You're Not Imagining a New(ish) Accessory on Baseball Fields

Andrew McCutchen hasn't had the conversation with his 7-year-old son, Steel, yet, but the Pittsburgh Pirates star knows it's probably coming at some point. Steel, who plays in a youth baseball league, will likely come home at one point and ask his five-time All-Star dad if he can have whatever hot item his teammates might be rocking. One thing Steel will likely hit his father up for: a sliding mitt, a padded glove to protect a player's hand should it get stepped on while diving headfirst for a base. The special gloves, which look a bit like oven mitts, are becoming just as ubiquitous in the Little Leagues as they are in the major leagues, per the AP.

• Origin: Former major leaguer Scott Podsednik, with 309 career stolen bases, is credited with "inventing" the sliding mitt during the late stages of his 11-year career. Tired of having his hand stepped on, Podsednik worked with a hand therapist. The initial mitts were relatively simple. A 2009 picture of Podsednik sliding into second base shows his left hand covered in what looks like a padded modified batting glove, all wrapped in black to match the trim on his Chicago White Sox uniform.
• Updates: Things have gotten considerably more elaborate. Google "sliding mitt designs" now, and you'll find themes including the American flag, an ice cream cone, aliens, and a poop emoji (yes, really). Back in the day, "we had our baseball uniform and our glove [and] everyone looked the same," says Scott McMillen, founder of the Goat'd baseball accessory firm. "Now, everyone wants to express themselves."
• Cost: Self-expression doesn't exactly come cheap—an entry-level sliding mitt can go for $40, and Goat'd and other versions fetch double that. That hasn't stopped sales from being brisk, with McMillen pointing out it's not merely a luxury item. "We don't play football with 1940s safety equipment," he says. But "with a sliding mitt, it's also like, 'Hey, this is fun.'"
• Not everyone's a fan: Josh Plassmeyer, longtime executive commissioner of Pennsylvania's Monroeville Baseball and Softball Association, doesn't allow sliding mitts on his son Grant's 10-and-under team, calling them a "distraction"—players would fiddle with them so much at first base, they'd miss signs from the third-base coach.

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