Playing baseball can be very tough, especially when the equipment is not performing up to par.
A new glove can be problematic right off the shelves because of the leather's stiff and slick nature.
Breaking in a glove requires glove oil to help opening and closing but is a slick glove necessarily a problem?
My answer is no, slick leather makes no difference if the glove functions properly to open and close it.
So, if the glove is slick due to moisture (as in oil or water) then that should be addressed and taken care of for one simple reason: we don't want anything transferring to the ball to make the ball slick when throwing.
So if the glove is just cold and slick but still functions properly then just close the glove and a slick new glove can still do its job.
Don’t ever rub something on your glove to make it sticky.
That is the last thing you want transferring to the ball. If the glove is sticky then that can also hurt throwing if it transfers the stickiness to your fingers.
This can also inhibit your throwing. So if the game plays out as normal, especially at a high level when pine tar is used, the ball will have a natural feel that helps maintain grip.
This happens by the transfer Rosen from the pitcher, and the pine tar from it getting rubbed up from the umpires - to take away some of the slickness. The balls won’t feel sticky but they also won’t feel slick anymore.
So there is a perfect balance for the ball and the glove to feel when in play.
The Goldilocks zone for a glove shouldn’t feel slick or sticky (the same as a ball). However a slick glove can and should be fixed prior to using in a game.
Excess oil is cleaned up and a good round of catch should do the trick.
They make towels that add some stick to the glove, but if it takes it too far out of the Goldilocks zone and inhibits throwing it’s a red flag for me and I wouldn’t recommend it.
So should you fix a slick glove?
If it’s just cold and feels a little slick that’s really nothing to worry about. Play some catch and rub some dirt on it.