Los Angeles Angels phenom pitcher Shohei Ohtani is off to a remarkably strong start to the season, this week recording his tenth straight start where he allowed two runs or fewer from the opposition, setting a new record for his LA team. With such an impressive athlete on their hands, his gear partner New Balance has meticulously crafted a special catching glove for Shohei Ohtani as he looks to continue his dominating run of form.
Standing at six-foot-four tall and weighing a rock solid 95kgs, New Balance needed to use extremely high-quality materials to create Ohtani’s glove and worked directly with Wilson Master Glove Craftsman Shigeaki Aso to bring the piece of custom equipment to life. Using the premium Made in Japan A2K glove as a base template, New Balance adopted a Double Palm Construction and Tan Pro Stock Select Leather for the body of the glove, before integrating a number of bespoke elements such as longer fingers, high-grade wool inserts in the thumb and pinky and water-resistant Wilson SuperSkin outer material.
“New Balance’s dedication to product innovation, brand authenticity and letting me be myself is an important part of our relationship, and this glove shows that,” said Shohei in a statement. “I used a prototype of the glove during the World Baseball Classic tournament and it helped me achieve my dream of bringing the world title home to Japan. The details on the glove are a way for me to live freely in baseball and have fun with the product.”
Perhaps the coolest detail in the execution of the glove is a small embroidered New Balance 574 shoe around the wrist to represent Ohtani’s enthusiasm for New Balance silhouettes when he’s off the baseball field. If there’s any shoe brand that understands the details are always important, it’s New Balance.
