Wilson A2000 Baseball Glove--Still Worthy of Its Reputation?
Written: Feb 04 '02 (Updated Sep 05 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Padding: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Good fit, reliable pocket, high quality, famous name.
Cons: High quality, but perhaps no longer highest quality.
The Bottom Line: The A2000 gloves are still excellent, but they aren't what they once were.
|
|
|
| alamedasims's Full Review: Wilson A2000 Series |
My dad bought me a Wilson A2000XL for my 14-year-old campaign in American Legion ball. The glove was heavyweight full-grain steerhide and had the same "dual-hinge web" that you see today on several A2000 models. It came stiff and unoiled, and it took a good half-season to break in properly. At 12.5" it was perfect for outfield, which is mostly what I played then. That glove went on to survive 20+ seasons of play. At a whopping $130 in 1974 (yes! I am that old!), at the time it was the most expensive and finest fielders' glove on the market.
It's safe to say that Wilson would not be able to make the same claim of today's A2000's. The A2000 is still probably the world's most recognized glove line, but it is no longer even Wilson's top brand. (The "A3000" series now has that honor.) And today's A2000's certainly don't last 20 years. A year ago I purchased my son an A2000 infielder's glove for his 12-year old season: already it is showing significant wear.
Wilson really has two model lines called "A2000"–the A2000 Pro-Stock line, and the A-2000 Quick-Stop line. The Pro-Stock line has 17 different fielder's gloves; the Quick-Stop line has 4 different fielder's gloves. Gloves in both lines range in size from 10.75 to 12.5". Some have open webs, some closed, either in a basket-weave or the classic "dual hinge." The A2000 brand also includes five catcher's mitts and four 1st baseman's mitts, all Pro-Stock.
The difference between the two lines is the leather. "Pro-Stock" leather is a full-grain* steerhide, medium to heavy-weight. "Quick-Stop" is a top-grain steerhide (Wilson claims it is full-grain, but it clearly is not), medium weight. "Quick-Stop" has an artificial grain stamped on it to make it more pebbly, and, it is claimed, better able to stop spin on a ball.
*"Full grain" means that the entire natural leather grain remains from the "fur" (or top) side of the skin. Full grain leathers are the most durable kind, and usually come from the highest quality skins. Top grain leather comes from top quality skins, but perhaps not the highest quality. The surface of "top grain" leather has been sanded and the grain at least partially removed, then, an artificial grain is imposed. For a more detailed discussion of baseball glove leather, see my epinion, "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Choosing A Little League Glove (But Didn't Know Who To Ask)."
Wilson's ads claim that the A2000 was designed in 1957 by the game's "top professional ball players," calling to mind the likes of Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron, none of whom had anything to do with the design of the glove. Most of the A2000 models now offered are, in fact, new designs.
The glove I had was more or less the same design as the current A2000 PSTXL, which Wilson now says is a "pitcher's model," but which in my day was the outfield model. (Wilson's current outfield models, the A2000 PSB1798 and A2000 YBG, feature elongated designs that have become popular with today's major leaguers. Clearly, these models were not designed in 1957.) Based on in-store examination, the biggest difference in the two models is that the current model is somewhat lighter and uses somewhat lighter-weight leather.
My A2000 XL took forever to break in, but once it was broken in, it was fantastic. The great thing about the stiff, unoiled gloves of my day was that you could break them in so that they fit your particular hand, resulting in a custom-made feel. Your glove really did seem like an extension of your hand, and when you tried on someone else's glove, it never felt right. It took longer to break in those old A2000's than today's gloves, which are made of thinner, more flexible leather, but the ultimate result was superior.
Fast forward to today. My son has the A2000 1788QS. Made of Quick-Stop leather, it has proven to be highly reliable–the ball pretty much sticks when it hits the glove. (Perhaps there is something to Wilson's claims for Quick-Stop leather, after all.) The leather is lighter and more flexible than Pro-Stock, needing only a minimal break-in period. And since it was already 90% broken in, it fits my hand just as well as it fits his hand. My son swears by it, but it appears that it has perhaps only one more good season in it.
And that's really the rub when it comes to the A2000 line of gloves. The old gloves were only for those who had the time and inclination to break them in right. Now, Wilson appears to have decided that today's players want gloves that feel good in the store and break in right away–Wilson's own website even has an interactive poll asking what players look for in a glove, and 60% choose comfort. Heck--just check out any other "review" of baseball gloves on epinions: chances are it was written by a, well, a young person who thinks his glove is "the best" because he "didn't even have to break it in." But something has been lost by catering to the perceived desire for instant gratification that so permeates American society. Ultimately, today's A2000's are not more comfortable than my ancient one--once it was broken in–-but today's models are far more comfortable in the store than mine was. A2000's are still excellent gloves, but the custom-made feel and iron durability of the old gloves is probably gone forever.
(Cue Springsteen's "Glory Days" and fade to black.)
See my other baseball equipment reviews:
The Easton Triple 7: A Hot Bat (While It Lasts)
http://www.epinions.com/content_61735997060
The Worth 3DX: Powerful and Expensive
http://www.epinions.com/content_66799701636
Everything You Need to Know About Little League Gloves (But Didn't Know Who to Ask)
http://www.epinions.com/content_2499125380
Choosing a Youth Baseball Bat
http://www.epinions.com/content_2470813828
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
alamedasims
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Location: Alameda, California, USA
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 12 members
About Me:
Because I said so, that 's why.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.