How to break in a catcher's mitt (4 easy steps!)

You got your new Allstar, Rawlings, or A2000 catchers mitt, and are anxious to break it in. “But how do I break it in?” you’re thinking?

Do I wrap it? Heat it up? Sleep on it? The options are endless.

Well pay attention - because a poorly broken in catchers mitt can ruin your glove. It will turn into an ejecto-mitt… and your main job is to catch the ball.

Here at Catching Made Simple, we peel back the curtain on the fundamentals of catching. We teach talented youth catchers how to master the basics of catching through free content and paid courses and video coaching.

By the end of this article, you’ll know a four-step process to break in your new catcher’s mitt, two problems you need to avoid, and some alternative ways to break in your mitt.

4 steps to breaking in your catcher’s mitt

1. Choose how to hold your glove
2. Warm up the glove
3. Form the pocket - catch without squeezing and shape pocket
4. Squeeze and catch

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Step 1: Choose how to hold your glove

If you aren’t sure how you want to put your fingers in your glove, then you could end up with a pocket you don’t like.

@catchingmadesimple The secret way to hold your catchers glove 🧤 #baseball #baseballcoach #baseballtiktoks #catching ♬ Blade Runner 2049 - Synthwave Goose

Here are the 3 most common options we see with different catchers:

1) Straight Up

How to hold:

You’ll put one finger in each hole, often with your finger sticking out of the ‘hood’ of the glove.

The benefits:

Many people think this is most comfortable. About 10 years ago, this was the most popular way to hold the glove. It also protects you from getting ‘thumbed.’ Getting ‘thumbed’ is no fun and happens when you hyperextend your thumb from catching the ball incorrectly.

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The cons:

First, when pitchers start throwing harder, the impact can make your pointer finger hurt. Second, it can make your pocket turn ‘flat’ so that you squeeze the glove thin and narrow like a second baseman. This is not good for catching - we want a deeper pocket.

2) Two in the Pinkie

How to hold:

Slide your pointer, middle, and ring finger over one slot, with both your ring and pinkie finger in the pinkie loop.

Pros:

First, it slides your pointer finger to reduce the impact. Second, it gives you more strength to squeeze the glove because you’re squeezing from the outside of the glove with more leverage. Third, it helps you ‘box’ the pocket, which gives the ball a secure pocket to land in and prevents balls from shooting out the top of your glove

Cons:

Since your hand is more open, you’re more susceptible to getting ‘thumbed.’ Getting ‘thumbed’ is no fun and happens when the ball hyper-extends your thumb. Check the TikTok video above if you haven’t already.

3) Two in the Ring (Our recommendation)

How to hold:

Three fingers will go in the ‘pinkie’ slot, but only the pinkie will go in the loop. So the ring and middle finger will be next to each other.

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  Pros:

  All of the 2 in the pinkie pros: slides finger over, gives you more strength, and helps you box the pocket. On top of that, it protects your thumb like a holding your glove straight-up.

  Cons:

  The only con would be if it’s not comfortable for you, but this is the most comfortable for most catchers.

  2. Warm up the glove

  If the leather of your mitt isn’t warm, it’s not going to take the shape you’re trying to form and will take much longer to break in.

  There are a few ways to heat the glove up.

  1) Plastic bag in car on a hot day

  The first way to heat up your glove works best if it’s a hot day. Put your glove in a plastic bag in the car and let it sit for a while. By the time you take out your glove, it’s going to be warm and supple, ready to be shaped.

  2) Oil and hot blowdryer

  The second way to warm up the glove is a hack I learned from one of my college infield coaches. He said to put glove oil or vaseline on the glove, then take a hot blowdryer to it until it is hot and ready to go (like a Little Caesar’s Pizza).

  

  3) Hot water (150 degrees)

  The third way is to put hot water (150 degrees) on the glove to warm it up. The Wilson Glove Guru Shigeaki Asi recommends to do this when breaking in a glove. Check the video near the bottom of the page for more details.

  3. Form the pocket: Catch without squeezing and shape pocket

  Before squeezing the glove, we want to form the pocket. If we try to squeeze our glove too much before the pocket is formed, we may create creases in the wrong spots, making us catch the ball weird.

  The best way is to catch balls off a machine without squeezing. Let the ball hit the pocket and drop.

  We’re not trying to get the glove game ready today, we’re trying to make sure the glove breaks in with a good pocket.

  When we catch these balls off a machine, try to do it from your catching stance so that you form the pocket you want when catching from a stance, not just standing up. Since the angle of the ball is coming down more when you’re in your stance, it could make a little difference.

  If you don’t have access to a machine, you can play regular catch or use a mallet.

