Do you get pain in your hand when catching a Baseball or Softball? If so, a padded glove that fits inside your catcher’s mitt may help.
This post examines the best padded glove for catchers available on the market. Our top pick is a high-quality glove that provides good protection across the palm and several fingers.
Read on to learn more!
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Catching and Hand Pain
Let's talk about sting.
And no, we're not talking about the lead singer of The Police.
Or the pro wrestler formally known as Steve Borden.
We're talking about that dreaded feeling of sharp pain you get when you catch a hard pitch right in the palm.
That sting.
It gets worse as you move up into more competitive leagues - naturally, because you catch faster pitching.
Not only is there sting to deal with. Catchers repeatedly receiving fast pitches can be susceptible to injuries such as nerve damage to their hand and injuries to their thumb, such as hyperextension.
What can be done to prevent these issues?
Having a high quality catcher's mitt certainly helps.
But what if you need more?
Enter, the catchers padded glove (aka, the catchers padded inner glove).
What's a Catchers Padded Glove?
From the outside, it looks like a normal batting glove. But on the palm side of the glove, it contains reinforced padding typically on the palm area, thumb, middle and index fingers.
Simply slip on the glove, then put on your catcher's mitt. Easy.
Catchers inner padded gloves are an effective, low cost way to provide much needed relief from sting and protection from hand injury.
This article showcases our top catchers padded glove picks with reviews and images of each.
Before we begin our reviews, please note some facts about these gloves that are helpful to know before buying.
- They are not sold as a pair. They are sold as individual gloves.
- If the product says “Right Hand Throw”, that means the glove will fit on your left hand (e.g., the catching hand for right handers).
- Regarding sizing, simply choose the size you normally would use for batting gloves.
Ok, now on to our reviews. Keep scrolling for more!
Best Padded Gloves for Catchers
Best Overall: Team Defender 2.0 Glove
Our top overall pick for best padded glove for catchers is the Team Defender Protective Glove.
It's unique for a catchers padded inner glove. Why? Because it has a built-in thumb guard inside of the glove.
A thumb guard will do a better job of protecting the thumb from injury than a typical catchers inner padded glove.
The thumb guard on the Team Defender is made of a hard, tough plastic material, but it feels comfortable and fits inside of the thumb stall of catcher's mitts.
Additionally, the Team Defender glove has protective padding over the index finger, the middle finger, and the upper palm area.
The material that this glove is made out of feels high quality. The stitching seems solid and should hold up for many seasons.
Lastly, this is a padded glove for catchers that many pros use, so you know it must be good. For example, Yadier Molina was seen using it.
The Team Defender glove is for right hand throwers, meaning it fits on the left hand. It comes in medium, large, and extra large.
Pros
Contains a rigid, built in catcher's thumb guard inside the glove
Uses high quality materials
The glove is very grippable
Highly durable
Used by pro catchers
Cons
More expensive than average (though it's still super affordable!)
Some users report it's a tight fit in the mitt. You may need to slightly loosen the laces around the thumb stall.
Palm View of the Team Defender Glove
Runner-Up: All-Star Full Palm Inner Protective Glove
There are a handful (no pun intended) of things we like about the All-Star Full Palm padded inner glove. First, we like that it’s very lightweight and comfortable to put on.
We also like that the padding is a bit unique. As you can see in the image below, there is padding at the index finger, at the base of the index and middle fingers, directly below that area, and across the entire palm and down to the wrist in kind of a heart-shaped pattern.
This padding set-up results in a more universal coverage across much of the hand and base of the wrist. It’s also designed to spread impact across a wider area.
The All-Star Full Palm glove is made of “goat skin” white leather with a stretchy sweat-wicking material on the back. It comes in at least four sizes, including small (for the younger catchers out there).
For this glove, you should choose the same size as you would your batting gloves.
Pros
Lightweight, flexible and comfortable
Made by All Star, a great brand that designs products exclusively for catchers
Padding covers a wide area
Coverage extends to the base of the wrist
Leather material on one side, moisture wicking material on the other
Comes in multiple sizes
Cons
Does not have a lot of thumb protection
Palm View of the All-Star Glove
Honorable Mention: Palmgard Xtra Inner Glove
Another product that we like is the Palmgard Xtra Inner Glove made by sporting goods company Markwort.
It has a simple black, gray and white design, and contains generous padding over the index finger, middle finger, upper palm and thumb. The padding helps reduce sting on the most critical areas of the hand that receive the most impact when catching.
The Palmgard inner glove is pretty lightweight and flexible, with a leather material on the palm side of the hand and a breathable mesh material on the other side.
It comes in multiple sizes from small to XX large, so it’s a good choice for a wide range of catchers, including youth catchers needing some protection from sting.
Please note that this glove can also be purchased for left handed catchers (e.g., “Left Hand Throw), which is somewhat of a rare feature among padded gloves for catchers in the marketplace.
Pros
Very affordable
Good padding over the areas needed most
Lightweight and comfortable
Comes in multiple sizes, including small
Available for right and left handed throwers
Cons
Some users had issues with longer term durability
Palm View of the Palmgard Glove
Catcher's Thumb Guards
We know that some catchers have pain primarily in their thumb while catching and that they may not be interested in using a traditional padded inner glove, like we reviewed above.
In that case, we would recommend trying a catcher’s thumb guard.
Best Catcher’s Thumb Guard: Evoshield MLB Catcher's Thumb Guard
Our pick for best thumb guard for catchers is the EvoShield MLB Catcher’s Thumb Guard.
Like other EvoShield products, their thumb guard works using their “gel-to-shell” technology.
Essentially, this means following EvoShield’s directions to mold the guard around your thumb and have it harden around the unique shape of your thumb. This whole process takes just a few minutes.
The end result is an incredibly hard protective shell that covers practically all of your thumb.
The biggest challenge in using the guard is that it can be tight to get it to fit in the thumb stall of your catcher’s mitt. For it to work, you may need to loosen the laces around the thumb.
Pros
Made by EvoShield, a well-known and innovative maker of protective guards
Protects existing thumb injuries and helps prevent future injuries
The guard has a custom fit for your thumb
Good coverage around the thumb
Affordable
Cons
May be difficult to fit inside the thumb stall on a catcher’s mitt
Brief Video on How to Mold the Thumb Guard
Thanks for Reading!
We hope this article was useful for you. If you have any questions for us about catchers padded inner gloves - or really anything catcher related - please reach out by heading over to the Contact Us page, or by sending an email to scott [at] catchershome [dot] com.
Scott Perry
Scott Perry is the owner and lead author at Catchers Home. He's a former baseball player, a current coach, a husband and a Dad. He remains as passionate about baseball today as he was as a kid.
