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Ambidextrous baseball glove patents


Over the years, there have been a few patents issued for ambidextrous baseball gloves. It's interesting that there are any patents for ambidextrous baseball gloves, since there aren't many switch pitchers in the game. 

In the past fifty years, there have been around 50 ambidextrous pitchers featured in the news.

Pat Venditte, the minor league ambidextrous pitcher, has created a lot of interest in switch pitching – and he uses a six-finger custom glove. However, very few kids are willing to put in the work to become a both handed pitcher.

Until recently, it has been hard to buy a ready-made ambidextrous baseball glove, since the big companies didn't produce them. But I found out that some of the baseball companies created preliminary designs and made prototypes of ambidextrous baseball gloves.


Rawlings produced a prototype of an ambidextrous baseball glove that I found posted for sale on eBay. The last bid was $565. I don't think Rawlings produces any ambidextrous gloves, since there isn't a big market for gloves with two thumbs.

Valle makes a simple ambidextrous pancake training glove that you can buy for $49. 


Ambidextrous Baseball Glove Patents


Center Webbed Baseball Mitt, Patented in 1999

1999

 Center Webbed Baseball Mitt

Inventor: Robert B. Jones, Allentown, PA
Patent number: 5,878,436
Filing date: Jul 25, 1997
Issue date: Mar 9, 1999

A center webbed baseball glove which utilizes the natural fold of the human hand and folds into two equal halves increasing the utilizable surface area is provided. The center webbed glove is constructed from a pocket and back piece which are attached together to form a central pocket, a set of outer finger slots and a set of inner finger slots. The glove is worn by placing the pinky and ring fingers into the left outer finger slot, the middle and index fingers into the left inner finger slot, and the thumb into either the outer or inner right finger slots. The glove can be worn on the right hand by placing the thumb in the left inner or outer finger slots and placing the remaining fingers in the left finger slots of the glove.

 "Still further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a baseball glove which can be worn by a left or right handed player."


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Reversible Catching Mitt
1997

Reversible Catching Mitt

Inventor: 
 Patent number: 5592688
Filing date: Sep 9, 1994
Issue date: Jan 14, 1997
A mitt having opposite, matching side expanses forming opposite sides of the mitt is disclosed. Each side expanse is made up of a foam layer, sandwiched between opposed overlay layers. The mitt may be shaped for use either on the left hand or the right hand, with a web in the mitt having a reversible concavo-convex shape which is changed depending upon the hand with which the mitt is used.
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Reversible Baseball Glove, 1980
1980


Reversible Baseball Glove

Inventor: Israel Zidele
Patent number: 4227263
Filing date: Jun 8, 1979
Issue date: Oct 14, 1980

A baseball glove, usable by both right-handed and left-handed players, has two outer finger stalls, two intermediate finger stalls and a middle finger stall, at least the latter three stalls being integral with front and rear pieces of leather or similar sheet material held together by lacing which also links one of the outer stalls and the adjoining intermediate stall to an interposed web.


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Ambidextrous Baseball Glove, 1964 patent
Four-finger glove with double webs and two thumbs slots
1964

Baseball Glove

Inventor: Floyd William Kortum
Patent number: D198560
Filing date: Feb 13, 1964
Issue date: Jul 7, 1964

 Read more








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Padded thumb-stalls 9 and 10, which are so shaped to
 alternately receive either the thumb or the small finger
of the hand when the glove is interchangeably worn upon
either the right or left hand of a player.
1911

 Base-Ball Glove

Inventor: Samuel Cline
Patent number: 1,003,031
Filing date: Mar 18, 1910
Issue date: Sep 12, 1911

 In 1911, Samuel Cline patented an ambidextrous fielders' glove for A.J. Reach Co. The glove went into production as the 1914 Reach/Spalding ambidextrous glove, model SC 
See photos

 "The object of my invention is to produce a base ball finger glove adapted to be worn with equal facility upon either the right or left hand."

 Read more



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 The original baseball glove invention

1885
G. H. Rawlings Glove invention, 1885

Glove

Inventor: George H. Rawlings, St. Louis, Missouri
Patent number: 325968
Filing date: Mar 23, 1885
Issue date: Sep 8, 1885


 The glove is intended especially for the use of base ball players and cricketers, the pads being for the prevention of the bruising of the hands when catching the ball.

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Vintage Ambidextrous Baseball Gloves


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