
So that'd be great.

(31:55):
You go give me gq.
Talking about shoes.
Let's talk about shoes for.
For young players.
Molded cleats.
I like Easton's.
I mean, a lot of the kids,even myself, wear.
Yeah.
New Balance.
New Balance, not Easton.
It's my fault.
New Balance, man, and NewBalance are like wearing gym shoes
now, just with the turf anddifferent colors.

(32:18):
And I have one kid that comes in.
He plays for the Cincinnati Angels.
He's got ca in the front ofhis New Balance man.
He's got it all embroidered, man.
Looks good.
And they.
And you can get New Balancefor the match, your team colors and
what have you.
So I like New Balance turfshoes and for cleats.
Yeah.

(32:38):
And at that.
At that beginning, when do yourecommend jumping up to metal?
I think it was high school.
It's high school, actually.
What is it?
13?
14?
Because.
Is it.
It's restricted.
I think it's for a while.
It's 14.
Yeah.
14.
You can wear metal.
So.
But yeah, don't.
Let's just stick with moldedsand make.
Especially because the turffields are coming back.

(33:00):
So you're gonna.
You're gonna have to use it more.
Not only that, it's makingsure they learn how to slide before
they get.
The spike, before they get this.
Yeah.
Break an ankle.
But that a lot of kids.
So, like in Bunny.
No one really work on Bunny.
So learn how to slide.
I always work with these kids.
I wouldn't.
I didn't slide like myselfbecause I hit a lot of home runs.

(33:21):
I didn't have a chance to slide.
But making sure that theylearn how to slide before to get
the metal.
Spikes because it is, it is different.
You're not on the ground anymore.
You're elevated, you get themcaught, that's it.
And making sure that you havea good solid fit, that's a big thing.
Got to fit to your floor.
Ethan.
Ethan.
He grew up with my wife.

(33:42):
Her.
Her.
Her grandfather was the thirdgeneration owner of a shoe store
in, in Indiana.
So shoes are a big deal intheir family.
And so Leslie is the, she isthe, the standard of.
Does this shoe fit you?
And it benefited us.
Well, my thing was always Iwanted it tight around the top of
my foot but loose where mytoes were.

(34:02):
Because if you constrict yourtoes then it, it.
Yeah.
There's no skinnies up the.
The base of your foot.
So being able to move yourtoes and spread them out gives you
a stronger foundation.
So that.
I don't know, that's just how I.
Always try to look at creating hotspots.
Because as George has saidbefore, running is key to everything.
And if you hot spots on yourfeet, you don't want to run.

(34:22):
And if you don't want to run,you're going to struggle in all aspects
of get blisters.
And the other one is had toreally help with your arch.
You don't want to have makingsure that it fits arch of your foot
because you're going to change.
Not only change the way yourun but, but you're going to have
feet trouble.
Another thing that I think alot of people don't take into consideration

(34:42):
when they go and look atspikes and in turf shoes, the type
of socks you're going to bewearing, some socks might be too
thick.
So therefore you might need toget a bigger size or a half a size
bigger because.
Because as they grow they'regoing to be.

(35:02):
Their feet gonna expand a lot more.
But once again that theexpense that's affordable but yet
quality.
Cause now you're dealing withpart of your body making sure that
it's gonna.
Yes, I've seen kids outgrowtheir shoes within two, three months,
man, bam.
You know, and they got about acouple weeks of baseball.

(35:23):
They gotta go and buy more,more cleats and stuff.
Well, it's something that notso much an issue anymore.
But when I was a kid, every,every uniform had stirrup socks.
In fact, when you would, whenyou would sanitate, when you would
get your uniform okay, it wasa hat and a shirt.
You had to go Buy your ownbaseball pants.

(35:43):
And you got socks.
So you got a hat and shirt andsocks from the, from the, the league
when you.
For what you paid in.
And so you get your hat andyour shirt and your socks, and your
hat would have the logo andyour shirt would say some manufacturing
facility in town that wasbent, you know, some, our version
of jungle gyms, you know.
Yeah.
And.
And then you had wider graypants and then you got stirrup socks,

(36:06):
but you had.
And you wouldn't think thatthose socks made a difference, but
there's a little bit on eitherside of your foot that now has to
go into your shoes.
Right.
And if they're not positionedright, it can, yeah, it can cause
a blister on the inside ofyour foot.
So if you are, if your teamdoes have.
Look stylish, then yeah, ifyou do.
Have a what I would consider aproper baseball uniform and you are

(36:30):
wearing stirrup socks, thenyou have to take that into consideration.
Okay, so let's talk aboutintermediate players.
So now you're ready to go tothat first select team.
You're 10 to 12 years old and,oh, I think you went when you were
what, 10 or 11?
7Th grade was my first year,so however old I was.

(36:50):
12.
Okay, 12, 13, maybe.
Yeah.
So you're getting ready to goto, to select.
And now we're going to, we'regoing to play more tournaments, we're
going to play more, you know,intense game situations, things like
this.
So what, how does ourrecommendation change.
For those kids so when it,when it comes to bats?
Well, actually, I want todefer to you on bats, Rick, because

(37:12):
you'll be more familiar.
But now is when rules arestarting to change with the different
weights.
So do you have recommendationson which weights to hit?
Yeah, I would.
13 start getting into a drop five.
I have some kids even at 12,going into a drop five.
They say by 14.
Now, rules are different someparts of the country since they use

(37:37):
wood.
Like down south Georgia,Florida, a lot of Those kids at 13
are using a drop three versusup here, they're using a drop five.
So in, in tournaments inGeorgia, and at 12, they use a drop
five versus up here, they'reusing a drop.

(37:58):
Okay, so in the reason whythe, the, the difference, because
they use wood a lot down thereand wood develops that strong wrist
strength and start getting youa little stronger.
So they use wood so much.
So now they, they challengethe kids to, to hit with a heavier

(38:18):
bat now.
Okay, so let me ask yousomething real quick.
Would you explain the Drop system.
Right.
Real quick, just in case wehave parents who don't.
Okay, so drop.
So say for instance you have a30, a 30 drop three.
That means that you have a 27ounce bat.
So a 30 inch bat add a drop.

(38:38):
Yes, that's length.
Drop three is the weight ofthe bat then.
So that's 27 ounce.
Okay.
Okay.
Yes.
Okay.
So a 30 drop five would be a25 ounce at 30 inches long.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And so that's what the, thatis, that's education.
And different drops areappropriate at different.

(38:59):
Different ages as you move up.
So you need to find out whatthat is.
At 14 you, you should be in adrop three.
But some, some kids because ofstrength and their build, they're
not strong enough.
Probably still swinging a dropfive because.
By the time you hit highschool you have to use, you have
to use drop three.
You can use a drop five butyou got to be be aware that you're

(39:20):
going to have to switch sooneror later.
So depending on when you wantto go ahead and make that jump.
Exactly.
But to the way to make thatjump, use wood a lot during BPT work,
whatever that'll help you withyour, your wrists and hand strength
and finger strength.
That'll help you move into, tothe, the upper echelon of bats.

