There are many different glove brands in the game today, let's take a look at which brands are being used by some of the top catchers in Major League Baseball.
Photo by Jakob Rosen
Top MLB Catchers in 2021
We are well into the off-season of Major League Baseball, with the 2021 season in the rearview and the Atlanta Braves as the world champions, what better topic to dive into than some of the best catchers from 2021 and their mitts?
Buster Posey (Giants, 2021)
Buster has been a top catcher in the MLB for just over a decade, and at the end of the 2021 season, he surprised many by announcing his retirement. He was a integral part of the championship teams in SF and meant a lot to the city, the game, and to the catcher position, so it seems fitting to discuss the mitt he used first.
What was his mitt of choice?
Rawlings of course, especially considering he has his own model by Rawlings, a 34" Heart of the Hide PROSCM43BP28.
Yadier Molina (Cardinals, 2021)
Yadi has been a top catcher in the MLB for a long time, breaking into the major leagues in 2004 at the age of 21. He has been a mainstay ever since, winning 9 gold gloves over that span and sporting a .995 fielding percentage over the course of his career.
What is his mitt of choice?
Yadi also has his own personal model by Rawlings, a 34" Heart of the Hide PROSCM41JB. His mitt features a mesh back as well as "Pai #4" embroidered on the back of the thumb side of the glove, near the Rawlings logo.
Martin Maldonado (Astros, 2021)
Maldonado has positioned himself as one of the premiere, defensive backstops in the big leagues with his incredible arm strength and consistent production from behind the plate.
He holds a career fielding percentage of .993 along with a 36% caught stealing clip through 831 games, spanning over 11 seasons. He was the recipient of a gold glove in 2017. In 2021, he threw out 40% of attempted base stealers.
What is his mitt of choice?
Maldonado uses his own special edition, 34" Allstar CM3000MBK. A unique feature of his mitt is the "100%" embroidered on the backside of the web.
Jacob Stallings (Pirates, 2021)
Jacob Stallings was a 7th round draft pick out of The University of North Carolina and won his first gold glove award after the 2021 MLB season. He allowed zero passed balls over 892 innings behind the plate and held a .995 fielding percentage.
What is his mitt of choice?
Stallings also uses a Rawlings model mitt. We are not positive of the model number, but it appears to be a PROSCM43C based on the camel color. The PROSCM43C is a 34" mitt (noticing a pattern with catchers using a 34" mitt?)
Sean Murphy (A's, 2021)
Murphy was a 3rd round pick by the Oakland Athletics in 2016 out of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He debuted in 2019 and has been a consistently good defensive catcher for the A's, holding a career .994 fielding percentage.
In 2021, Murphy won his first gold glove award, while leading all catchers with 19.6 defensive runs saved according to FanGraphs statistics. He was also considered an elite pitch receiver in 2021.
What is his mitt of choice?
Murphy uses a Black Rawlings, unfortunately, we do not know the exact model of the mitt he uses but it looks like it might be PROSCM which comes in 33" and 34" options.
Rawlings Mitts
JT Realmuto- Phillies
Tucker Barnhart- Reds 2021 (now Tigers)
Omar Navarez- Brewers
Mike Zunino- Rays
Tomas Nido- Mets
Elias Diaz- Rockies
Will Smith- Dodgers
Jorge Alfaro- Marlins
Christian Vazquez- Red Sox
Danny Jansen- Blue Jays
Cal Raleigh- Mariners
Ben Rortvedt- Twins
Carson Kelly- Diamondbacks
James McCann- Mets
Cam Gallagher- Royals
Sandy Leon- Marlins
Willson Contreras- Cubs
Gary Sanchez- Yankees
Francisco Mejia- Rays
Austin Nola- Padres
Curt Casali- Giants
Salvador Perez- Royals
Alex Jackson- Marlins
Allstar Mitts
Max Stassi- Angels
Jose Trevino- Rangers
Reece McGuire- Blue Jays
Manny Piña- Brewers (now Braves)
Dom Nunez- Rockies
Michael Perez- Pirates
Wilson Mitts
Jonah Heim- Rangers
Austin Barnes- Dodgers
Tom Murphy- Mariners
Tyler Stephenson- Reds
Mitch Garver- Twins
Easton Mitts
Austin Hedges- Indians
Mizuno Mitts
Yan Gomes- Oak/WSH (now Cubs)
Kyle Higoshioka- Yankees
Travis d'Arnaud- Braves
Jake Rogers- Tigers
FORCE3
Yasmani Grandal- White Sox