How To Find A Fastpitch Catcher's Mitt For Dad

Your daughter started fastpitch softball a couple of seasons back. She’s made it through tee ball and coach pitch. Finally kid-pitch has arrived. Even better, she wants to pitch herself. You get a portable pitching rubber and home plate so you both can practice at home. Then the question hits your mind…what sort of glove or mitt do I use to catch her?

If your player is at this stage in her career and you have found yourself in the glove conundrum described above, keep reading and we’ll answer all of your questions!

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What’s your goal in catching your daughter?

We’re going to guess that most fathers’ responses to the question above will include some mention of “trying to help my daughter become a better pitcher”.

Well, one of the biggest things you can do to help her progress within the pitching circle is to increase her confidence. Believe it or not, having the correct mitt to handle her pitching could do an incredible amount to improve or maintain her confidence as she tosses from the circle. 

We got the opportunity to speak with Scott Bilodeau from All Star Sporting Goods. He is the Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Product Line Strategy and is the father of three daughters who played or are still playing fastpitch. Scott could not emphasize enough the impact of having a catcher's mitt that creates a loud “pop” when receiving a fastpitch softball. Being able to hear that sound allows a young lady to feel confident when she heads from the bullpen to the diamond. And we all know how confidence plays a role in on-field performance. If your goal is to help your daughter improve as a pitcher, then you most likely want to think seriously about the gear that you are using to catch her bullpens.

How does a catcher's mitt help protect a catcher's hand?

Let’s first consider the use of a catcher’s mitt. Think about this for a moment:

If a shortstop were to make each out of all seven innings during a fastpitch game, that young lady would have come into contact with the softball 21 times during live action. Now think about the catcher. The catcher will come in contact with the softball on every pitch except when the ball is put in play (and she may still even get the ball on some of those plays). When considering all of the strikes and balls she will receive, a catcher is going to come into contact with the softball three to four times the total number of outs that there are in a softball game. More so, those balls and strikes that she catches are going to be some of the hardest balls thrown on the diamond during the game.

To put it simply, a catcher needs more protection in their mitt when compared to a regular fielder. Scott from All Star, informed us that catcher’s mitt protects a player's hand by offering extra protection in the places that a catcher’s hand requires it the most: the thumb and the palm. 

All Star specifically crafts their mitts with beefed up thumb areas which feature increased felt padding and a plate made of polyethylene (commonly called “PE” and used frequently as a pliable protective material).

They also add extra protection to the palms of their mitts in the form of 1 extra piece of leather that is inserted between the inner palm liner (leather that touches the hand) and the palm catching surface (leather that touches a ball during a catch). 

As well, the upper edge that runs above the fingers of a catcher’s mitt (and along the length of the pinky) will feature thickened padding. However, this padding is typically less bulky in comparison to the thumb as less direct impacts will be made to this section of the mitt.

With all the above information, you’ll now need to ask yourself: Do I need all of that protection?

If your daughter is just starting out as a pitcher at 8 or 9 years old and you have a tight budget, you probably don’t need to invest in having an extra protective mitt. Our recommendation would be to use your current glove, but work your hardest to create a flat catching surface on it (we’ll explain this further as you keep reading).

Does a dad need a catcher's mitt to catch his daughter?

To put it simply, no, a dad does not NEED a catcher’s mitt to handle his daughter’s pitching. But when deciding on the equipment that a dad will use to catch, there is more to consider than just a simple “no”.

• Be sure that you know the difference between a fastpitch catcher’s mitt and a baseball catcher’s mitt. Scott from All Star demonstrated to us that a fastpitch mitt has less pronounced padding on the thumb and upper edge of the fingers when compared to a baseball catcher’s mitt. This allows a large softball to enter a fastpitch mitt uninterrupted.

• When a softball enters a mitt and is interrupted by the thumb or upper edge padding, a rattle is created. The rattle is the number one culprit of reducing the “pop” sound when a softball enters the mitt. A baseball mitt will have increased padding compared to a fastpitch mitt and that padding will increase the chance of a rattle when receiving a softball.
• If you remember from earlier in this article, that “pop” sound plays a big part in creating a feeling of confidence in a young lady when she is at practice or warming up to go out to the pitcher’s circle.

All in all, we would say that having the CORRECT mitt is helpful when catching your daughter and we would recommend a fastpitch catcher’s mitt for a dad over a baseball mitt in order to reduce rattle and increase the "pop"  sound while catching.

Are there any fastpitch mitts that will fit a father's hand?

We can imagine that you’ve already asked yourself this question: Aren’t fastpitch mitts made to fit a lady’s hand?

They are indeed made to fit a lady’s hand and that can present a challenge for a father trying to get their adult male hand into one of these mitts. However, that is where our JustGloves Customer Reviews come into play. Below are fastpitch catcher’s mitts that have been reviewed to say that they fit an adult male hand:

SHOP THE ALL STAR AF-SERIES

Customer Comments: "Before All-Star developed the Paige Halstead mitt, this is what I used to catch my daughters that were pitching in fastpitch softball. Further, the price is a great value for the quality of mitt that you'll receive!"

Akadema Torino 34" Fastpitch Softball Catcher's Mitt (AEA65-12)

Shop The Torino

Customer Comments:

• "I searched high and low to find a mitt that would fit my huge Farmer/mechanic hand and this one fits very very well considering it is for smaller female hands."

Can dads use first base mitts to catch their daughters?

Yes they can! In fact, a baseball first base mitt will have the best chance at providing…

1. A catching surface that offers the least amount of obstructions that could cause a rattle while catching a softball (even when compared to a fastpitch catcher’s mitt). Thus it will create lots of “pop” sound.
2. The best comfort for an adult male hand as a baseball first base mitt will fit extremely well.

Due to baseball first base mitts being built in a 13 inch length and due as well to there being less padding on baseball first base mitts (when compared to catcher’s mitts), a baseball first base mitt has the potential to have an even larger circumference catching area than most catcher’s mitts. 

And for those fathers who may be concerned about there being less padding, be sure to know that the padding within a first base mitt (especially on the thumb), will be increased in comparison to a regular fielding glove.

Well dads...there you have it! A full blog article has been dedicated to the fellas looking to improve the gear they use to handle their daughter's pitching. However, we understand that you might still have questions on the mitt you want to get for catching your daughter. If this is the case, then please reach out to our team of Glove Experts. You can email via experts@justgloves.com or you can simply do a LIVE CHAT right here!