(39:42):
And I always tell peoplethat's a cheat code right there because
when you do that it's almostlike swinging a wiffle ball bat because
their, their hands and stuffand got faster and got stronger and
they'd be able to adjust.
Had a kid the other day is abig kid man.
He plays for a 12 year teamand I was doing evaluation of the
team again.

(40:03):
He's about your size, Ethan.
He was swinging a drop ten.
Oh my man.
No wonder you're strugglingand the bat is too light for you,
man.
Well, in a heavy bat is you'llhit the ball harder and farther if
you use a heavier bat.
So don't, don't be scared,don't jump ahead.
You know, get ahead ofyourself but don't be scared of going

(40:25):
up in experiment.
And again, I always recommendparents out there, you listening?
Go to play it again sports.
Try a bat at a pre ownedcertified bat before you go and spend
the three to four hundreddollars on a, on a, a bat that they

(40:48):
need to keep for a couple years.
Go that route first and testit out, keep it for a while and then
go to the next to the next option.
The biggest investment wouldbe the shoes you got.
Like I say, we got to Takecare of your feet, but don't be.
You can buy new shoes.
But going to the bat of theglove you don't have to get.
You get it pre owned and thenif you have a teammate, you'd be

(41:10):
able to share with the batbecause that's a big expense.
And the main thing is havingsomething like I said earlier before
that you can use and that'saffordable but you don't have to
go out there and make that big expense.
Buying a glove or buying a batas you get older.
Yeah.
Something that's going to beconsistent, they can use.
Like in high school you'regoing to use that, that same size

(41:31):
consistently.
Yeah.
But when it's going tofluctuate as much, that's a lot of
money in a way you throwingaway because it may only last a year
or two years.
So play it against sports.
We keep plugging in.
Play it Again Sports.
We're not sponsored by sportseither, but again sports.
Get in touch.
Okay.
All right.

(41:52):
So this is so intermediate, Ithink is, is the age range with the
most variability.
Yes.
Once you get to high school,sizes start to even out a little
bit more.
And when you're in the youth,when you're in that 6 to 10 range,
nobody's really hit puberty yet.
But intermediate, you're goingto get everything.
And this is where I see the most.

(42:12):
It seems harsh to label them.
Yeah.
But I would say misconceptionsrather than mistakes.
I say misconceptions.
I agree.
From 12 to 14.
Yeah.
So this is where you'll getparents who want to buy their kids
that high school glove or buytheir kids that high school bat.
And here's where I want tothrow in sideline swap online.
It's basically an onlineversion of Play It Again Sports.

(42:34):
So I like Play It Again Sportsfor the very beginning because you,
you got to be able to go inand test stuff out.
Right.
Right.
When you're in this secondtier, you've been around the game,
you're a little more serious.
Maybe you're a little morefamiliar with different bats, different
gloves.
You can start, look, you startto know what you're looking for and
you're a little morecomfortable buying online.
I think that's a good time tostart doing that.

(42:57):
So as a.
For a rule of thumb when itcomes to gloves, I say a 2000s heart
of the hide pro preferred thatkind of stuff.
I call them PG13.
That you don't need to beworrying about that higher level
glove until you're at least 13years old.
Obviously there's exceptions.
If you're a really big 12 yearold and you're ready for it, sure,
go ahead.

(43:18):
But as a, as a blanket, youknow, beginning rule PG13, wait.
Wait till they're big enoughto be able to use that stuff.
Now there's an exception tothat in buying used.
So if you can find one ofthose higher end gloves that is used
and already broken in, thenyou can go ahead and use it.
Like if you find a really goodcatcher's mitt at the antique store.

(43:39):
Yeah.
Which is how I ended up with mine.
But, but, but at the sametime, don't be afraid to keep using
the glove you have been ordon't be afraid to buy another cheaper
glove because I deal with alot of kids that haven't hit that
puberty yet and they're stillreally small.
So keep buying something thatthey can use.

(43:59):
Don't, don't feel like youhave to jump because your teammate
did right.
If he's a foot taller than you.
You know, let him be like.
Exactly.
You're a different player.
So it's, you have to payattention to your player and their
needs rather than trying tofit them to what everyone else is
doing.
So that was something I really like.
Sideline swap.
Because it's an opportunity toget those higher level stuff, those

(44:20):
higher level gloves, higherlevel bats at a much cheaper price.
And a lot of times, you know,maybe you'll run into something where
somebody bought, did spend themoney on a, on a new one and they
don't like it and they'retrying to get their money back out.
You can really, you can really.
Yeah, clean up there.
Clean up on that.
And then the other thing I'llmention, shout out to YouTube channels.
One is the baseball Bat Bros.

(44:41):
Yeah, they test all the metalbats and bats are.
It's a tricky thing becausethey all look the same other than
the colors.
And so to act, you reallycan't tell with gloves they look
different.
You can get a better idea.
You can feel them, you know,see how they might perform.
All bats basically look andfeel the same.
So it's really hard to get anidea for how they perform.
So these guys go out and theyhit with all of them and give you

(45:04):
an idea of how they're gonnabe, how they're gonna perform, which
is huge because that wasn'taround when I played.
And so you just bought thenewest one and hoped it was everything
that the company told you itwas gonna be.
And then for gloves, anotherGreat Another great YouTube channel
is Ball Glove King.
He does a lot of different reviews.
Yes.
Shows you a lot of differentstuff about gloves.
And then you know, don't beafraid to call and ask questions.

(45:26):
That's the biggest thing I getparents that, that call me and they
just, they just want to pickmy brain and I always happy to, always
happy to give that information.
So if you ever have questions,give me a call.
I'm happy to help you out there.
That's a very important aspectis ask questions and talk to people
who have you feel expertise ingloves or bats and, and not just

(45:49):
go out and like play itagainst sports or these other companies.
Like, like Ethan said, don'tbe afraid to ask questions and hopefully
they have somebody there tohave knowledge about the recommendation,
not just to make a sale.
And sometimes they don't.
Right.
So, so keep asking, you know,don't, don't just take.
I don't know two other things too.

(46:10):
People need to understandthis, that there's a balanced bat
and there's an in loaded bat.
There's two differences there.
Balance bat is for a kid thatmight not be that strong.
It might be just a singles hitor whatever.
A bigger kid might need an inloaded bat.
Okay.
Also the difference between Utrip and USA bat.

(46:30):
A lot of regulations, A lot of regulations.
U is a fatter barrel like the,I'll call it the bam bam of bats,
man.
And then you got the USA batwhich is skinnier bat which is probably
closer to a wood bat.
Okay, Now I remember when USAbats were kind of dead like now you

(46:52):
see like Maruchi has a Cadxman, that bad boy has some pop to
it for USA bat.
So understand the rules ofyours in a USA bat and a U trip bat.
Yeah, but the knowledge youguys putting out there, I know a
lot of these parents, theydon't know hard any of it.

