The Glove Medic

The Glove Medic Baseball Glove Repairs, Re-Lacing, Re-Conditioning. Break-in Service Available Don't Toss That Old Glove!! Send and e-mail with any questions you may have.

Why get rid of your favorite glove just because of broken laces or dried out leather? Chances are , that glove can return to the field with many years of game left in it! Completely reconditioned for a fraction of the cost of a new glove! The color of laces can also be changed to 'customize' your glove.

06/05/2026

This time of year, the repair bench fills up with one particular type of glove work: partial relaces.

As summer tournament season gets underway, players suddenly notice the same thing—broken web laces, snapped finger laces, loose pockets, and gloves that just don't feel quite right anymore. The glove made it through spring ball, but now it's about to be used every day, sometimes multiple games a weekend.

The good news is that most of these gloves don't need a complete relace. A web rebuild and fresh finger laces are often enough to bring a glove back to life. These are the laces that take the most abuse from catching, fielding, and repeated opening and closing of the glove.

I see everything from well-worn youth gloves preparing for their first All-Star run to high school and travel ball gloves that have been through several seasons of heavy use. A quick partial relace, cleaning, and conditioning can add years of life and keep a favorite gamer on the field when it matters most.

If your glove has broken laces, loose webbing, or feels like it's starting to lose its shape, don't wait until the night before a tournament. Summer is hard on glove leather, but a little maintenance now can prevent bigger repairs later.

Good luck to all the players heading into tournament season. Keep your glove game-ready and it'll take care of you when the pressure is on.

06/04/2026

Every glove that comes across the bench has a story, but some stories are a little more special than others.

This Spalding Don Drysdale Trapocket belonged to its owner when he was a Little Leaguer back in the late 1960s. Like so many kids of that era, he has lots of memories with this glove on his hand—playing catch in the yard, practices, games, and all the memories that come with growing up around baseball.

In the 1980s, he passed the glove down to his son, who put it right back to work. The glove saw another generation of baseball, carrying with it a few more scuffs, a little more wear, and a whole lot more memories.

Now, decades later, the glove has returned to the bench with a new mission.

The owner wanted to see if it could be restored for a third generation—his grandson.

The leather had aged remarkably well, even the lettering and inking in the glove were in extraordinary shape, but the original laces had become dry and brittle after more than fifty years. A careful cleaning and conditioning helped bring life back to the leather, and a complete relace restored the strength and structure needed for the glove to be used again.

As restorers, we spend a lot of time talking about leather, laces, patterns, and construction. But sometimes the most important part of the job is preserving the connection between generations.

This glove has already been part of a father teaching a son to play catch. Soon, it will help a grandfather do the same.

That's the kind of restoration work that never gets old.

05/23/2026

Rebuilding catcher’s mitt webs has become a large part of what comes across my bench, and for good reason. The web takes a beating—countless bullpens, foul tips, framing work, and game after game of punishment. Eventually the laces stretch, dry out, or simply give up.

A worn web doesn’t always mean the mitt is done. In many cases, the mitt itself still has plenty of life left in it. A proper web rebuild with fresh lace can completely change how a catcher’s mitt performs and feels behind the plate.

Some players want to keep the original style intact, while others take the opportunity to freshen up the look with new lace colors or adjustments to tension and shape. Either way, rebuilding a web is more than just replacing lace—it’s restoring function, feel, and confidence in a mitt that has already earned its place on the field.

From broken lace emergencies during the season to complete offseason rebuilds, catcher’s mitt webs keep me busy—and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

05/22/2026

One of my regulars dropped off his Rawlings Heart of the Hide middle infield glove again for its annual postseason prep. I always appreciate seeing gloves like this come back year after year. It says a lot about both the glove and the player behind it.

Last year, the glove just needed a partial re-lace in the fingers and web to tighten things back up after a long season. This year, after another heavy workload, it was time for the full treatment — complete re-lace, deep cleaning, conditioning, and a full reset to get it ready for another playoff run.

These HOH infield gloves break in beautifully over time, and when they’re maintained properly, they just keep getting better. The leather on this one has developed that perfect broken-in feel while still holding its shape and structure.

There’s something satisfying about helping keep a gamer like this on the field season after season instead of replacing it. A well-loved glove with years of baseball in it always has a story to tell.

05/18/2026

Some gloves come across the bench worn out, dried up, and barely hanging on. Others come in carrying history. This 1960s Rawlings Brooks Robinson model was definitely the latter.

When the owner brought it in, I was honestly surprised by how well this glove had survived the decades. He told me his father taught him to play with this glove and he wants to teach his son with the same. The leather itself was still remarkably healthy. You could tell this glove had been cared for over the years and never abused. The shape, stamping, and overall structure were all still there — a real time capsule from the era when Brooks Robinson was setting the standard at third base.

The weak point was the laces. Time had absolutely cooked them. They were so dry and brittle they would crumble apart in your fingers just trying to remove them. Every section had to be handled carefully to avoid damaging the surrounding leather. Gloves this old can sometimes fight you every step of the way, but this one wanted to be saved.

The thumb and pinky loops were another concern. They had dried out badly and initially felt like they might tear during the rebuild. Fortunately, after a careful round of conditioning, the leather came back to life enough to remain usable. It is always satisfying when original components can stay with the glove rather than be replaced.

