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Online now: 6 members: Chipper20, Garner220, LongHaul14, Matty507, TimMcElroy, teampanthers; 14 anonymousDiscussion: Equipment Maintence
| Posted | Discussion |
| May 25 stick8 1992 posts | We're all pretty familiar with upkeeping, maintaining and/or replacing the senior bats we use. That being a given, what about the other equipment we use? Fielding gloves, batting gloves, cleats, knee pads, sliding pads, or any other protective devices you might wear? A national hall of famer told me years ago that if you play a lot of ball during the summer your equipment stands a better than average chance of getting worn down. He went on to state that many players don't realize your cleats can take such a beating that it could mean the difference between getting to a ball in the field or possibly getting the jump necessary to take that extra base. For that reason alone I believe it's well worth it to at least examine your cleats, gloves, protective pads perhaps around the half way point of the season. One never knows, it might make a difference in scoring an extra run or preventing an extra run. Depending on how much you play, how often during a season do you look at repairing or replacing worn out cleats, batting and fielding gloves? |
| May 25 GSWP001 Men's 60 75 posts | stick8, good post. Thanks for the reminder. I certainly forget to check on things. Must be the old age.....:} |
| May 25 RIK56 Men's 60 137 posts | stick,2 pairs of batting gloves per year,fielding glove every 4 to 5 years,shin guards every couple years,dont use cleats i use nike air alvords and will get a new pair every couple years.is oki coming to st.louis this year. |
| May 25 stick8 1992 posts | GSWP001, old age is true in many cases--lol. |
| May 25 stick8 1992 posts | RIK56, do you ever re-string your fielding glove? I've found it can make quite a difference. Forgive me for not knowing but what are nike alvords? As far as St Louis it's not on our schedule. I'd love to play in St Louis--it's one of my favorite cities. What event is it and what's the date? |
| May 25 RIK56 Men's 60 137 posts | nike air alvords is a trail running shoe a couple of our players have them,the st.louis open is the 18th and 19th of aug.its at bridgeton which is a very good complex,as you know not many 50 major plus teams in the midwest,last year we had 5 major teams in it,i know we will be in it plus coors light and i would say kc barons will probally be in it also hopefully a few more will play and make it a good tournament. |
| May 25 stick8 1992 posts | Yes I'm very familiar with the Bridgeton complex and it is very nice. The issue for us (OKI) is spending sponsor money to travel and for rooms in St Louis knowing that being 50 major plus we have to spot 5 runs or an 11th fielder for each game. I'll ask our coach about it. |
| May 27 HJ Men's 70 481 posts | Tournament players have no idea how helpful their insights can be. An ex-football player, I began playing at 64 and literally had to learn from scratch. The majority of people who view this site are "anonymous" and could greatly benefit from your collective wisdom. Going back to the thread: 1. Shoes- Many of us have wide feet. I note the alvords come in 4EE, is this why you buy them? Is the traction enough. I remember falling hard when I first started and was using running shoes. I have found the Mizunos to be fairly wide and now use their lo cut cleats. Nike and New Balance advertise wide shoes- any experience with this?? I use a turf shoe for practice 2. Our right fielder was dropping balls and I noticed his glove was an old baseball glove. No dropped balls after new softball glove. Buy at least a softball designated glove and note that different designs are there for different positions. Usually the better quality gloves have better leather and are stiffer and take longer to break in. I have found glove oil ruins gloves. I use Nokona glove conditioner and it works perfectly and even cleans the glove. I have a game glove and a practice glove which is smaller to make me concentrate in practice. If you condition the strings they should last w/o restringing. 3. Complicated about eyeware. Some prefer single vision and some use their bifocals. I use my transition lenses, but add a clip on when the sun field is bad. They are bifocals but the no line kind. Thoughts? I would appreciate it if experienced players added their thoughts to this thread since we, rec players thirst for knowledge. |
| May 27 Omar Khayyam 1357 posts | HJ, I used to wear lo-cut spikes for years, but 10 years ago I bought some hi-cut spikes (some manufacturers call them mid-cut). It made a world of difference in running the bases. I was faster and more secure and have not sprained an ankle since wearing them. I love my Tanel turf shoes—so comfortable I don't change between games. But I have been disappointed with turf shoes on dirt (and to some degree in outfield grass) so I wear the traditional cleats to most tournaments. Luckily, we have several venues in our area like Golden Eagle in Sparks where turf shoes are perfect for the artificial surface. Cleats grab and slow you down a bit on artificial turf. Although I don't have wide feet, some of my teammates do, and I hope you get some responses on manufacturers who make softball shoes for the wider foot. Would be nice to know which ones, since our local sports stores tend to carry only one or two brands. |
| June 14 HJ Men's 70 481 posts | Would still like it if some old hands and majors added some insights to this thread. For new rec players, if your legs can handle it, I strongly suggest cleats and not turf shoes. You definitely have more traction and can change direction faster. For practice I use turf shoes. |
