Baseball’s Gloves

It’s a pretty sure thing that the player’s bat is what speaks loudest when it’s contract time, but there are moments when the glove has the last word.
– Brooks Robinson

Over at The New York Times’ website, you’ll find an interesting little interactive feature they’ve put together called Gloves of the World Series.

Photographs of 16 baseball gloves are available to be looked at in stunning detail, from 1910 through to the year 2000. Ever wondered what Babe Ruth’s mitt looked like back in 1926? You can find out without visiting Cooperstown.

Baseball’s gloves have come a long way. Johnny Murphy’s 1941 mitt looks like a short, fat person’s winter glove. By 1965, the modern baseball glove had arrived, and Minnesota Twins left fielder Bob Allison was rocking “The A2001,” Wilson’s nylon-stitched beauty.

The final glove in the interactive feature is from the year 2000, and belongs to Edgardo Alfonzo. A Rawlings number, it serves as a reminder that the New York Mets — yes, the New York Mets — actually made the World Series 11 years ago.

Glove tap — see what I did there? — to The New York Times, and the image aboves comes courtesy of Flickr user mgdms.