(47:14):
But just you know, call onRick, call on Ethan and those guys
have information to help you.
So when you invest the moniesyou, you know you're making a good
going to get a good returnfrom it.
Well, George, you couldprobably speak to this too.
The idea that when you haveinvested the time and built your
skills right, the, the bat isa preference, not a necessity, not

(47:36):
a necessity.
In the, in the, in the word.
I'll get it out in the waythat you could hand Pete Rose just
about any bat and he can go upthere and get a hit.
Well, he can't anymore, but hecould at one point in time.
Okay, you, you can hand HankAaron, a bat, he can go out there
and hit you, hand you a bat,you're gonna go out there and hit.
But you like, you prefer somemore than others.

(47:58):
It's the feel a lot of times,and then it's a quality.
And because even if I get, youknow, the bats from Louisville Slugger,
I may get a dozen, but maybesix of them I really like.
And the flex that, that's init and my bat that feels stiff, I
don't feel I can get thatwhipping action.
And then maybe it's a littlebit too thick, the handle itself.

(48:19):
So it becomes a feel as youget, get older.
But in the beginning is you'reworking on your, your mechanics,
Right.
And so like you said, it's.
It's not a necessity, but it'smore of a preference.
And so we.
But you gotta make sure the.
It's important that you'regetting a bat that you can use.
Right.
We'll use what works for you.
That's the saying is $100 bet.

(48:42):
Can't fix a $10 swing.
I hear that.
I say that all the time.
It doesn't do you any good tohave gear that you can't use.
And if you can use it, then itdoesn't matter what anybody else
thinks of it, it works for you.
So, you know, one more, onemore thing I want to touch on in
gloves in this age range isthis is when you're going to start

(49:05):
picking based on position.
Yes.
So in six, in six to 10, itdoesn't really matter because you
probably haven't picked andyou're not sticking with a specific
position anyway.
You can play anything.
Exactly.
So that one glove get.
Don't get something too small.
Don't get something too big.
I wouldn't go bigger than 12and a quarter.
Yes, 12 and a quarter.
If they're playing a lot ofoutfield, maybe.

(49:25):
But that, that's kind of the,the general area I'd like to stick.
But now once we're in, youknow that 11 to.
I don't know, I guess 14, youknow, you're maybe playing more outfield,
playing more infield.
So a lot of parents getconfused on how to pick the glove
for that position.
So I like to say that infieldis 11 and a quarter up to 12.

(49:49):
Sometimes you can go a littlehigher if, if the player likes a
bigger glove and they'replaying some outfield.
Outfield is usually 12, minimum.
Yeah, usually 12 and a quarterup to 12 and three quarter.
So if they're playing both andyou want to stick with one glove,
you're going to be lookingprobably in that 12 to 12 and a quarter
range.

(50:09):
If they're playing one or theother, you know, try to get one that's
going to help them succeed atthat position.
And that's another thing wheredon't be afraid to buy used because
if, if they're playing, ifit's their secondary position, it
doesn't have to be, you know,as nice as their primary glove.
So don't be afraid to get aused outfield glove.
You know, if they're mainlyplaying infield and then obviously

(50:30):
catchers need their own glove.
Right.
This is the age when firstbasemen are going to use a dedicated
first base glove.
Six, six to ten, you mightjust be using your regular fielders
glove.
But 11 to 14, you're going towant a first base glove.
And then pitchers.
I get a lot of parentsconcerned about pitching gloves.
I don't really worry aboutthat until you're playing in high

(50:51):
school.
Because that glove I justshowed, it's an iWeb, it's an infield
glove.
I used it to pitch.
Yeah.
So if, maybe if you decideyou're a po, you know, go ahead and
worry about that.
Otherwise just use whateverglove you're most comfortable with.
Another, another thing is thatabout, I would say about 12, I know

(51:11):
my son Ricky, he had aninfield and an outfield glove because
he played a lot of short andsecond base and I think he had 11
and a half and then a 12 andgoing forward by the time he got
to high school, he didn'treally need his infield glove that
much unless in the summertime.
But in high school he playedmostly outfield.

(51:31):
So 12, I think he had a 12 anda quarter 12 and a half inch outfield
glove.
So I didn't have to buy thatuntil probably later, you know, once
he got there because heoutgrew the other outfield gloves.
So these timelines.
Oh, and the different types ofgloves from a trapeze and outfield.
Right.
Yeah.
I'm glad you mentioned.

(51:52):
I used to love that trapeze.
Yeah.
Say here I've got one still infield.
Generally the Most common isiWeb by far.
Posts are common as well.
Some, some hwebs in theinfield, but IWEB is definitely dominant.
Outfield is mainly H, web and trapeze.
Yes.

(52:13):
And I don't know, there'smaybe a marginal advantage that you
can get.
But don't, don't let the webbe your deciding factor.
Leave that up to the playerfor preference and worry more about
size and functionality beforeyou get really hung up on the web
type.
So I'm curious George.
So what size glove did youlike to use to play outfield?

(52:35):
The longest possible.
So I could say increase myreach but like I say with the kangaroo
scan I can stretch it more butit's still making sure that it fits
my hand.
But the kangaroo, but it, theydon't have these long gloves as much
now as before.

(52:56):
And plus how I put my hand inthe glove, it gave me more range.
A lot of kids that have theirglove, their fingers all stuck straight
into the glove, you don'treally have a pocket so to speak,
you're gonna get a lot of bone bruises.
But it's getting a glove thatI keep saying it, that it fits your
hand is not too heavy andbecause the ball is going to be coming

(53:21):
at you pretty fast.
So you've been able to havethat strength to, to, to get the
glove in that position.
But two things that I wantedto mention about when you buy the
glove make we talked aboutposition is going to be influenced
by what position you play andalso your size.
You have two 10 year olds butone's going to be bigger and stronger

(53:44):
or bigger hands, you know,bigger hands than the other kid.
So it's not buying itaccording to the age but the size
of the hand.
Yeah, that's very important.
And I have big hands but likeI said earlier, short fingers.
So a glove is going to bedifferent for me or for, compared
to say Ethan may have longer fingers.

(54:05):
So look at all those aspectsbut look at, talk to people, call
Ethan, call Rick.
Those guys have expertise ongloves, on bats.
For me we're growing up, wejust had a woodback.
Yeah.
And it was easy.
But now you, you.
It's not a big, as big aninvestment as put into the aluminum
bat.

(54:26):
So making sure that you getinformation, sound information that's
going to help you when that,when you purchase something.
Well Ethan, you've even fromtime to time you've, you've coached
parents on, on, on what mightbe a good choice for them to buy.
You've actually, actually soldsome gloves to parents too.
Yeah, every once in a whileI'm able to find something online

(54:47):
that's you know, used and I'mable to bring it in and clean it
up and I've been able toprovide those used gloves to, to
different customers and it'snot something that I have all the
time but you know, I'll keepthem on the shelf.
And sometimes I have a parentand they're in that in between spot
looking for somethingaffordable and I'm able to.
To provide that for them.
Talking about gloves, we arego back to infield since you're infielder

(55:11):
to George was an outfielder.
I played infield when I was 12years old.
How many games at first basein the base?
1.
I think I was a gold Glover atfirst base.
I think I played three or fourgames there.
But as an infielder, gettingthe right glove to.

