Okay, so, I’ve been playing baseball for a while now, and one thing that always confused me was the whole sliding mitt situation. I mean, I knew what it was for, but I wasn’t really sure which hand it should go on. So, I decided to figure it out, once and for all.
First, I did a little digging online. I’m not gonna lie, some of it was pretty technical, talking about “non-dominant hand” and “shock-absorbing padding.” But I just wanted a simple answer. I read a lot of random stuff about how important the right protective gear is, helmets, shin guards, the whole nine yards, but I just wanted to know about the mitt. I don’t want to stand out, just want to know.
Then, I started observing other players. Yeah, I know, kind of obvious, right? But seriously, I started paying attention to who was wearing a mitt and on which hand. I even asked a couple of teammates about it. Most of them just shrugged and said, “I don’t know, it’s just what everyone does.” Not exactly helpful.
I also noticed that most right-handed players were wearing the mitt on their left hand. And the few lefties I saw? They had it on their right hand. It was starting to make a bit more sense. The mitt seemed to go on the hand that wasn’t used for throwing, I also realized that mostly stealing 2nd base is the main scene that players wear this.
So, I decided to try it out myself. I grabbed my old mitt and headed to the field. I tried sliding a few times with the mitt on my left hand (I’m right-handed). It felt… okay. It definitely protected my hand from getting all scraped up, which was good. And because it was my non-throwing hand, it didn’t really interfere with my ability to, you know, throw the ball.
Then I tried switching it to my right hand. Now, this felt weird. It felt a little unnatural and I just don’t want to wear it on my throwing hand, I felt like it was messing with my grip or something. And when I tried to slide, it was just awkward. I almost tripped over myself, which was not my goal at all.
- Tried on the left hand (I’m a righty) – Felt okay, protected my hand.
- Tried on the right hand – Felt weird, awkward, almost tripped.
Conclusion
So, after all this “research” and experimentation, I finally figured it out. The sliding mitt usually goes on the hand you don’t use for throwing. For most righties, that’s the left hand. For lefties, it’s the right hand. It’s that simple! Now I can finally slide into bases without worrying about shredding my hand or looking like a total fool because I’m wearing the mitt on the wrong hand. I guess it’s not rocket science, but it’s something I can finally cross off my list of baseball mysteries. Case closed!