  Make sure you’re catching it in the pocket each time.

  In addition, take your fingers from your right hand and form the shape you want between pitches

  Here’s a video of Joe Singley, catching instructor for the Cincinatti Reds, showing how he catches without squeezing and shapes the glove between pitches:

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  // ]]>

  4. Catch balls in the pocket (with squeezing)

  Once you’ve formed the pocket and established the shape, now it’s time to start squeezing the ball as you catch.

  This is the most self-explanatory of all of them. You can use it in bullpens, off the machine, and when playing catch!

  Again, the machine will be your friend here. Make sure you catch it in the same spot every time.

  2 mistakes to avoid when breaking in your catcher’s mitt

  There are two big mistakes we want to avoid when breaking in our catcher’s glove.

  1. Trying to break it in too fast

  If we rush the process, we risk ruining the pocket and making the glove unusable.

  What will happen is balls will pop or slide out of your glove. For example, if you catch it a little closer to your hand, the ball will roll out to ‘snow cone’ in your glove or even pop out.

  Fortunately, if you know how to shape a glove, you can fix this problem.

  2. Not shaping the pocket

  If you don’t intentionally shape the pocket, you’re going to get an ejecto-mitt instead of a catcher’s mitt.

  To shape the pocket, use your fingers to press and smooth the inside of the glove to create a ‘box’ shape.

  Then, roll the top fingers down and bring the pinkie side of the glove in.

  Pull the string on the top of the pocket tight.

  And remember, how you hold your glove will have a big impact on the shape of the pocket.

  Some alternative methods to breaking in your glove:

  Break in your mitt in one day: The Wrap, Dunk, Dry, Pound Method

  Take Chris Suarez from Under2Catching for example. He follows a 5 step process and claims he can have his glove ready in one to two days if you do it right:

  1. Wrap
  2. Dunk in water for 30 seconds
  3. Throw in dryer
  4. Pound the pocket
  5. Tighten and loosen laces

  He followed this method for every glove in his 10-year stint in pro ball.

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  Former Dodger’s catcher Tim Federowicz and Wilson Glove Guru

  Tim would put his glove under his pillow and sleep on it to break it in when he was a kid.

  You’ll notice he holds his fingers ‘straight up’ in his glove. Holding with 2 in the ring or two in the pinkie is a newer evolution, but most players are doing this now to give them more strength and take their pointer finger out of the impact zone.

  He likes to break it in by just playing catch or getting balls from a pitching machine.

  The Wilson Glove Guru is an expert on shaping the glove. Notice how he says “Flat is not good” at about :35 and then proceeds to help ‘box’ the glove.

  He also uses hot water (150 degrees) to warm up the glove before playing catch or pounding with a glove mallet or bat to hammer in the pocket.

  Other interesting methods

  Here are some other interesting methods people use to break in their glove:

  • Playing catch with it
  • Baking it in the oven
  • 'Steaming it' in a hot shower
  • Using hot water (150*) to warm up the glove
  • Wrapping with a baseball, 2 baseballs, or a softball inside
  • Pounding the glove with a mallet or bat to loosen the leather
  • Putting it underneath your pillow or mattress and sleeping on it
  • Lathering shaving cream to soften the leather (make sure ‘lanolin’ is in the ingredients because it helps soften the leather)

  Next steps to breaking in your catcher’s mitt

  In this article, you learned four steps to break in a catcher's glove, two mistakes to avoid, and some alternative strategies to breaking in your catcher’s mitt.

  And if you’ve just bought your new catcher's mitt and have read to the end of this article, you’re obviously taking this seriously.

  You know a poorly broken in mitt will hurt your catcher’s game.

  In the same way, poor fundamentals of catching will hurt your game too.

  And catchers play a unique position - it’s not so much about athleticism and talent, but more so about training. A catcher is not “talented or untalented” but rather “trained or untrained”.

  And having access to the right information so you can train correctly is exactly what Catching Made Simple was created for.

  You see, I was an infielder my whole life before transitioning to catcher my Junior year of college.

  I ramped up from never having caught before, to catching at the DII level in only 18 months. So I went through all the struggles catchers go through, but in a year and a half rather than 10 years.

  Because I learned so many lessons on my journey of learning how to catch, I want to share those lessons with you. That’s why I started Catching Made Simple - so I can help someone who is currently on the path I already walked.

  Check out our online courses and video analysis programs built to help you go further, faster.

  If you’re not ready to buy a course, you may also be interested in these free resources:

  • Drop Your Pop
  • 10 benefits of working with a catching coach/getting catching lessons
  • Top 5 catching stances every catcher needs (Revamp your game!)