(55:34):
Parents need to understandgetting the right gloves.
After you move up to thisintermediate age, learning how to
get the ball out of your glovequicker, you know how to deflect.
And I have to show kids thisall the time.
It's like, man, how you ableto do that practice.
That's where at this age youdon't have to buy a position specific
glove.
But it can definitely help,especially if they're leaning towards

(55:57):
one or the other because theequipment does help the mechanics
to an extent.
So this is a good time tomaybe, maybe go ahead and differentiate
and don't get rid of that old glove.
Keep it as a backup, you know.
Hand it down to your brothers.
That's what happened in our.
Yes.
Yeah, something like that.
But this is a great time tostart experimenting right at the
cheap level.

(56:18):
That's good.
You know, with different sizesbefore you invest in something super
high quality.
The other.
The other place where placeslike play it again sports and sideline
come in handy is if you'vetaken care of your glove and you've
had.
Right.
You've had it conditioned andcared for and the laces taken care
of and things like credit, youcan go and sell it back toward the
next thing.

(56:38):
So, you know, not only can youbuy there, you can sell there, which
is cool.
Let me ask you guys a question.
This.
So we're in the intermediate.
So when you get the little.
The little guys who are juststarting out and then they get to
that first kid pitch, youknow, that's when a kid first.
You first have a catcherreally who's like participating.
Yeah.
Okay.
So like now when I was a kid,the team had gear and the team would

(57:02):
also have a mitt and the kidwould use it.
But at some point in time yougot to buy a catcher's mitt.
If you're really going to say,hey, I want to be a catcher.
When do you do that?
That's a specialized mitt.
When do you decide, hey, Ineed to need to buy a catcher's Mitt.
I would say when it startshurting to use a regular glove, I
would.
I would say in coach pitch, itdoesn't really matter because the

(57:23):
catcher.
Catcher is not really, youknow, a part of the game.
They're just sitting there andwaiting to.
To go bat and switch out withsomebody else.
But once you're in kid pitchand you're going to be catching,
I think that's a good time forthe thing to keep in mind.
Catcher's mist, though, isthat brand new.
Even the low.
Even a cheap glove is going tobe hard to use for a while.
So it takes a long time.

(57:45):
And be careful trying to speedthat up, because you're going to
shortcuts or shortcuts for a reason.
So I'm a big advocate fortaking the long way to break one
of those in.
But.
But catcher's mittsspecifically are a great opportunity
to buy used.
I had a guy come in not longago, and he had bought a glove off
a sideline swap.
It had somebody else's name onthe back of it.

(58:07):
And he was like, it's not hismain position, but we needed something
easy to use.
It's been here for a fewyears, and.
And I ended up releasing it,and he was going to continue to use
it for a while.
But.
But catcher's mitts are agreat, great time to buy used so
that somebody else did thatwork for you.
So the one good myth, the onegood catcher's mitt that you had,
we found at the local antique mall.

(58:28):
This was interesting.
We were.
I was selling some.
I was making leather goods atthe time, selling some stuff at the
antique mall.
And we were walking throughthere one day, and there was one
little booth, and they justhad big, you know, buckets on the
ground with just full ofbaseball gloves.
Okay.
And I thought, let's just kindof go through here.
No sitting right on top.
Oh, is that what it was?

(58:48):
I was like, what are the oddsof that?
And to this day, going back tothat antique mall, I've never found
anything that nice, but it was good.
And funny enough, I ended upputting a leather pad in that later
in my career myself, becauseit started to.
Started to hurt.
But it was a good.
It was a good.
Was it Rawlings?
Yeah.
Yeah.
And he brought it to me.
I said, hey, this is a good one.
So I.

(59:08):
I bought it for, I don't know,dirt cheap there, right?
And he went to his next lessonat Rick's, and Rick's was like, hey,
this is the same glove.
I got this Is cool.
Yeah, yeah, that's what it was.
I remember actually I foundone and Ethan released my catcher's
mitt for.
That's outstanding.
But you never, you never know.
Garage sales, you know, even.

(59:29):
Even Facebook Marketplace is agood place.
So I will say when you startgoing beyond sports dedicated platforms,
you have to have a little bitbetter of mind to what you're looking
for.
But you never know when a highschool kid switches positions and
he's just looking to offload something.
So a lot of, A lot of goodopportunities on.
On places.
So when I said earlier aboutmy first glove, someone had given

(59:50):
it to me and then I painted itand looked nice.
I remember when I was back in,yeah, I want a bat.
I was probably about 12 yearsof age.
I want an actual.
A bat I could use.
I was so excited, you know,when it.
I said, but that's the timethat I said, nobody better use my
bat.
It was fighting time, but Icherished that bat.

(01:00:11):
That was great.
Well, when we used to use yourBatman, mine broke.
You got one of those defect bats.
Yours wasn't one of the six.
Okay, okay, you got it.
You got to put the handle inyour hand.
You had the barrel in your hand.
Everyone used it in the neighborhood.

(01:00:32):
There weren't any instructions.
We thought you would know.
All right, let me, Let me wrapthis up real quick.
I want, I want you guys totalk real quickly about before we
move to.
Before we move to the advanced players.
I want you to talk quicklyabout the dangers of break in shortcuts,
steaming, putting it in oil,run it over with the car.

(01:00:56):
Yeah, Come on, give us some,Give us some sanity here.
If you're questioning if itmakes sense, it probably doesn't.
So I'll just run it throughthe common sense meter first.
Okay.
Dick's has a steamer, and alot of times they'll pitch that and
you can get it for free if youbuy the glove or whatever.
Not a big fan of that.
It's just really, really,really intense on that glove.

(01:01:19):
And I've seen a lot of glovesshrink or with color gloves with
dyed laces.
The colors can run.
Sometimes it can make it too floppy.
So I'm just, I'm not a hugefan of that.
If you know what you're doing,it can be okay.
But a lot of times the peopleat Dick's don't.
They're not that they're not.

(01:01:39):
They're not glove specialists.
They're the guy that works inthe glove department.
Right.
The hot water method.
You got to Be careful.
You got to know what you'redoing for that.
Yeah.
So they see also do it onlineand then they think, okay, that guy
has been breaking in gloves forever.
Yeah, you just, you got to becareful with that kind of stuff.
So.
So seek professional help ifthat's something you want to do.

(01:02:01):
Right.
There are a lot of guys, a bigthing right now is the hydraulic
presses.
Those are.
Okay.
It's.
To me, it tends to give lotsof little creases instead of stretching.
So I, I don't know.
Those haven't been around longenough to really see the long term
effects.
At glovehound, I don't, Iactually don't offer a full break

(01:02:22):
in service just because it'ssomething that's so specialized to
each player, and I'm adifferent size, different shape with
different habits than theplayer with, with their glove.
So, you know, that's notsomething I offer.
But if anybody ever hasquestions, I'm always happy to have
them in the shop point them inthe right direction.
And my goal is to educate themso that they can do it themselves.

