Alexandra Ramirez
We spent over 35 hours researching and testing over 12 different brands and styles of batting gloves and found that style, size options, and cost were the most important factors with consumers shopping for batting gloves. Franklin Sports MLB Powerstrap Batting Gloves scored high marks in all categories and is our overall top pick. These popular batting gloves are made from premium leather and will perform year after year with no bunching or tearing. The Powerstrap wrist closure keeps the glove strap secure and tight.
1. Franklin Sports Powerstrap
Best Overall Batting Gloves
5/5 Product Rating
The powerstrap batting glove from Franklin is rapidly becoming one of the most popular batting gloves in baseball. The wrist closure will ensure a tight fit so you can make swing after swing without having to adjust the gloves.
These popular batting gloves are made from premium leather that will not bunch up or tear even after many seasons of play.
The design of these gloves are made to fit the natural curve of your hands to ensure a natural feel that is very responsive and comfortable.
You can get these high quality batting gloves in all adult and youth sizes. Whoever is wearing the gloves is sure to enjoy the leather palm made from sheepskin leather for ultimate softness and superior grip.
– Jonathan Maxwell
2. Spiderz
Best Overall Batting Gloves – Runner Up
4.9/5 Product Rating
After talking to many of the current professional baseball players, Spiderz added the Lite batting glove to their lineup. The super thin top is made with polyester and featured the Spiderz logo on top.
The glove is lightweight, breathable, and ultra-flexible as well. The synthetic leather palm is very soft and thin and provides plenty of “feel” when the bat is in your hand.
The palm of these batting gloves features a silicone spider web that provides the hitter with plenty of grip as you take your swings. This grip works well with all kinds of bats regardless of the finish.
These LITE batting gloves are the thinnest, most flexible, and lightest glove they have made so far. The stretchy fabric fits your hand perfectly and features an elastic wristband, 3 piece locking system with Velcro, and a wrist strap that is super flexible.
These true-to-size gloves come in all adult sizes so you can find the one that will fit your hands the best. These batting gloves arrive in their own resealable bag for easy and convenient storage while carrying them to and from your games.
– Jonathan Maxwell
3. Franklin Sports Digitek
4.8/5 Product Rating
Franklin does it again with the Digitek Batting Gloves that feature microfiber palms that have been digitally etched for excellent grip.
The heel patch is made from high quality, premium leather. The Tri-curve technology ensures an exceptional fit and stylish look, an excellent feel, and lots of flexibility.
The Digitek batting gloves come in many different sizes so you will be able to find the right size for your hands. The leather heel patch is very durable and long lasting.
The great feel and flexible fit that these batting gloves provide are two of the many reasons these gloves are so popular. Add in the cool design and you’ve got a winner.
– Jonathan Maxwell
Batting Gloves Buying Guide
Batting gloves don’t just look stylish they have a distinct purpose as well. If you are just learning about what batting gloves can do to improve your hitting, this buying guide will be a big help to you. We have listed the three purposes of choosing a quality pair of batting gloves below.
Grip – One of the most important reasons players choose to wear batting gloves is the increased grip they provide without it being necessary to tense the muscles in their hands so much. This increased grip makes swings easier and quicker.
Warmth – In some places baseball is played all year long. The means that there will be games played in cold weather sometimes. A good pair of batting gloves will add some warmth to the player’s hands whenever they play in colder weather.
Protection – Originally batting gloves were worn as a form of protection when using wooden bats. The use of gloves protected the players from developing blisters while swinging the wooden bat. Many of the newer styles of batting gloves added padding that protects the more vulnerable parts of the players hands while they are playing and can lessen the sting of the bat when it connects to the ball. .
Common Problems with Low Quality Batting Gloves
There are some problems that can develop if you just grab the first pair of cheap batting gloves you can find. We have listed some of the more common issues that you may see from using bad batting gloves.
- Weak stitching is a common problem that results in the seams tearing and ripping easily.
- The parts of the glove that are contacting the handle of the bat can come off if the pine tar is too sticky.
- Oftentimes, cheaper batting gloves are much thicker than their high quality counterparts. This increases the amount of sweating your hands do which can cause the gloves to slide on your hands and negatively affect your grip. This extra sweat will affect the efficiency in which your gloves dry and that can make them brittle, hard and very uncomfortable.
