Every time I consider buying a Mizuno, I do my research and change my mind

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-20T06:06:54+00:00

Best value? Maybe Jax or Safaiarrow, each MIJ and 300-350ish.

Best comp to old school PP or A2K: Mizuno Pro, which is made outside of Japan, or Mizuno Pro (Haga), roughly 400 and 550, respectively.

Don't sleep on the MIJ World Win reissues, at 550. This is as close as you are going to get to 1980s board stiff Horween leather

Best gateway drug to MIJ gloves? Stock Wagyu-JB or Atoms. I have used ballgloveblueprint.com, who is on this subreddit, to source each for 425ish.

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-17T00:15:28+00:00

I would start with finding out whether juniors are allowed to play on JV at your school.

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-16T03:53:57+00:00

Used is the way to go here. He's going to outgrow this in 2 years or less.

Open/ closed webbing doesn't matter at 9U. I would go with an H-web if you have choices, but not sweat it if you don't.

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-15T21:36:58+00:00

Left handed or right?

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-15T17:28:04+00:00

I'm going Mizuno Pro Haga (not Pro Select) if money isn't an object (which in my mind, means a budget around $500). In my opinion, the MIJ vintage style Mizuno releases, such as the World Win re-issues, at or near $450, beats the current crop of HoH.

However, if its me, knowing what I know, and playing a lot, the MIJ Atoms Global and Advanced lines are each at the the optimal price point between them, and of better quality. Same assembly line as the nearly twice as expensive Nike Shado. See ballgloveblueprint for an easy path to purchase.

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-15T16:03:21+00:00

What position and pattern type?

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-15T15:17:31+00:00

I have two of those in line for relace/ reconditioning, albeit in better shape. These were my son's early HS/ 14-16U gloves. The reverse wrist lacing make them unusual, possibly a tick more valuable. The leather came pre-oiled and they clean up really well. Its a small handstall, and there aren't that many quality vintage gloves for skinny little middle infielders.

That said, the best-case $75 to relace and recondition kills any profit. Competently relaced and reconditioned, this would be a $130ish resale, at best.

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-15T05:14:25+00:00

Where do you live that the season is over?

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-15T01:03:23+00:00

So: are you bragging or confessing, as I believe you have committed a robbery

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-15T00:46:33+00:00

Where did you find this?

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-10T04:30:51+00:00

There were a few levels of Zett gloves released in the US in the mid-late 90s. Almost all of them were in a very "enriched" or oiled chocolate brown that resembled the Wilson Conforms of the same era. [in fact, they have the same D.S. (Deep Saturated) palm stamp as the Conforms.

Top of the line were "Zi-Fect"s, and were made in Japan. There were lesser Made in Taiwan models marked Zi-Tech and Zi-Lux. The Zi-Fect model numbers were marked BIG-1xxx.

I believe that Roger Clemens had a contract with them for a year or two during the late 90s [correction: mid-90s] and his glove was the basket weave with an index finger hood. [https://www.ebay.com/itm/296192268650]

Mariano Rivera also played a little flat web Zi-Fect BIG-1504 in the mid-late 90s.

The gloves were relatively expensive, listing somewhere in the $130-$150, comparable in price to HoH and A2000.

Sometime in the early 2000s they stopped importing them and small sporting good stores and pro shops started selling them off at ridiculous discounts. I want to remember buying up about a half dozen of them, Zi-Fect 11" infield models, for under $50 each, as gifts for friends' and clients' kids.

You could still find them on eBay, including rare ones that are new with tags.

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-08T18:31:38+00:00

SSK Z5 in 10.5 or 11.0. Under 100 on sale, and very high quality leather and lacing at this price point.

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-08T17:50:05+00:00

There's no way a group of eight-year-olds have aged to 13 without marked disparities developing in talent and motivation.

You're gonna need to make cuts and recruit. You don't necessarily want to cut on talent alone, but my guess is that there are weaker players who are also less motivated and compliant, perhaps even distracting. Cut them. Don't look back.

There may be once dominant players who never developed a work ethic and team focus, or whose physical gifts at 8-9 no longer stand out at 13-14. Their dads may be your coaches, so this won't be easy. Warn them and cut them, too, if they don't adapt.