(01:02:44):
Because if you put that timein and get it set exactly how you
want it, you know, it's morepersonal and you have a better connection
to the equipment.
So a lot of people look at thebreak in as a burden, but look at
it as an opportunity to learnyour equipment.
And it's really, it's, it's, it's.
It's going to.

(01:03:04):
What do you say?
Further?
It's gonna, it's gonna furtheryour skills.
It's gonna.
Well, and this is another thing.
It's gonna elevate, elevateyour skills.
This thing that, that isgenerational in our family because,
like, my dad would help usbreak it in.
He was bigger and strongerthan us, and he would, he has, my
dad has really strong handsand he would, he would help us break
our glove in a little bit, butthen, you know, he would kind of

(01:03:26):
get it so you could basicallyuse it.
And then it was our job to goout and play with it, get it broke
in.
And so breaking in your glovewas the way it was explained to me,
is your responsibility as a player.
This is.
You're going to play.
This is your personal equipment.
You need to break it in.
And so we would go out and wewould put the time in and we would

(01:03:50):
play catch with it until wecouldn't stand anymore.
And we would, you know, throwto your arm falls off.
And we would go out there andjust play and play and play.
And then we Would oil it, putthe ball in it, wrap it up, put the
Ace bandage on it, keep it.
So it was, you know, everynight, get it out the next day, go
out there, you know, keep it soft.
And that was something thatwas explained to me.

(01:04:10):
This is your responsibility,this is your equipment.
And so this is how I explainedit to Ethan.
I was, okay, all right, we'llget it started.
You know, I'll sit here andbang the, you know, bang a ball into
it for a while for you so youcan get it moving.
And then I'm gonna hand it toyou and then it's up to you.
You gotta go do it well.
And I'll say, my first 44 thatI had, I was impatient with it and
I.
The break in was terrible onthat thing.

(01:04:30):
And then my dog ended upgetting ahold of it and I really,
I was, I wasn't.
But I wasn't really torn upabout it because I didn't like the
way it broke in.
So, you know, I was happy toget this next one.
Good way to get a new one.
Yeah.
I was like, yeah, well, you know.
But two things that Ethan hadhit on, get professional help as
far as expertise and knowledgeabout it.

(01:04:51):
And the other one is specialty.
You got to like, if you're agolfer, you want to go, you get,
you get the clubs fitted toyour swing, right?
So now when a kid is catchinga ball, you got to see how he's catching
the ball very much.
Because you don't want tochange how you break it in.
You want to have it the sameway how he's catching the ball.
And that's, that's good point.

(01:05:12):
That's part of my, you know,kind of.
That's why I don't necessarilyagree with a break in service.
Right.
Because you know, you get, Italk to a lot of parents are like,
oh, well, I want to have itbroken in.
I'm like, yeah, but they'regoing to do it in a generic apply
to everybody kind of way.
It's not specialized to the players.
So, you know, when you'rebreaking it in, it might seem silly,

(01:05:32):
but think about your hand inthe glove.
Think about how it closes.
Think about how you want toreceive the ball.
That stuff matters.
And it can thought of it.
You got to get the mold of thekid's hand.
Absolutely.
And then you break it in.
Well, well what I mean, theywould say cowboy boots or cowboys
would soak their, their feetin water with, in their boots and

(01:05:53):
then wear them around and thenit would mold To.
So water molding in leather isa very, very common practice.
That's how you get, that's howyou get.
That's how you get it to, toform to, to a knife or a wallet or
you know, adhere.
Adhere.
Exactly.
So, so to take that scaledown, you know, you don't have to

(01:06:14):
submerge it in water, but asyour hand is in that glove and it
heats up and it sweats, theglove will start to form to your
hand.
And there's something to that try.
Don't, don't overlook thatbecause you're impatient.
Okay, so let's talk about,let's talk about advanced, advanced
gear.
So George, when do you startthinking about.
All right, now, I'm, I'm.

(01:06:36):
These are tools of the trade, right?
These are.
You start to specialize.
Yeah.
So probably a high school.
Yeah.
Because that, that's a, that'sthe time high school and of course
summer ball.
But then, then you startputting more investment into a bag
or a glove along with, with,with the shoes.
And, and of course the batitself is going to cost more.

(01:06:58):
The gloves gonna.
But still making sure withthat glove that's, that's you can
get a new bat, new shoes.
But now with the gloves stillmaking sure that it's going to fit
the kid's hand and thenfinding out what position he's going
to play on a regular basis.
Yeah.
And.
But the kid, like you saidearlier, it's important for them
to go out and practice tobreak it in the way.

(01:07:20):
Way they're where they'recatching the ball and according to
their hand.
We talk about molding so thatnow you knowing how your hand is
fitting into the glove.
So it makes a big difference.
So I would say around highschool that's when you, you're really
serious about playing a game.
Yeah.
That's when you start puttingmore not only investment money wise,
but invested in time.

(01:07:40):
So what about things like atthis point in time, you might be,
you might be driving a car forthe first time and you're going to
have your gear in your car.
Talk about how we keep ourgear organized and in good shape.
That's a.
Now with the bat, especiallywith the bat and then the glove,
do not leave them in your car,especially when it's cold, super

(01:08:04):
hot.
So it's gonna change.
Especially with that bat.
It's gonna change the glovenot so much, but still being able
to take it.
You're going in the housebecause it's nice and comfortable.
So take your equipment into,into the house.
Yeah, absolutely.
We did hit on.
What's that?
The types of bats.
Composite.
Oh yeah.
Because if you use in acomposite bat when it's below zero,

(01:08:27):
a lot of people, a lot ofpeople do not understand that you
spend a lot of money on that,a composite bat.
Once it, once you leave it inthe, in the car and it gets hot and
everything starts warming up,the back will expand and then the
cracks will start forming inthe back.
So that's where, you know.
Yeah, weekends and it cracksand everything versus a metal bat

(01:08:53):
won't do that.
You can use it in the cold andthings like that.
Yeah.
And I'm up here in Ohio thosefirst few games, you know, maybe
you're starting in March.
Yes.
Yeah, they could be cold.
So that is something, youknow, maybe down south they don't
have to worry about that asmuch, but we do have to pay attention
to that up here.
What about.
So I know that in somecolleges that they will have deals

(01:09:15):
with companies where gear is provided.
Like maybe guys get a glovewhen they're in college, then also
like in the pros.
I don't know how that works, George.
How, how does that.
When, when do you, when do youreach a level where you're playing?
And all of a sudden nowthey're saying, we're providing you
gear.
And then what part do you playin picking that gear or how does

(01:09:38):
that work?
Once you sign a professionalcontract, you, you get say a free.
Where the bats are free and,and, and you may get a glove, but
it's limited compared to whenyou get to the major league level.
Because with the major leaguelevel now you, you're going specifically
for a certain company.
But when you first sign, it'sjust the team itself.

