Ever have those sticky, hard and crunchy batting gloves?

They have seen too much sun and most likely spent a little too much time at the bottom of your bag through the winter. Most people toss them in the trash and head to their nearest sporting goods store to replace them. After all, they smell & they sure don’t feel good to put on.

But before you throw them away, try these tips first. 

Taking care of your batting gloves in games is the first step in prevention. Batting gloves should be treated like a pair of pricey sunglasses, making sure they don’t just land anywhere.

Clapping your hands together to get any dirt or debris off your gloves when not in use will also extend the life and make the cleaning process much easier. Putting your gloves in your back pocket to run around the bases may be your only option but keeping in your back pocket the whole game will shorten the life. They are exposed to potential unnecessary excess moisture.

Expanding the life of your gloves in-season is simple. Store your gloves after use in your helmet out of the sun. Make sure after every game they have no excess debris or dirt on them. Owning a dry leather brush or leather cleaning wipes would be helpful to use after each game. This will assist in extending the life of the glove. 

Maybe you are already past the point of daily cleaning, but not ready to invest in a new pair. Here is a simple solution to rid your batting gloves of the odor and new life to emerge out of them.

Add a few drop of alcohol-free detergent to a bowl of warm water. Soak a soft towel into the detergent and gently rub into the glove. Turn the glove inside out and repeat. Hold the glove under a stream of warm running water to to get any remaining detergent out. If needed, repeat the whole process until you achieve your desired cleanliness.

Use a dry towel to squeeze any excess water out.  Then turn the gloves inside out and repeat. Air dry away from the sunlight. After the gloves have dried gently massage glove conditioner into them. Hopefully, your gloves will be game ready.