Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 28, 1990 TAG: 9003280130
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PHOENIX, ARIZ. LENGTH: Medium
It seems too many baseball executives thought too many gloves were too big. So the American and National leagues recently sent directives to all teams, telling them to trim the mammoth mitts.
Umpires are being given tape measures and will check the gloves if asked by the opposing club. A glove more than 12 inches from heel to tip must be replaced on the spot by a smaller model.
The rule has been on the books for years, but has not been strictly enforced. After a spring lockout and umpires' boycott, players didn't need another problem.
"Enough is enough," said Oakland's Jose Canseco, whose glove is legal. "Next, they'll be telling us the spikes on our shoes are too long, or something like that."
Outfielders are the most likely to be affected. Their gloves have been getting bigger and bigger, some are nearly the size of peach baskets.
Rawlings makes about 55 percent of the gloves worn by major-leaguers and company spokesman Scott Smith estimated that about 25 percent are illegal.
"It is a big thing for us," Smith said Tuesday. "Our two most popular mitts for outfielders, the Pro B and the Pro H, are 12\ and 12 3/4 inches. We're having to redesign those gloves to make them smaller."
Oakland outfielder Dave Henderson said his mitt was fine. But before Tuesday's exhibition rematch of the World Series teams, Henderson said he knew where he could find an illegal glove.
"Go talk to Brett Butler, he'll show you," he said with a laugh, pointing at his former teammate and center fielder on the San Francisco Giants.
How about it, Brett?
"The way I always understood it, it was 12 inches straight from the heel to the toe," Butler said. "Now, if you measure all the way through the pocket and inside and all around, maybe it's bigger."
As Butler stretched in right field, his glove was next to him. It's a Mizuno, its leather worn black from use. Inside, a baseball was swallowed; about a dozen more could have fit comfortably.
"I've had this glove for a number of years, maybe six. This is ol' Lucille, the only one I have for games," Butler said.
"If it's too big, I guess they'll just have to make me a Little League one that's legal," he said. "I don't want to get kicked out of a game because my glove is illegal. But I'm telling you, the only reason my glove looks so big is because I'm the littlest guy out on the field."
Nobody knows if any teams actually will ask umpires to inspect gloves. A few years ago, several bats were checked during the corked-bat controversy, but few have been confiscated since.
Some players, though, know their gloves might have to go. Joe Carter's mitt measures 14 inches and fellow San Diego outfielder Tony Gwynn has a glove that is 12\ inches long.
Canseco, though, isn't concerned about oversized mitts - not even if they occasionally reach over the fence and take away a home run.
"When we were kids, we were just worried about having gloves," he said. "We didn't care if they were too big or too small."
by CNB