Things to Consider before Buying Batting Gloves
There are some expensive batting gloves on the market that are quality gloves. The benefit to choosing a more expensive pair is that they will usually last longer than the cheaply made pairs. Don’t base your decision on price alone, but overall, you can expect the more expensive pairs to offer better results and they’ll last a lot longer too, especially if they are taken care of properly. We’ve listed some important things to consider before you purchase.
Size – Fit is always important when it comes to sports equipment of any kind and batting gloves are no different. You don’t want to choose a batting glove that is too large and causes bunching and sliding around when you are wearing it. The main reason for wearing batting gloves is to improve grip so fitting properly is of utmost importance. The best way to measure for good fit is to take the measurement from your wrist to the tip of the index finger and comparing that to size charts that can be found on manufacturer’s websites.
Comfort – If your batting gloves are not comfortable you will more than likely not wear them which is just a waste of the money you spent. Look for gloves made of sheepskin leather or some other kind of quality leather. Look for features like dry wicking and mesh that will keep the gloves lightweight while allowing for more comfort. The mesh and wicking fabrics will keep your hands dry and comfortable which improves performance even more.
Flexibility – When you are playing baseball you will need to be able to flex certain parts of your hand comfortably like your thumb and fingers, especially when you are hitting. A rigid glove makes this very difficult which can cause your hands to feel restricted. Finding gloves that have stretchy material especially in the joint areas will allow as much freedom of movement as possible.
Padding – many batting gloves on the market currently offer some padding on the back of the glove to protect the hand from injury if it gets hit by a stray ball. Normally this extra padding protects the little finger, back of the hand and your wrist. Keep in mind that this extra padding can make the glove feel much bulkier and uncomfortable. Many players give up the extra padding as protection for the improved comfortable and lightweight feel.
Style – Many of the brands on the market have a variety of colors to choose from so there is no reason why you can’t go for function AND style. Some companies even offer colors and styles that will go with any uniform you wear.
Size Chart
It can be a little complicated to find the perfect size batting gloves for your hands if you don’t know what to look for. The best way to get as close to a perfect fit as possible without having gloves custom made is to use the many size charts that are on the internet. We’ve provided you with some information from these popular size charts that will help you get as close as possible to the proper fit.
Start by measuring your hand from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger. Take this measurement and compare it on the sizing charts. You still won’t know how it fits until you put it on but it will get you close.
- 6-6 ¼” – youth small
- 6 ¼” – 6 ½” – women’s XS, youth medium
- 6 ½” – 6 ¾” – men’s XS, women’s small, youth large
- 6 ¾” – 7” – men’s small, women’s medium, youth XL
- 7” – 7 ¼” – men’s medium, women’s large
- 7 ¼” – 7 ¾” – men’s large, women’s XL
- 7 ¾” – 8” – Men’s XL
This size chart is not written in stone but it does give you an idea of the sizing differences. You should always go with the sizing chart that is on the sales page or manufacturer’s website for the best accuracy.
Conclusion
If you have already used batting gloves in the past you are already familiar with how much they can help improve your hitting and how much protection they provide when worn underneath the mitt. If you’ve never used them before you should be aware that they can make a huge difference in how you hit, catch, and field that ball.
The right pair of batting gloves can make a huge difference in how well you hit and how comfortable your hands are while you are playing. If you’ve never worn them to play but are curious about how they feel, we encourage you to give them a try.
The three top-rated batting gloves we have featured above are all excellent examples of the kind of gloves you want to get for your own game. All three selections are quality-made, premium batting gloves that will feel great while you are wearing them and will improve your hitting game by providing confidence, comfort, grip, and feel to your swings.
Many players notice a dramatic increase in their hitting game when they start wearing batting gloves because the grip is improved so much. You may also choose to wear the gloves underneath the mitt for adding protection and support. If you aren’t currently wearing batting gloves when you play you will want to change this as quickly as you can so you can start to enjoy the improvement in hitting and the comfort level these gloves will add to your game.
If none of the featured batting gloves appealed to you take the information you learned in this buying guide and apply it to your search. You should not settle for what you don’t want, even if the price is cheap. Cheaply made gloves will not the proper grip, sizing, or performance.
