Baseball Glove Glossary

A working vocabulary for talking about baseball gloves the way the people who actually use them talk about them. Compiled by Carlos Castillo's academy in Miami.

The shell

Pocket

The deep, palm-side cavity formed where the leather meets at the heel and curves up through the fingers. The pocket is where the ball sits when caught. Pocket depth is a position-specific design choice — outfielders want deep, infielders want shallow.

Web

The leather between the thumb and index finger. The web style determines how much daylight the pitcher has into the glove (closed webs hide grip), how dirt clears (open webs let it fall through), and how deep the catching basket is.

Heel

The bottom of the glove, opposite the fingers. The heel is reinforced with thicker leather and is where most of the closing force is generated when the glove pinches shut around a ball.

Welting

The reinforced strip running along the outer edge of the glove where two pieces of leather are joined. Strong welting is one of the markers of pro-grade construction.

Palm pad

The padded interior layer between the shell and your hand, sitting under the pocket. Reduces sting on hard line drives. Some players prefer a thinner pad for more feel; most prefer the standard for protection.

Back of the hand

The outer side of the glove, opposite the palm. Often features a finger-stall hood, a manufacturer logo or wordmark, and personal embroidery options.

Finger stalls

The leather cylinders inside the glove where each finger goes. Stall length affects how cleanly you can transfer the ball into your throwing hand.

Hand stall

The interior fit of the glove around your hand and wrist. A correctly-fit hand stall holds the glove on your hand with minimal closure tension and disappears once you're playing.

Web styles

I-web

Open-web design with a single vertical strip of leather. Lightest, most ventilated. Standard for middle infielders.

H-web

Open-web design forming an "H" with two vertical strips and a crossbar. Strong, sun-shielding, deep pocket. Common at outfield, third base, and pitcher.

Trapeze (or single-post)

Open-web design with a single piece of leather forming a basket. Deepest pocket of the open webs. Outfielder-specific — tracks fly balls cleanly.

Modified trap

The most popular MLB pattern. Half-open, half-closed. Versatile across positions.

Two-piece closed

Closed-web pattern formed by two interlocking pieces of leather. Hides grip from the batter — pitcher-specific.

Basket / one-piece closed

A single piece of leather forming a closed basket. Compact, deepest closed-web pocket. Used by some pitchers and some infielders who want a quick-close.

Catcher's mitt closed face

Solid leather face with no web slot. Closes one-handed around a pitch. Catcher-specific.

First base scoop

A long, single-piece web designed for stretching and scooping low throws out of the dirt. First base only.

Build & construction

Break point

The single hinge where the glove closes. Engineered into every glove during pattern assembly. Different positions need different break points (heel for pitcher, between index and middle finger for infielder, between middle and ring finger for outfielder).

Lacing

The leather cords running through the glove holding shell pieces together. Wear part — replaceable. A Kachi glove can be re-laced six or seven times across a player's career.

Steerhide

Leather from an adult steer (cow). Thicker, heavier, slower break-in. Standard in most US-made gloves.

Kip (Japanese Kip)

Leather from a younger calf, tanned in Japan. Approximately 30% lighter and roughly 2× stronger at the point of impact than steerhide. The professional standard in NPB and CPBL. The leather Kachi uses across the entire line. Read the full Kip vs steerhide breakdown.

Wagyu (Wagyu A5 / Kobe leather)

Leather from premium Wagyu cattle. Some Japanese tannery suppliers sell it for high-end gloves. Distinct grain and weight. Less common than standard Kip.

Tanning

The chemical process that converts raw cattle hide into usable leather. Japanese tanneries are known for tighter, denser leather grain than typical American tanneries.

Customization

Heritage flag

Free Kachi customization option — embroidery of any of 11 Latin & Caribbean baseball nation flags on the wrist strap or pinky finger. Browse all 11 country pages.

Personalization

Embroidery of a name, number, team logo, verse, or other custom text. Available on most Kachi custom builds.

Stamp / bat-tag

An embossed or printed marker on the thumb or pinky showing the brand, size, model, and (often) the player's initials. Ours says Kachi.

Care & break-in

Break-in

The process of converting a stiff new glove into a game-ready one. The Kachi 7-day break-in is at /pages/glove-care.

Conditioning

Applying a small amount of lanolin-based conditioner or saddle oil to maintain the leather's flexibility. Twice a year is plenty for most players.

Restringing / relacing

Replacing worn or broken leather laces. A normal maintenance event over a glove's life — most local sporting goods stores do it for $30–$60.

Pocket reset

Reshaping a glove whose pocket has formed in the wrong location. Tie a baseball where you want the pocket using a glove wrap, sleep on it for 5–7 nights, repeat.

Sizing

Glove length

Measured in inches from the top of the index finger down through the heel along the back of the glove. Adult position gloves run 11.25"–13".

Mitt circumference

For catcher's mitts only. Measured around the outside edge. Typically 32.5"–34" for adult mitts.

RHT / LHT

Right-hand throw / left-hand throw. The hand you throw with determines which hand you wear the glove on (opposite hand). RHT players wear the glove on their left hand.

Related reading

• Kachi Size Guide
• Kachi Fitting Guide
• Glove Care & Break-In
• Lifetime Craftsmanship Guarantee
• Latin & Caribbean Baseball Heritage