Kachi vs 44 Pro: an honest comparison
Kachi vs 44 Pro: an honest comparison
44 Pro is the most direct DTC competitor we have. They build a good glove, they ship faster than most, and at last count they had over 700 verified customer reviews. Here's the side-by-side, written by us, with credit where it's due.
The matrix
| Kachi | 44 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Founders | Two former MLB pitchers — Julio Teherán (2× All-Star) and Carlos Castillo (18-yr pro across MLB / NPB / CPBL) | Father-and-son founders, no professional playing career |
| Leather | Japanese Kip — the professional standard in NPB & CPBL | Japanese Kip and US steerhide options |
| Custom build lead time | 6–8 weeks | 3–4 weeks (Speed Custom tier) |
| Heritage flag embroidery | Free across 11 Latin & Caribbean nations | Not offered as a standard option |
| Warranty | Lifetime craftsmanship guarantee | 1-year limited warranty |
| Shipping origin | Miami, USA | Pacific Northwest, USA |
| Reviews count (at audit) | 0 (pre-launch) | 700+ verified reviews |
| Price floor | Premium tier (Kip-only) | ~$185 entry, scales up |
What 44 Pro does well
Three things, honestly.
- Speed Custom tier. 44 Pro will turn around a custom build in 3–4 weeks for players who can't wait two months. We don't currently offer that lane. If you need a glove for a season that starts in three weeks, they'll get it to you faster than we will.
- Reviews depth. 700-plus verified customer reviews is real social proof. We don't have it yet, and that matters when you're putting hundreds of dollars into a custom glove sight unseen. We're going to earn ours one player at a time.
- Entry price. 44 Pro starts lower than we do. If your budget is firmly under $250, they're a better fit. We chose Japanese Kip across the entire line and the floor is what it is.
Where Kachi is different — not just better, different
Founders who actually pitched in the majors
This is the largest non-marketing difference. Julio Teherán made six consecutive Opening Day starts for the Atlanta Braves — a streak shared in Braves history with Warren Spahn — and was named to two MLB All-Star teams. Carlos Castillo pitched in the major leagues with the Chicago White Sox (1997–1999) and Boston Red Sox (2001) before an 18-season pro career that took him through Japan's NPB and Taiwan's CPBL. Carlos owns and runs Kachi Baseball, an academy in Miami, where every Kachi pattern is field-tested by working players before it goes into production.
That's the distance. Their gloves are designed by people who pitched at the highest level of the sport for two decades. Ours are too — by the same two people, whose names are on the box.
Lifetime craftsmanship guarantee, not 12 months
Almost every brand in the category — including 44 Pro, Wilson, Rawlings, and Marucci — caps their warranty at 12 months. Ours doesn't expire. If a Kachi glove fails because we screwed up — defective leather, bad stitching, lacing failure under normal use — we repair or replace it for the life of the player. That isn't a marketing promise. It's a contract we wrote because it was the contract the founders wanted on their own gloves.
Free heritage-flag embroidery for 11 nations
Every custom Kachi glove ships with optional flag embroidery — free of charge — for any of eleven Latin American and Caribbean baseball nations: Dominican, Cuban, Venezuelan, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Colombian, Panamanian, Nicaraguan, Curaçaoan, Aruban, Brazilian. Pick your country here. No other brand in the category offers this as a standard, free option. We do it because Julio is Colombian and Carlos played alongside players from every one of those nations in NPB and CPBL clubhouses. The program is honest, not theatrical.
Japanese Kip across the entire line
We made one big leather decision early: Kip across the line, not as an upcharge tier. Read our full Kip vs steerhide breakdown if you want the technical case. The short version: ~30% lighter, roughly 2× stronger at the point of impact, the professional standard in NPB and CPBL for a reason. Trade-offs: more expensive, breaks in differently, requires actual care.
Who should buy which
This is the honest version, not the marketing version.
- Buy 44 Pro if your top priority is fast turnaround for a season starting soon, or if your budget is locked at < $250, or if 700-plus verified reviews are non-negotiable for your purchase decision.
- Buy Kachi if your priorities are leather quality across the line, founder credibility you can verify on Baseball Reference, a warranty that doesn't expire, free heritage-flag embroidery for a Latin or Caribbean baseball nation, and a glove that's been field-tested at a working academy by players who actually use it.
Both brands make a serious glove. If you're looking at this comparison, you're already past the Walmart-shelf question. Pick the one whose values match yours.