Glove Types for Softball Pitchers

What Makes a Pitching Glove Different?

Softball pitching gloves are designed with a few key differences compared to regular fielder gloves:

Closed or Modified Webbing

• Helps hide your grip and pitch selection from the batter and opposing coach.

Deeper Pocket

• Allows better control when switching grips between pitches.

Neutral Colors

• Most pitching gloves avoid bright colors or flashy laces to avoid distracting the batter.

Extra Support

• Some models offer more padding or wrist support for stronger throws.

These design choices help pitchers stay consistent and confident on the mound.

Pocket Depth

Fastpitch gloves have a deeper pocket, these gloves are designed with the player as priority. The deeper pocket is because a softball is larger than a baseball. There are a lot of variations amongst gloves by positions. The deeper pocket also makes it easier to control the grip on your pitch and keeps the ball hidden from the opposition.

Web Design

A closed web also helps the pitcher to hide the pitch. The one-piece-web or two-piece-web both give no viewing window to the batter. This makes sure that the ball and the hand from the pitcher are completely covered. Web design is an important part of the glove to keep in mind because it can be the difference between a strike and a home run. Keep this in mind.

Knotless Back Design

This is a feature that younger players might need. In pitching pulling down your glove hand at the same speed as your throwing hand during a windup is very important for your timing. A typical technique to accomplish this is to slap your leg with your glove. When you do this with a knotted back design can harm your leg and leave marks or even bruises. Therefore the softball pitcher glove designs have taken this into consideration and ended up with a knotless back design. This decreases the aftereffects of this technique.

Sizing

Pitchers will look for a glove that they can control comfortably. They field less balls than other position players, they don’t take range or ball transfer into major consideration. Web design is the most important feature in a pitcher’s glove. Glove size matters—too big, and it slows your reaction time. Too small, and you lose control. Try to look for a glove that will cover up the whole ball.

• Adult fastpitch pitchers usually choose gloves between 11.5" and 12.5"
• Youth players may prefer sizes from 10.5" to 11.5"