Oakland Park Baseball

Guys, what qualities should I look for when I go buy one of these this weekend? I've noticed they seem to be sold in pairs as well as singly, what are people's thoughts on that score?
I'm guessing that overall "feel" is going to be the deciding factor, but are there particular design issues I should be aware of?
I'm also thinking to put some more tape on my bat handle, if it were thicker it would be more like the fungo bat I like. Is it frowned upon to have two layers of tape? Or, should I instead replace what is there with something thicker?
Thanks

Notice how I'm odd, and only wear one batting glove. I mostly use this because I long hands, so I need a large fielding glove (love my glove!). However, my hands are also quite skinny. I wear the batting glove on my left hand so that the glove fits better. The only reason I use batting gloves when batting is cuz after a while, you hands feel funny if you take the batting gloves off. When this happens, I don't get as good as a grip on the bat. That's why I keep it on.
wow, I don't think this was helpful at all!

Dude, you apparently post over 20 times a day (at least, so far). They can't all be good posts.
So you're wearing the batting glove inside the fielding mitt? You know, I have long, skinny fingers, too, maybe I'll try that. I dropped quite a few easy fly-balls last time around...

Hey Paul,

I have bought a few pairs in the last year myself. The main reason I buy them is to protect my hands. Since I'm a prety small guy with no actual power, I have to generate power by increased bat speed, plus more torque on my swing. All this nonsense I'm saying just means that my style of batting leads to blisters and injuries to my hands if I don't wear the gloves.

I think that hitting bare-handed will provide for the best "feel", if you can handle it and avoid injury. (Ask Nick W. aka "Southpaw Slim", he bats bare-handed) Another less frequent possibility with aluminum bats is if you hit it off the end of the bat it can really shock your hands & arms, unless you pre-empt that with batting gloves.

So what to actually look for in the gloves? Number one - fit. You want these things to not be oversized at all, because then you're removing yourself from the bat, ie you're going away from the close "feel" that you want. Any slack or extra glove whatsoever can have a big negative impact. So fit is top priority. Number two - decide whether to go for 1 glove or 2 -- I use two because I've injured both hands before. But many use only one, it all depends on what type of force you generate with your particular swing. So sit there at home (or in the store) with a bat, and take swings repeatedly. Try to focus on which hand is being most pressured (if not both). Number three - you can even buy batting gloves with padding built into the palm of them. This, while moving you away from the close "feel" as previously mentioned, can be good if you choke up a bit on the bat. Choking up (ie moving hands a few inches up the bat away from the handle) often can counter-act the loss of "feel". Certainly not necessary, though.

As for wearing a batting glove under your mitt in the field, I don't recommend this, unless your mitt is too big and you need to do so to make it fit. Any additional layer (and this principle is true in all aspects of the game, and probably sports overall) makes you less accurate, due to the indirect feel.

Hope this helped!

I find that the batting gloves have massively decreased the pain generated from the bat rubbing against the edge of my right hand (I bat left-handed).

Definitely they should fit like, uh, a glove. No extra room.

I've been very happy with my Franklin Tri-Curve batting gloves -- your mileage may vary.

Thanks Scott, good tips. I think I will try just the one initially, see how that feels. I was only thinking of gloves at all because my left palm got really sore last game, but looking back that was triggered by changing my grip. I usually hold the handle like a golf club, with the thumbs stuck out along the grip, so I tried it without the thumbs stuck out. That was when I finally got a hit, but I don't think the change works for me. Despite my lack of hits prior to that change, I feel a lot more in control of the bat with the thumbs out, even if it does look retarded. I basically think I need to adjust to quicker pitching, as it seems we're going that way. This Sunday, while you guys are vegging in front of the Superbowl, I think I'm going to spend some time in a batting cage.
Anyone else want to come along? Yeah, right, like anyone else isn't watching the game...

I just noticed that my left hand (my glove hand) is the same hand that's on the bottom of the bat. When my hand stings after a swing, its always on the bottom hand. So, more reasons I only need one glove!

If you choose to use one glove, make sure it is for your bottom hand with at least a little padding on the back. This takes the sting out of any unavoidable pitch that happens to hit it (more possible when faster pitching).