Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor tried something new for last night’s game against the Red Sox: The back of his fielding glove was made of clear PVC plastic. ESPN broadcaster Eduardo Perez said it reminded him of the plastic slipcovers on his grandmother’s couch.
As you can see in this video clip, only the back side of the glove is plastic — the webbing and pocket are conventional leather:
Francisco Lindor’s see-through glove 👀 pic.twitter.com/xf5rJKM3EL
— Yahoo Sports MLB (@MLByahoosports) July 23, 2023
I was intrigued by this tweet from Newsday columnist David Lennon, who said that Lindor had to darken the pocket “to make it game legal”:
Francisco Lindor, known for his stylish glove and cleat designs, intends to wear a Rawlings glove tonight that has a clear-plastic back, with a grayish-leather interior he had to darken some to make game legal. #Mets
— David Lennon (@DPLennon) July 23, 2023
I know pitchers aren’t allowed to wear white gloves, but are there similar rules for shortstops? And did Lindor darken the pocket himself, or have a clubhouse guy do it, or what? I DM’d Lennon with those questions, and he responded like so:
I don’t know for sure, but the Rawlings guy told me the inside of the glove was too white in its original state as he was showing it to me last week. He said it had to be darkened. As I was talking to Lindor before [Sunday’s] game, it had a darker, more used look, so it was probably from him breaking it in and taking infield with it that afternoon. It did not seem intentionally darkened with any sort of dye or leather polish as far as I could tell. I didn’t ask him specifically.
Interesting!
It’s not clear whether Lindor plans to keep using this glove going forward, or if it was just a Rawlings publicity stunt for ESPN’s Sunday night game. He’s a two-time Gold Glover (most recently in 2019), but maybe now we’ll have to call him a Plastic Glover. Let the record show that he handled three chances last night without incident.
Reminds me of a County Stadium giveaway I had in the ’80s. It was a signed Robin Yount youth-sized…plastic glove. No amount of breaking in could soften it up.
I love Lindor and generally am on board with his ever-changing hairstyles, ever-changing gloves (it seems as though he wears a new glove almost every game), ever-changing footwear, etc. (I wish he’d stick to stirrups or in lieu of that, at least ALWAYS go high-cuffed). But this? I suppose as long as the glove isn’t affecting his ability to field, it’s fine.
But “Frankie” — maybe it’s time to bust the slump by just playing better. It’s not that I think all his different personal styles are a distraction…but they can’t be helping either.
Feel free to send him back to Cleveland any time you like if you’re unhappy with his performance.
$340 million for a “me” guy who hasn’t been an all-star for four years and is already on the back side of his career? No thank you.
I’d imagine the glove needing to be darker could be for a couple of reasons: 1) more contrast on the inside may make it easier to tell when a ball is caught, especially on force-out plays. 2) after the fielder has the ball, maybe it needs to be dark so everyone else can tell if they *still* have the ball, such as a hidden ball play. Just me theorizing though
Seems like it would be hot and sweaty.
Unlike leather.
I thought guys were picky about the feel of their gloves. Use your gamer until it loses its feel. Why risk not making a play?
Lindor has an endorsement deal with Rawlings, so he presumably gets paid to show off their new glove styles in games.
I understand players have endorsement deals. He should wear Rawlings gloves. I think it is a bad precedent to take even one more cent to have to try out different gloves in an MLB game that even have a one in a million chance of causing a misplay because the feel of the new glove is off. But I am old school.
Wish I had seen the game last night and saw what it looked like on the field. Unfortunately, I refuse to watch ESPN broadcasts. The announcers talk about everything under the sun except the ballgame itself. I have caught myself turning the volume down and turning on some music if it’s a match-up I really want to see.
Eduardo Perez is the rare example of an announcer who was awful when he started and has only gotten worse. How he avoided the ESPN layoffs is beyond me.
Hanshin Tigers about to show off some zany black-and-yellow summer alternate uniforms with numbers inside a big circle:
link
They’ll be wearing them for the next six games.
They look like motor racers in a way. When it comes gaudy uniforms, Japanese baseball takes the crown.
Let’s hope it is made from recycled PET or some other environmentally friendly composite.