How to Break In a Baseball Glove: Safe Methods for Kids

Quick answer

Quick answer

Work the stiff spots by hand, shape the pocket around a ball, use at most a light coat of glove conditioner, and then play catch until it feels right. Rawlings says not to steam, boil, bake or otherwise heat a glove. No oven, microwave or hot car trunk.

A new glove is stiff by design: the leather has to hold its shape. Breaking it in is the process of teaching the leather where to bend. Families are often told to use shortcuts that can harm the glove, so this guide sticks to what the two glove makers we read actually say, and flags where they differ.

We read Rawlings' break-in page and Wilson's seven-step guide. They agree on the core: shape the pocket, then play catch. They differ on water and tools. We show both, and we suggest the gentlest route for a child's first glove.

What Rawlings and Wilson say

Rawlings' guide has five steps: work the padding at the heel by twisting the thumb and pinky down and in, soften the leather with a light coat of its Glovolium oil, form the pocket by placing a baseball in it, folding the glove and securing it with rubber bands for about a day in a cool, dry place, play catch, and maintain the glove. It warns not to saturate the glove with oil, and says: "We do not recommend steaming, boiling, baking, or otherwise heating up your glove."

Wilson's guide, from its glove craftsman, has seven steps: pour warm (not boiling) water into the palm, flex the heel pad, stretch the top, form the pocket with a mallet, pound the outside on the thumb and pinky sides, loosen the top laces by folding the web into an "S" and compressing it, and finally play catch.

Sources: Rawlings: How to break in your glove; Wilson: How to break in a glove in 7 easy steps. Checked November 3, 2026.

Where the two differ, we suggest starting with the steps they share and skipping the one that adds risk. A parent can do hand-work, a ball in the pocket and catch without any special products. Water and mallet work is the maker's method, but it is easy to overdo with a child's first glove.

A safe, gentle break-in in five steps

1. 1

   Work the heel and fingers

   Twist the thumb and pinky down and in, alternating, to loosen the stiff heel hinges (Rawlings). Flex and squeeze the back of the glove.

2. 2

   Add a light coat of conditioner, if you use one

   Rawlings recommends a light coat of its own conditioner and warns not to saturate. Check your glove's care tag and use the maker's product.

3. 3

   Shape the pocket

   Place a baseball in the pocket, fold the glove closed and wrap it with rubber bands. Leave it in a cool, dry place for about a day (Rawlings).

4. 4

   Play catch

   Use the glove regularly: Rawlings says hand oils, ball impact and opening and closing the glove continue the break-in.

5. 5

   Repeat where it still feels stiff

   Wilson says to revisit any steps for parts that still feel overly stiff.

Keep early sessions short and soft. Easy tosses from a few feet away shape the pocket without stinging a small hand. Move back as the glove opens and closes more easily.

Methods compared

We include Wilson's warm-water step because it is the maker's own, but we do not recommend soaking a glove, and nothing in either guide calls for it. If you use water, follow Wilson's instructions exactly, keep the fingers up so it does not pool in the finger stalls, and let the glove dry before you use it.

What to avoid

Do not heat the glove

Rawlings does not recommend steaming, boiling, baking or otherwise heating a glove. Read plainly, that rules out an oven, a microwave and a hot car trunk.

Two more warnings from Rawlings: do not use oily products such as petroleum jelly to soften leather, and do not run over the glove with a car. The point is the same in each case: heavy-handed shortcuts can damage the glove faster than they help break it in.

Sources: Rawlings: How to break in your glove; Wilson: How to break in a glove in 7 easy steps. Checked November 3, 2026.

Looking after the glove afterward

Rawlings says to inspect the laces every six months, store the glove in a cool, dry place with a ball in the pocket, and apply conditioner about once per season. That is a simple routine for a young player: a ball in the pocket at the end of each day, and a quick check of the laces at the start of each season.

Keep the glove out of the bottom of a wet bag. After practice, take it out so it can dry. A vented equipment bag helps; see our guide to building a multi-sport equipment bag and our storage ideas.

Tips for young players

Choosing the right size makes break-in easier: a glove that is too big for a small hand is hard to close, however well it is broken in. Use our glove size chart to check the size by age and position before you start. When your child is first learning, short play-catch sessions on a few days work better than one long one.

Parents often ask how long this takes. Neither maker gives a time. It depends on the glove and how often it is used, so judge by how it opens and closes, and the pocket's shape, rather than a number of days. If you want it done faster, shaping the pocket and playing catch together is the maker-approved route; heat is not.

Sizes and ranges here are makers' and leagues' published guidance, not a measurement of your child. Kids grow at different rates: check fit in person and follow your league's equipment rules.

Common mistakes and fixes