Choosing a glove can seem daunting if you aren’t sure where to begin. The glove size is predominantly based on the position you play. 

There are four parts to the glove in general terms: the web, fingers, pocket, and heel. The Chamber (or cell) of the glove are the finger slots.

The fingers and pocket are important in determining what size you want. For an outfield glove, longer fingers and a deeper pocket are what you want. For the infield, you are looking for a shallow pocket and much shorter fingers. 

As a youth player you’ll want a softer, more supple leather that is easier to manipulate in the hand. Sizing charts for outfield gloves start at about 12” to 12.5” up to 13.5” for baseball.

Softball gloves range from 12 3/4” up to 14”. The outfield glove for youth players also has on option for a trapeze style webbing making it easier to close. An infield glove is solely based off of position.

Third basemen will choose something similar to an outfield glove. Looking for a slightly deeper pocket, but with an I back or V back webbing to help strengthen the webbing for those hot shots. You are still looking in the 11.5” up to 12” range for baseball and 11.5” to 12.5” for softball. 

Sizing middle infield gloves will be centered around the shallow pocket. In baseball, anywhere from 10” to 11.5” and in softball 11.5” to 12.5” to accommodate for the bigger 12” softball.

Any baseball glove smaller than 11” is recommended for youth kids with smaller hands. Catcher's gloves are measured in circumference; therefore, in baseball and softball the sizes range from 32” to 34.5”.

They may size the same but are completely different gloves, so make sure they specify softball or baseball catcher's glove. First base gloves range from 12” up to 13.5” and softball gloves range from 12.5” to 13.5”. 

Now that we have a general idea of the sizing chart, let’s determine which glove might be right for you. For youth (ages 8-11), you would be at the smaller end of the sizing charts and you’ll want to choose the youth chamber, which is the enclosed space of each finger to accommodate for smaller hands.

Ages 12 & up, you may fall at the larger end of that spectrum; therefore, an adult chamber may be needed. This is just a general rule. If you have bigger or smaller hands, adjust accordingly.