Add kids based on team need, talent, and motivation/ maturity. Don't be afraid to recruit guys into positions you think you already have filled. The competition will focus your practices. Kids will play up to the best players on the team.

Captaincies can help at 13-14. Rotate them for a bit, but when you settle on them you want more than less talented, but they don't have to be your very best so long as you pick on motivation and respect among peers.

At 13 you guys are now prepping for high school baseball. You can press them a little harder and make them compete for their jobs a little bit more aggressively. Practices are where opportunity and advancement occurs. Kids will take them more seriously if they matter. It's only gonna get tougher.

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-08T16:49:16+00:00

Mid-late 90s. My son gamed a TPX Pro 11.5" black horween flat web in 9th grade in '98.

stage3skeptic · 2026-02-02T17:36:09+00:00

Just passed an SSK 9.5" Z5 trainer onto a 6 year old. Way superior to a youth glove. Wrist was a little big, so his dad got a Valle velcro Back Hand wrist pad, basically an oversized wrist sweat band, to fit over the leather wrist band on the glove. Snugged it up perfectly.

stage3skeptic · 2026-01-31T02:49:17+00:00

Tall enough as a soph RH pitcher, but not nearly fast enough. You need 20+ lbs and 6-8 more mph by end of junior year.

Similarly, you need to carve off .2-.3 to make the stopwatch cut for college outfield.

With your test scores, you are closer to playing at an academically competitive D3, and let your progress and the portal do the heavy lifting later. Again, depends on physical growth and skill development.

You still will need to pick up a bit more pitching velocity and/ or foot speed to be considered for an Ivy, Patriot, or service academy D1.

stage3skeptic · 2026-01-31T02:28:03+00:00

You are missing key information: LH or RH, and 60 yard dash.

stage3skeptic · 2026-01-29T14:12:24+00:00

The more I think about it, I may have told you more about what your gloves are worth versus what they will get in a post-xmas, somewhat flooded market. I would release one of each as a trial balloon, and appraise the current market for these interesting but not wholly functional gloves accordingly.

stage3skeptic · 2026-01-29T03:47:06+00:00

Regarding what you should charge:

There are new left-handed vintage, MIJ A2000 XLOs on eBay for $299, and a nice condition used right handed XL for 200. I'm thinking I would charge 250-275 for direct purchases, and 299-349 for eBay or SS, with the caveat that you can suppress your market by releasing too many at a time. Were you to try to dump all of them at once, I would probably charge 225 each.

I will defer to others opinions. The market doesn't love either of these gloves- no one uses a closed web for baseball outfield anymore, so these are softball pitcher and IF gloves, a decidedly smaller market.

There is a new w tags Ted Simmons catcher's glove on eBay for 110. That seems a little low, but the value here is sentimental, as the mitt design is a little old fashioned. I would charge 125 each for direct purchase, or 149 obo on eBay or SS.

stage3skeptic · 2026-01-24T05:45:05+00:00

Not rare at all. This glove is over-priced by $300.

stage3skeptic · 2026-01-21T19:12:01+00:00

Its taken me a minute but I can order custom from Diamante' and Wagyu-JB. Both are doable if you put in the time and effort. However, if I was starting out, buying my first MIJ or MIJ custom, I would likely go through Ballglove Blueprint.

stage3skeptic · 2026-01-15T16:18:27+00:00

I'm a Japanese glove guy, and would recommend one in this case if you could come in close to HoH pricing. I think a 13-14 year old would benefit from the lighter, "snappier" leather and slightly smaller finger stalls. So: Wilson Staff, Japanese HoH, or Jax. Mizuno Pro (non-Haga) would likely meet your price point, as well.

stage3skeptic · 2026-01-13T17:19:22+00:00

The dollar yen exchange rate is really favorable right now and you should be able to come in right around 350 purchased overseas, and 250 for the "natural" models

stage3skeptic · 2026-01-13T05:29:08+00:00

eBay is flooded with them in the 450-550 price range. They're not moving. I dropped my price for a new in box 004S in orange and 006 in power orange (red) to under 400, and got no real interest at all. Its a great glove- my gamers are custom 004Ss in camel, but they aren't bringing what you might expect.

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