(01:09:59):
Okay, so whatever theequipment that the, the team is using,
that's what you were able to,to get.
And, but they provide you withbats, limited amount of bats, but
they, you don't have to buythe bats.
And then with the, with theglove itself, they, they have companies
that will come in Rawlings or Adidas.

(01:10:19):
They would come in.
Well, I wouldn't, wouldn't sayAdidas, but Rawlings Mall, see and
Wilson, they would providethe, provide the gloves, but it's
usually maybe one or two, butas you get to higher level, it's
multiple, as many as you want.
Because I had seen guys withat least 20 pair of shoes in their
locker and just on display,though they don't use them.

(01:10:40):
They don't display because I remember.
Oh yeah, I knew it's a.
I was coaching and I wasinstructor with the Reds organization.
And I knew that they were onlyusing Nike.
So what I did on purpose, Iwore Adidas.
And they're saying that, youknow, you can't wear those shoes.
I said, well that's the onlypair I have just to get another pair.

(01:11:02):
So it was one of those things.
Same when I go play tennis.
I know that they said you onlycan have, you know, a certain color.
Certain color.
And I wore a color that theydisagree with that's.
Well, I guess, you know, itwas a charity.
They said, well, I guess I'llgo home and say, no, we'll just go
in the pro.
Go in the pro shop and getwhatever you want.
I said, yeah, good strategy.

(01:11:23):
That's funny.
I'll bring it back down fromthe pros though.
In colleges it's a big deal.
And not every college providesequipment, but some do.
Usually it's.
It's most D1s in my experienceand I think some D2s and getting
the.
Money from the company.
Exactly.
But, but D3 and below you'rebringing your own stuff.
So you're either continuing touse that high school glove or maybe

(01:11:44):
you get a new one for college.
And at that point you need tomake sure you're getting, I would
say arguably the highest youcan reasonably afford because those
gloves are more durable andthey're built and designed to take
that, you know, hundred plusgame beating that that you're going
to put on them.
But then at the same time, ifyou do go to one of these higher

(01:12:06):
schools, you know, don't beafraid to bring the equipment you
had because in the gamethey're gonna, you know, really be
on you about, you know, youhave to use a certain brand because
the school has the contract.
But that doesn't necessarilyapply to practice.
So I know up at Miami rightnow their Wilson, but I had a guy

(01:12:28):
come to me who, who had.
Who used a Rawlings in highschool and he's able to use that
Rawlings in practice so thathe's not putting the wear on his
game glove.
And at that point that's whenpractice versus game equipment starts
to matter because you'replaying so much that if you, you're.
You'll wear out that gameequipment much faster.
Another interesting, the flipside to the, to the opposite brand

(01:12:51):
is I had a kid who goes toVanderbilt and they're, they're also
a Wilson school and he used aWilson glove in high school.
Cool.
And so he was able to bringthat with him and he's allowed to
use it because it happens tomatch the brand.
So that was kind of convenient.
And then a third aspect tothat is maybe you bring the equipment
that you really liked and youdon't get to use it and you have
to use what they use and youdon't like it.

(01:13:13):
And that's just unfortunate.
You just got to find a way tomake it work, the adjustment.
But then, you know, keep, youknow, hang on to that old equipment,
you know, just in case andstill use it in practice and that
kind of thing.
But in aspect, we didn't.
It sounds simple when you hearit, but they're all saying common
sense is not common.
So make sure you put your name.

(01:13:33):
When you're younger, put yourname on your glove, name on your
bat.
Because your kids, you havethis similar looking bat and they
may accidentally take yours orwhatever, but find an area on that
bat or find the area on thatglove to put your name or phone number.
So if it does get lost, and wetalked about the investment, you
just throwing away money ifyou're not, if you, if you lose your

(01:13:57):
glove.
Two things on that one, Iactually did have a parent bring
me a glove and he said, justchange some of the laces.
He said, because too many kidshave the same glove, he said, just
change, change like part of itso we know which one is his.
And I thought that was funnyas a unique identifier.
But.
Well, because if you're gonna,if you're gonna hope to sell that
glove someday, first of all,don't write your name on MAD in magic

(01:14:19):
marker on the back of thefingers because no one's going to
want to buy that from you secondhand.
So, you know, find a discreetplace to put.
And nowadays, you know, withso many custom gloves, you know it's
got your name on it, right?
Yeah, but you have, you alsohave to keep in mind, you know, nobody
wants to buy it if it has yourname on it.
So it is going to kind of hurtyour chances to resell, but maybe

(01:14:42):
you're not planning on it andthen, you know, go ahead and do whatever
the other thing is to makesure you're not losing your equipment.
Because, you know, it'sunfortunate I lost a glove, which
was sad, but it happened.
But the great way to do thatis to have a system for packing your
gear up so that when youarrive, you know it's all in the

(01:15:02):
same spot.
And then when you leave, youpack it up the same way.
That's a compartment.
Exactly.
So it makes sure that you're.
Your equipment is put awaysafely, that it's not going to hurt
the equipment.
And then also it's easier torun through the checklist kind of
subconsciously because you'reputting everything in its place.
And if you don't havesomething to put in its place, you
know, oh, I must be missing that.

(01:15:23):
So.
And being a catcher, I had alot of extra equipment, so I had
to be a little more.
Make sure you have both shin guards.
Yeah, I had to be a littlemore precise in the way that I packed
my bag.
So I, you know, put the shinguards inside of each other, put
them on the edge.
I would take my fieldingglove, put it inside my helmet with
my sunglasses in the glove soit didn't crush the glove.

(01:15:44):
And I had a whole system.
And, you know, once Ideveloped that, I never lost anything
again.
It was a lot easier to keeptrack of my stuff.
The other thing is, getyourself a golf towel and put it
in your bag and wipe yourstuff down as you put it back in
the bag.
Try and keep the bag as aclean environment.
Yes.
Yeah.
So when you're stuff's gonnaget dirty when you're playing, wipe

(01:16:06):
it off as you're putting itback in the bag.
Now, you don't always have alot of time for that.
You.
But if you have time but get.
Everything out of the dugoutand do it out there.
But take that extra fewminutes because that keeps you from
scrambling around.
You know, when you're runninglate to practice and you're not as
likely to forget something.
Well, and seriously, caringfor your equipment can keep you from

(01:16:26):
having to come have it fixed.
And I mean, it really makes a difference.
But we want to have it fixed.
You got to keep them inbusiness if you need it.
If you need it.
Ethan is more than my podcast partner.
He's my son.
And like every baseballparent, my first priority was his
development as a player.
Every year, we'd start outwith a new coach and a new team making

(01:16:47):
new promises, only to end upplaying the same old tournaments
with little to no practice in between.
You know what I'm talking about.
That's why I'm so thankfulthat we found MDNI Academy.
I first met Coach Rick over adecade ago when Ethan was just a
kid.
And I'll never forget get therelief I felt watching his first
lesson.
I knew right then that nomatter what team he played for, my

