What Is The Difference Between An Infield And Outfield Baseball Glove?

Infield Baseball Glove Dimensions

11.25 to 12 inches 

Outfield Baseball Glove Dimensions

12.5 to 12.75 inches

Initially, a baseball glove seems like a baseball glove, but paying attention to some of these important and unique feature can help you pick the perfect glove for your position and play style. 

In baseball, the fielder positions are responsible for some of the most athletic and exciting plays to take place during a game. Whether diving for a catch or leaping over the fence to make a key grab, having the right glove is crucial in ensuring they can accomplish the task at hand.

The Main Difference Between an Infield Glove & Outfield Glove

Infielders and outfielders play distinct and important roles on the field, so their gloves differ based on how they are most often used. Over time, the unique requirements for the positions resulted in infielders and outfielders developing and using different styles of gloves.

A key difference between the gloves used by the different positions is pocket depth. The usual role of an outfielder involves chasing down fly balls and making long throws back into the infield when necessary. For this reason, an outfielder's glove typically has a deeper pocket than an infield glove. The deeper pocket envelopes the ball and keeps it from bouncing out of the glove, ensuring the outfielder can maintain possession. 

The infielder's job on the field most often involves quick turnaround plays around the bases, requiring the player to make fast transitions between catching and throwing the ball. Because of this, infield gloves are often lighter and smaller and contain a shallower pocket, which gives up some ball security for easy and quick access to the ball after a catch. 

One of the most noticeable differences between an infield and an outfielder's glove is their length. In addition to having a deeper pocket, an outfielder's glove is also quite a bit longer. This extra length gives the outfielder a little more range that may make the difference in whether or not they successfully make the catch.

The back of the glove is also usually different for the infield and outfield positions. Outfield gloves will typically have a closed back and feature more rigid wrist support. In contrast, infield gloves will usually  have an open back with more flexibility but less stability for the wrist.

Infielders will also use different glove styles based on which position they play. The first baseman's glove puts in the most work throughout a game. It often catches a large number of high velocity throws throughout a game in order to get those super important outs at first base. For this reason, the first basement uses a mitt instead of a glove, the key difference being that gloves have individual fingers and mitts do not. The first baseman's mitt is larger, heavier, and more padded than those used by the other infield positions. 

Outfielder's gloves do not vary specifically based on which part of the outfield they are being used for; instead, the differences in webbing and pocket depth are just a result because of personal preference. 

Here are the average dimensions of both types of glove: