Quote:
Originally posted by bkbjones
Funny/ironic/strange that the maximum lengths for many parts of the glove are listed on the diagram, but no minimums. Perhaps that will change if this particular glove is not allowed.
Maximums have been around for many, many years. Somewhere I read that the maximums were set up, in part, by Mr. Spalding and his brother in law, Mr. Reach, because they didn't want to have to buy more of the dyes used to cut the leather used for the majority of the glove. A couple standard sizes with different grades of leather...and since they pretty much enjoyed a monopoly back in the olden days, that's what size the gloves were.
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While I cannot argue with who may have made these decisions (though Mr. Spalding is known to have bent any truth which gets in the way of his opinion), I can tell you it had nothing to do with the dye. A hide is tanned, dyed, staked, stretched and dried as a whole unit (Grew up in a leather factory). It is then sold to the manufacturer of the glove, coat, seat cover, etc. for cutting, trimming and sewing.
I would think the odds are the restrictions to gloves where meant to keep the "peach basket" gloves out of the game.
JEL, the difference with an infielder or outfielder wearing a mitt (first baseman's) is the extra length that would snare a line drive over the infield or a sinking line drive in the outfield.
For as many plays as we see every day, this probably seems like it is nothing. But apparently someone, somewhere believes there is an affect on the game.