How Much Does Catchers Equipment Cost at Play It Again Sports
Written By
Xan Barksdale
I'm always curious to know what equipment MLB catchers are wearing so I decided to do some research…
I watched games and chartedexactly what equipment that the 30 starting catchers in the MLB wear. Some of the results may surprise you!
There are 2 factors that decide which gear pro catchers wear and they are:
- What gear do MLB catchers like/prefer?
- Which company is going to pay them the most to use/endorse their gear?
These guys make a living catching and they're not going to bet their salaries on sub par equipment. So, you can be sure that they think the equipment they're using is the best out there.
With that said, there are huge endorsements and contracts and that does play a role in what guys wear. Just like Lebron James gets paid millions of dollars from Nike to wear their shoes, catchers get paid to wear catching gear.
I've always thought that All-Star makes the best equipment out there, but you'll see that they don't have the largest market share. Part of this is due to the fact that they don't pay pro guys huge sums of money to wear their gear. More on that below…
What Mitt do Pro Catchers Wear?
It's interesting that of the 30 different MLB catchers there are only 4 different brands of mitt used. Part of this has to do with the endorsements, but a larger part has to do with the quality.
The 4 brands listed below are, in my opinion, much better than the other brands available. I think the MLB guys agree with me…
- 6 MLB Catchers (20%) wear a Mizuno mitt
- 6 MLB Catchers (20%) wear an All-Star mitt
- 6 MLB Catchers (20%) wear a Wilson mitt
- 12 MLB Catchers (40%) wear a Rawlings mitt
What Chest Protector/Shinguards do MLB Catchers Wear?
You may be wondering why the chest protector and shinguards are grouped together and that's a good question…here's the answer: ALL MLB catchers wear the same brand chest protector and shinguards. That's right 100% of them wear the same brand. I couldn't find an example of one catcher wearing different brands so I've grouped them together and because a lot of times they're sold in sets.
NOTE: You'll notice that All-Star and Under Armour equipment looks almost identical. I'm pretty sure that Under Armour has paid All-Star a licensing fee to put their logo on equipment made by All-Star, however, I can't confirm it. If that is the case and we were to combine them into one category you'll see that half of MLB catchers wear gear made by All-Star/Under Armour.
UPDATE: A representative from All-Star has reached out to me and confirmed that Under Armour gear is made by All-Star. There is a slight different in the cosmetic styling of the chest protector, but ultimately it is the same equipment.
- 1 MLB Catcher (4%) wears Wilson
- 3 MLB Catchers (10%) wear All-Star
- 4 MLB Catchers (13%) wear Rawlings
- 4 MLB Catchers (13%) wear Mizuno
- 6 MLB Catchers (20%) wear Nike
- 12 MLB Catchers (40%) wear Under Armour
Do Pro Catchers Wear a Hockey Style Helmet or Traditional Facemask?
Most states require HS baseball players to wear hockey style (one-piece) helmets for safety reasons. Are they really safer? That's another topic that I'm going to devote an entire blog post to.
- 10 MLB Catchers (33%) wear a Hockey Style helmet
- 20 MLB Catchers (67%) wear a Traditional Style helmet
Do Any MLB Catchers Wear Knee Savers?
I bet the answer to this one is going to surprise you! There are A LOT of people out there that think catchers who wear knee savers are lazy, but I'm here to tell you that's just not the case. Knee savers don't have anything to do with a catchers work ethic, but I'll save that for another blog post.
More and more catchers are wearing knee savers to help prevent knee injuries at all levels of baseball, and the MLB is no different. It was almost 50/50 which seems to be more guys than ever before:
- 14 MLB Catchers (47%) are wearing Knee Savers
- 16 MLB Catchers (53%) are NOT wearing Knee Savers
If you're looking for any new catching equipment I'd recommend checking out Baseball Express. I've used them for years because they have the lowest prices and the best customer service.
Leave a comment below and let me know what catching equipment you use and what you think about this article!
Source: https://www.catching-101.com/catching-equipment-that-the-pros-wear/
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