(01:17:07):
son would have amazing,consistent instruction from someone
who cared.
Rick has trained baseball andsoftball players at the Select Travel
and even College levels.
So I knew that Ethan couldcontinue his excellence through training
approach.
For his whole baseball career.
He learned hitting, pitching,catching, fielding and more all in
one place.
Most of all, he learned to thegreatest game in the world and how

(01:17:29):
to play it with character and integrity.
MDNI is a first class facilitywith plenty of tunnels for hitting
and pitching instruction thatopen up into large areas for teaching
fielding, baserunning speedand agility.
They even have a weight roomfor strength training.
So if you're wearing yourselfout running all over town to multiple
teachers or worse, you'recounting on that new select coach

(01:17:50):
to actually develop your child.
You need need to check outMDNI Academy today.
Go to mdaiacademy.com andcontact Coach Rick to learn how you
can get all the baseballinstruction you need from someone
who cares about your favoriteplayer as much as you do at MDNI
Academy.
All right guys, we will comeback and revisit gear at another

(01:18:12):
time because obviously there'sso much to talk about.
Exciting.
And I want to do one of thesewhere we just talk about gloves.
Gloves and one of these wherewe just talk about bats.
That's gonna be a long episode right.
Now in Rick's case and inEthan's case, they need or if they
haven't like having a catalog.
You talk about the bats,you're talking about the gloves,

(01:18:33):
what age and the name of it.
I mean I didn't.
Parents asked me about whatsize bat or glove is.
Like it's foreign to me but,but knowing that now I can go to
Rick and Ethan, say oh, givethe number to.
Yeah, dear numbers.
Because I know that you havethat knowledge.
But if you have like a littlecatalog and do you pass it like a,

(01:18:54):
something pass out to them andnow they have more knowledge about
it.
But I know when someone, Ifeel that I'm getting knowledge from
somewhere, if I go play itagain, sports or wherever, I'm going
back to that place.
I'm going to keep patronizingthem and because I trust what they,
they're saying and they're notsaying it just to make a sale.
Well, yes, Ethan has on his website.
Talk about your glove guidehere for a second.

(01:19:15):
Yeah, I do have a, I have acouple of articles that kind of give
a rundown of different,different glove brands and the different
series within that brand.
So something that a lot ofparents get confused about is oh,
I have a Rawlings, I have a Wilson.
It's a lot more detailed than,than just the brand that's on the

(01:19:36):
wrist because within thatbrand there's different series of
gloves meant for different players.
And so you have to be carefulnot to buy any glove that has the
brand that you recognize,because within that, it might not
be exactly what you need.
And there's a ton of jargonout there that gets really confusing.
And there's a lot of stuffthat is meant to sound factual and

(01:19:58):
descriptive, but it's really.
But it's really a trademark.
So just a quick one, and I'mgonna have to pick on Wilson here.
You know, their.
A 2000s and a 2Ks, they'remade of pro stock leather.
Right.
That's.
That's a trademark term.
That's not an actual industry thing.
And so people say, oh, prostock, pro.
It must be like if you go.
To, like, a saddle company ora place that makes briefcases or

(01:20:21):
something, it's like, I wantpro stock leather.
They're gonna look at you likeyou got two heads.
Yeah.
And so that's something that'sbecome, you know, it seems like it's.
It's marketing and, and don'tbe angry at it.
I don't blame Wilson for it, exactly.
But just works.
But just try to understand itand, and, and do your research.
So right now I, I only haveraw Wilson and I think Mizuno on

(01:20:43):
there.
I need to.
Not.
Not yet.
It's just those three becauseI, I was doing that in my off time
and then I got too busy and,you know, people keep sending me
gloves or something, you know,so hopefully I'll be able to.
To increase that at some point.
But.
But yeah, ask questions and,and understand that it's a.
It's a big industry and, youknow, money.
You don't have to know everything.

(01:21:05):
It's true.
All right, well, we're goingto move on to our final segment here
called who's the Hero?
We did this last week.
We had a whole lot of fun with it.
I won.
I won.
George.
George is the reigningchampion of who's the Hero?
I'm the goat.
I'm the goat.
So here we're gonna try.
I'm gonna describe players.
I picked five players who hadinteresting relationships with gear.

(01:21:25):
And these.
The.
The spans the biggest part oftwo centuries.
There's a.
There's some in every era.
Some.
One of them is even stillplaying now.
So.
So we've got a good bunch offolks, but we're gonna try and figure
out the.
These guys are gonna try andguess who I'm talking about.
So number one, this playerused a 12 and a half inch glove because

(01:21:48):
he thought that a larger glovewould help him catch more balls.
Coming up the middle, Ozzy Smith.
You know, it must have workedbecause he won 18 Gold Gloves, the
most of any player at any position.
Is it cow.
It's not written no.
18.
I need another.

(01:22:10):
Roberta.
No, no.
The mostly known.
I guess the most Gold Glovesof any player at any position.
No, no.
He was mostly known for histime with the Atlanta Braves.
He played in the MLB from 1986to 2008.
Atlanta Braves.
Not Terry Pendleton.

(01:22:31):
No, no, not Terry Pendleton.
It up the middle.
Blouser.
No.
Shoot.
Oh, this is.
I feel so bad for not knowing this.
Wow.
All right.
Are you ready?
Atlanta bra.
What?
Oh, Bob Horner.
No, no, no, no.
He was not.
He was not an infield position player.

(01:22:53):
Oh, Dale Murph.
Oh, was it Andrew?
No.
Yeah.
Jones.
Andrew Jones.
No, not a Greg Maddox.
There you go.
Yes.
That's good.
That's a good one.
I got that.
Yes.
There you go.
That's a good one.

(01:23:13):
I didn't.
Wow.
I thought you guys nailed that one.
No, I.
I was thinking shortstop,second base.
All right, we're going to goway back for this one.
Okay.
I feel bad.
This hall.
Okay, you ready?
This hall of Fame player wasthe first to receive endorsement
money for a baseball productmanufactured with his name on it
ever.
He signed a contract in 1905while he was playing for the Pittsburgh

(01:23:38):
Pirates.
Oh, five Honus.
Now he saw the answer.
You gotta let me give you this.
This story.
Yeah.
What was 19?
So he played.
He played for the LouisvilleEclipse before.
He made it before he playedfor the Pirates.
And he played with BudHillaridge of Hillary.

(01:24:04):
So here's.
Here's the whole story.
Let me run this down for you.
J.F.
hillary Rich opened hiswoodworking shop in Louisville in
1855.
And during the 1880s, HillaryRich hired his 17 year old son, John
Bud.
Hillary Rich.
Okay.
The company legend.
Company legend has it thatBud, who played baseball himself,

(01:24:24):
slipped away one from work atone afternoon in 1884 to watch the
Louisville.
To watch Louisville's majorleague team, the Louisville Eclipse.
The team star, Pete Louisvilleslugger Browning, mired in a hitting
slump, broke his bat.
And Bud invited Browning backto his father's shop to handcraft
a new bat to his specifications.

