If you are new to the sport it is daunting to understand the equipment needs for your child. This page is meant to help new families buy what they need and not waste money.
The Necessary Bits
At a minimum your child needs:
- Glove
- Hat/Visor
- Cleats
Once your child is on a team the league provides uniforms, a bat to share, a few helmets to share. Many parents don't want their child to share helmets or they want to play with their kids at home. For those situations we recommend buying
- helmet
- bat
Lastly uniforms are for games not practices. Once you child starts sliding drills baseball/softball pants are necessary.
If your child is new to the sport, please don't spend your money on the expensive version of these items. Specifically gloves and bats can cost upward of $400. This items are for the serious players who plan to use this equipment over many many years.
All of these items can be purchases locally at Charlie Rose Baseball, Dicks sporting goods, or online.
Softball
Culturally softball is different than softball. From an equipment point of view this manifest in fielders masks. You'll see many of the girls wearing masks to protect their faces from bounding or flying balls. We recommend face masks for everyone, but understand culturally it's more acceptable for softball players.
Gloves are softball specific, because the ball is bigger, the pocket will be bigger.
Softball bats are different from baseball bats. Be sure you are buying a sport specific bat.
Advice
The market provides a ton of options on what to buy, if you enjoy the research jump in. However, this section is geared for the new comer who just wants to quickly buy the best equipment
Almaden Little League offers gear swaps where you can pick up gear for free.
Softball
Glove:
We like the "Mizuno Prospect Finch 11 inch Youth Fastpitch Glove" ($50). It's less expensive and gets the job done. And, importantly, it's not too big and heavy for a small kid.
Once you think your child is going to stick with the sport for a few years and they get a bit bigger (e.g. maybe 8 or 9-years old), you can jump to the $150 dollar range and buy a leather glove that will last much longer.
Bat
For softball, be sure you are buying a "fastpitch" bat. When buying a bat for the first time for a small softball player smaller is generally better because you want to be sure the player and control the bat as they try to make contact with the ball.
When buying a bat you'll see a number like -10 or -12. This is called the drop. And the lower the number the lighter the bat; a -12 will be 2 ounces lighter than the -10. Lighter bats provide more control and faster swings, but generally less power.
There's not a lot of differentiation when considering bats in the lower price range. Any bat between $50 or $100 dollars will work well.
Once you think your child is going to stick with the sport for a few years and they grow a bit bigger, you can invest in a more expensive bat that will provide more power. However, unlike a glove your child will out grow a bat fairly quickly. Best case you can get by with a bat for 2, maybe 3 years if on the first year it's on the bigger side.
Here is a good bat size chart you can use to find the right size. https://www.batdigest.com/bat-size-chart/
Baseball
Baseball bats are shaped differently than the softball counterparts. But the buying strategy remains:
- don't spend too much.
- for very young kids lighter is better.
When buying a bat you'll see a number like -10 or -12. This is called the drop. And the lower the number the lighter the bat; a -12 will be 2 ounces lighter than the -10. Lighter bats provide more control and faster swings, but generally less power.
There's not a lot of differentiation when considering bats in the lower price range. Any bat between $50 or $100 dollars will work well.
The same bat chart applies. https://www.batdigest.com/bat-size-chart/
Once you think your child is going to stick with the sport for a few years and they grow a bit bigger, you can invest in a more expensive bat that will provide more power. However, unlike a glove your child will out grow a bat fairly quickly. Best case you can get by with a bat for 2, maybe 3 years if on the first year it's on the bigger side.
It's not uncommon for kids to use $200 - $300 dollar bats at the AAA and Major levels. However, because of the baseball standards these bats offer little advantage over the less expensive counter parts. Their effective barrel, aka the sweet spot, will be a bit bigger allowing for "mishits" to go a bit further.
Regulations
helmets
- only the manufacturer's approved stickers are allowed on your helmet.
- c-flaps or face guards are recommended, but be sure they are the same manufacturer as the helmet.
bats
baseball: little league baseball bats must be stamped with the USA baseball. Once the kids get to the Junior level the requirements change.
softball: fastpitch bats are printed with the BPF (bat performance factor) of 1.20 standard.
Wood bats are always legal so long as they fit the barrel and length requirements, which all store bought bats would be.
Cleats
Be sure your child's cleats are not metal.
Click here for: Common Equipment Issues