re: What you travel ball coaches and parents think about sliding mitts?

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We do just fine performance wise.

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we?

You can thank Fernando tatis jr for the sliding mitts. He started all that nonsense.

Every time I ump a 6u or 8u game where kids aren't even allowed to steal I want to throat punch them just for being stupid.

Hate the mitt at all levels of baseball. Unnecessary and another time wasting piece of shite like the elbow and ankle guards.

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My son plays travel baseball and I think it’s the stupidest thing at any level. Along with all the necklaces and stupid crap they have. We have sunglasses and regular black Franklin batting gloves and that’s it. No sleeves, or other stupid crap. We do just fine performance wise.

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What about his hair? Is it even long enough to play travel ball???

Some Dominican kid is down there playing with rocks, sticks and wearing an oven mitt and he's going to be better than these travel ball kids with $930 worth of gear in their $210 bag.

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My son has wanted one for a while, too. And a Bruce Bolt compression arm sleeve. And Bruce Bolt batting gloves. Jesus. I’m hoping it gets better after middle school. The only thing that I remember like that was wanting Nike socks and the stupid wrist bands for basketball in middle school. Anyway, I told him that I think it’s stupid, but I will get it for him in exchange for 6 weeks of 75 pushups each night for 6 nights a week. I guess if he does that he really wants

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I hear ya at least he gets something out it. It doesn’t get better after middle school, my son is a sophomore this coming year and it is still “I want this and I want that, well Jaxon’s dad bought him one”.

Don’t get me wrong he is a great kid and a great ball player. I think it is more of a generational thing than it is a baseball thing. It doesn’t matter if it’s baseball, football or basketball they all want the swag that the pros wear.

If it hasn’t reached your area yet wait until the pearl necklace is a thing. I was proud that my son said that trend was “gay” when all the players show up to tournament wearing those.

I bet if you did a cup check not one would have one of those

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I lean toward it being unnecessary. Especially some $85 hyped up sliding mitt with some crazy design that looks like basically an oven mitt these kids are running around with. When I grew up, we slid using our bare hands. A jammed finger every now and then made you a baseball player. What you OT baws have to say?

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so couple things,

1) of course they are not necessary. Game has been played for a long time with out them

2) they are way more important if your kid plays on grass in HS with other kids wearing spikes but again...game was played for decades upon decades without them

3) they do help protect hands against jammed fingers...but again game was played without them forever



now....with all that said...yall make way too big of a deal about these things. So many on here, social media etc call them the devil and its all old men whining about "back in my day"

bottomline is the things are cool to the kids because the Pros wear them. The game is about having fun, that is why it is called a game. If they help the kids have fun...who cares.

if you dont have the money to buy one, then dont. but for the love of god, please stop whining about "back in my day"

Or just slide feet first