A lot of baseball players latch on to a game glove for years. Not Javy Baez. No glove is safe. Baez mixes up his leather seemingly on a nightly basis.
Have you ever seen a player, at any level, game three different gloves in three consecutive games at the same position? Javy Baez did just that in a recent series. Keez was there.
Baez has a rotation of game gloves made by SSK and he does not hesitate to put any of them in play. This red showstopper was only used by Javy in pregame, but based on Javy’s casual switching of game gloves from night to night, it could be gamed tonight. Javy doesn’t fuss too much about any one glove, he makes plays regardless.
Frankly, the guy could wrap an old dish rag around his left hand and make plays. We all know by now that Baez is one of the best shortstops in baseball, and in 2019 he finally took the job from Addison Russell. Now, with his position cemented, Baez can start winning gold gloves.
Of the three gloves, Baez’ red and black striped SSK glove is an 11.25″, large for Javy, who has also worn an 11″ inch—the smallest glove in baseball. Baez’ hands are his weapons and he doesn’t let an excess of leather get in the way.
A small, stiff glove minimizes the chance of a bad transfer to Javy’s throwing hand, and in a game decided by milliseconds, that’s the difference. On the flip side, a smaller glove means less margin for error when catching the ball (duh). For more on infielder glove length, check our “Baseball Glove Length Guide.”
You can get Javy Baez’ red and black SSK via SSK’s website for $324.
Baez’ trio of game gloves were all SSK, and this one will be the traditionalists favorite. Tan leather, blue trim, and Javy’s oft-used one-piece web.
After overtaking Addison Russell, Baez added a quarter of an inch to his glove, which seems normal for an infielder going from second base to shortstop.
You can’t get this exact glove that Javy is wearing here, but you can get similar options via JustBallgloves.com for $220-250.
The third of Javy Baez’ trio of SSK game gloves had a new look H-Web, in black with grey trim, red binding and a royal blue wrist strap.
There is no similar equivalent out there, especially with the H-Web, which doesn’t exist as a stock model.
SSK maintains a “Javier Baez” page with many gloves including youth models or you can try your hand at the tedious SSK Custom Builder.
Check the rest of Baez’ locker here.