(01:24:46):
Browning accepted the offerand got three hits to break out of
his slump with the new bat.
The first day he used it,Browning told his teammates, which
began a surge of professionalballplayers to the Hillary Woodworking
Company.
Very interesting.
This story has been challengedby alternate versions that sometimes
it wasn't maybe that guy, itwas Arley.
A guy named Arley Latham or aguy named Gus Waring.

(01:25:07):
But either way, this is what happened.
So then J.F.
hillarych was uninterested inmaking bats.
His dad didn't want to makeany bats.
Okay.
And so he saw the companyfuture in stair railings, porch columns
and swinging butter churns.
Okay.
But for a brief time in the1880s, he turned away ball players.
But Bud saw the potential inproducing baseball bats.

(01:25:27):
And the elder Hillricheventually relented to his son Hillary
Rich.
And Bradsby was a.
Was the company that end upthat used by Babe ruth in the 1927
game exhibited at the BabeRuth or at the Louisville Slugger
museum.

(01:25:48):
So the bats were sold underthe name Falls City Slugger until
Bud Hillarych took over hisfather's company in 1894.
And the name LouisvilleSlugger was registered as a U with
the U.
S.
Patent office.
And in 1905, Honus Wagnersigned a deal with the company becoming
likely the first Americanathlete to endorse an item of sporting

(01:26:10):
equipment.
That's great history.
I would love to say.
I would love to say.
I knew that, but it just said pirates.
And it was the earliest pirateI could think of.
Wow.
All right, number three.
According to Bleacher Report,a Bleacher Report article from 2018,
this player who currentlyplays in the national league is said
to have had a habit of using a36 inch, 47 ounce bat in the practice

(01:26:34):
cage before.
Bryce Harper.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was.
You never seen that video?
No.
Oh, Bryce, man, when he was.
That was like early nationals days.
But there's a.
There's a video of him hittingin a cage with the stupid heavy bat.
Yeah.
Wow.
And say must be workingbecause he has a lifetime average

(01:26:54):
of.282 with 1,673 hits, 337home runs and 977 RBIs over his 14.
Come on, Rick.
We're getting shut out.
Come on.
Number four.
I'm gonna get this.
This hall of fame player wasthe first to have his own signature
Nike cleat.

(01:27:15):
It was released in 1996.
King Griffey Jr.
Ken Griffey Jr.
Yeah.
Everybody with the swing man.
With the Seattle Mariners.
And it was called.
What?
Do you know what.
You know what the shoe was called?
Junior?
Kid.
The kid.
It was called Nike Air GriffeyMax 1.

(01:27:35):
Yeah.
And they're.
They're a cool shoe, man.
Yeah, I know.
I see.
See, I See a lot.
This day is going down in history.
I got, I got shut out.
Okay, there's one more, onemore, one more.
I don't think any of you guyshave this, but one more.
Turn their mics off.
It doesn't matter.
They can't beat me now anyway, right?
No.
This is worth six point.

(01:27:56):
Oh, that's convenient.
This Cincinnati Reds great.
Oh, Frank Robinson onceendorsed Kool aid.
With a TV commercial.
Johnny Ben in 1986, the lastyear he played.
This was his 25th yearprofessional baseball.
And as far as I can find, heis the only major league baseball

(01:28:19):
player to ever endorse Kool Aid.
Those names weren't correct.
It's.
Is it Concepcion?
No, no speaking English.
I said bench.
Was he, was he a Red when he returns?
It was Pete R.
Yes, it was.
Pete Rose because that's why Isaid Cincinnati Red's great.

(01:28:41):
Yeah, technically in the hallof Fame.
And it was a TV commercial in1986, which was his last year as
player manager.
Oh, okay.
And he played 25 years, from63 to whatever.
Whatever.
It was just.
I mean from the early 60s allthe way to 1986.
And as far as I can find, he'sthe only major league ballplayer

(01:29:04):
to ever.
And there is, you can see iton, on YouTube.
There is a commercial.
And basically what happens isfunny because he's up to bat.
Some kid, he hits a, lookslike it's gonna be a home run and
the Kool Aid man comesbursting through the wall and catches
it and takes off running with it.
He's like, what?
It was kind of funny.
So anyway, that was Pete Rose.

(01:29:26):
So George did not get skunked today.
Yes.
Sorry, Ray.
Sorry.
Oh yeah, Ethan.
He was all right.
If I didn't win, if I didn'twin that, I feel like I would be
doing my service and injustice.
I kind of felt obligated.
Level swing.
Let it travel.
Wait for your pitch.
Be aggressive out there.

(01:29:47):
It's no wonder young playersget confused at the plate.
What if your son or daughtercould learn not only how to hit the
ball but also where to hit it,when to hit it there and why.
George Foster has playedbaseball at the very highest levels.
He was the National League MVPwhen he hit 52 home runs and 149
RBIs in a single season.
He led the major leagues andhome runs twice and RBIs three times.

(01:30:11):
He was a five time All Star, aSilver Slugger and he helped the
Reds win back to back Worldseries during his 15 year career.
George developed a uniqueapproach to hitting that made him
one of the greatest hitters ofall time.
And now your favorite playercan learn it too.
That's right.
Baseball legend George Fosteris currently accepting new students.

(01:30:32):
Learn the psychology ofhitting, situational hitting, hitting
for power, bunting, and more.
Every team needs players whocan hit, and George explains the
game in a way that's easy tounderstand and exciting to learn.
So check outgeorgefosterbaseball.com to learn
how you can apply for privatelessons with a member of the Cincinnati
Reds hall of Fame.
Spots are limited and theroster will fill up fast, so don't

(01:30:54):
wait.
Apply at George Fosterbaseball.com All right fellas, well,
this has been a great episode.
Talking about gear and we,like I said, we will revisit this
coming up.
If you've enjoyed ourdiscussion about gloves and bats,
balls and or shoes andeverything, goodness gracious, accessories.

(01:31:17):
Yes, let us know.
Leave a comment someplacewherever you like to listen to the
to the podcast you can hear it on.
What Let us know if you haveany questions too happ.
Happy to answer.
Sure.
Yeah, I'd love to be able toto post some questions to these guys
next week.
So you can listen to usanywhere that you listen to Podcast,
Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, iHeartRadio.
You can also find us oncompletegamepodcast.com and also

(01:31:43):
on Facebook.
And YouTube.
And YouTube.
So hopefully we'll we'll catchyou on one of those platforms real
soon.
Until then, have a great weekand we'll see you again on the Complete
Game Podcast.
We hope you've enjoyed theComplete Game Podcast, the show that's
all about baseball.

(01:32:03):
New new episodes drop eachweek, so be sure to subscribe so
you don't miss a thing.
If you'd like to support thepodcast, consider leaving us a five
star rating or better yet,drop us a comment or a question.
Let us know what you think.
The Complete Game Podcast isproduced and distributed by 2Creative
Digital Marketing.
Check us out at2CreativeDigital.com on behalf of

(01:32:26):
Ethan Coach Rick and theSilver Slugger George Foster, I'm
Greg Duncan saying have agreat week and we'll see you real
soon.

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