Once the fresh laces were installed and the glove was cleaned and conditioned, the old Rawlings really woke back up. The leather grain popped again, the structure tightened up, and the glove still carried every bit of its vintage personality.

There is something special about working on gloves from this era. They were built differently, and every crease tells a story. This Brooks Robinson model now has a second life ahead of it while still holding onto the character it earned over the last 60 years.

05/11/2026

So this All-Star Pro Elite comes across the bench. Not very old, and the client said it was “new.” Well… I wouldn’t say new, but this thing definitely hasn’t been behind the plate for very long.

The player really loves this mitt, and apparently this particular catcher keeps several mitts in the rotation for some heavy bullpen duty. This Japanese model has that signature loose Japanese web style. I’ve never caught with one myself, so I can’t speak from experience, but the players that bring these to me sure seem to love them.

This one didn’t need much cleaning, but I still gave it a treatment with some Sarna cleaner followed up with Sarna conditioner.

What surprised me — though it’s actually pretty consistent with All-Star mitts — was the 3/16” lace in the web. I suggested bumping it up to 1/4” lace for better durability between relaces. I didn’t have the camel color in 1/4" in stock to match the original, but the client opted for black instead. I think it’ll hold up much better for him in the long run and give the mitt a pretty sharp look too.

Now it’s back to the bullpen for a few more rounds.

05/10/2026

Client brings me his son’s catcher’s mitt with an explanation I’ve heard too many times:

“We bought him a new glove, but he won’t use it. He still likes this old one. Is there anything you can do to make it useful again?”

As soon as I saw this one, I knew it would be a challenge. This mitt had been rode hard and put away wet, but catcher’s mitts are some of the hardest-working pieces of equipment on the diamond, so I wasn’t surprised.

A lot of folks toss gloves when they get in this condition. Others just see “old faithful” and can’t bring themselves to part with it.

After a good deep cleaning, conditioning, and a web relace with some fresh lace, this one is ready for a few more innings behind the dish.

05/07/2026

A client brought me a glove he had found left behind on a field years ago. He did everything right trying to track down the owner — contacted league sources, asked around locally, and league administrators even posted it on social media trying to reunite it with its player. No luck. Eventually, the glove stayed with him.

Fast forward a few years and his son had outgrown his youth glove. While shopping for a replacement, he pulled this old Mizuno out from storage and asked me if there was anything that could be done with it.

Now... I’m not usually the biggest Mizuno guy. But THIS pattern? This is one of the gloves that helped Mizuno gain a foothold in the U.S. market back in the 90s. Classic I-Web Double X pattern. Chipper Jones was known for liking this style at 3rd base. This isn’t one of the top-tier pro issue models, but it is built like a tank and honestly has one of the better infield patterns I’ve worked on from that era.

When I received it, the glove was drier than a popcorn fart and stiff as a brick. The laces were so brittle they literally cracked when bent.

I tore down the upper half of the glove, cleaned everything thoroughly, worked in a heavy treatment of Sarna cream... and then did it again. The transformation was unbelievable. This old steerhide came back buttery soft while still holding its shape beautifully.

Finished it off with fresh laces, a little mallet work in the pocket, and now the ball just sticks in there perfectly. The player using it is primarily a 3rd baseman, and honestly, this glove feels right at home there.

This restoration may have changed my opinion on Mizuno a little bit.

05/02/2026

One of the more common repairs I see this time of year is a blown-out web on a Wilson A2000 catcher's mitt. These mitts take an absolute beating behind the plate, and the web is usually the first place to show it.

This one came in with a snapped web lace and a lot of dryness throughout. Before touching the laces, I gave it a full clean-up to pull out the dirt and old grime, followed by a good conditioning with Sarna to bring the leather back to life. You can’t put fresh lace into dry leather and expect it to hold up—it’s just not going to last.

For the repair, I relaced the web using fresh 1/4” lace for added strength and durability. Catcher’s mitt webs are high-stress areas, so I like to beef them up a bit when possible. Took my time making sure everything was tightened evenly and seated properly so it breaks in naturally and holds its shape.

Finished it off with a final condition and a quick reshape of the pocket. This mitt is now game-ready again and should have plenty of innings left in it.

If your gamer is starting to feel loose or you notice wear in the web, don’t wait until it fully goes—these are quick turnarounds when caught early.

04/29/2026

There’s something satisfying about bringing a first base mitt back to life—especially when it’s a gamer like the Rawlings Encore First Base Mitt.

This one came in pretty typical for the position: stretched-out web, broken dry laces, and that slightly loose feel you get after a lot of picks in the dirt. First base mitts take a beating—constant scoops, short hops, and tension on that webbing will wear laces down faster than most gloves.

I started with a full lace removal on the web, keeping the structure intact while getting rid of all the tired, brittle lace. Gave the leather a proper cleaning to pull out the dirt that builds up deep in the pocket, followed by a good conditioning with Sarna to bring some life back into the hide.

Then some fresh lace to tighten everything back up—especially through the web where this mitt really needs to hold its shape. Took extra care to keep the pocket formed properly so it’s game-ready right away, not something that needs weeks to break back in.

The result? A much tighter, more responsive mitt with a clean look and plenty of innings left in it. These Encore models are great value gloves, and with a little maintenance like this, they can keep performing season after season.

If your first base mitt is starting to feel loose or sloppy, a relace might be all it needs to get back on the field.

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