Valle Eagle Pro 1050 Outfield Training Glove

The Valle Eagle Pro 1050 is a 10.5 inch outfield training glove in Japanese kip leather, built for baseball and softball outfielders who want to train the catch itself rather than rely on a big glove to cover for it. It is the Pro Series version of Valle's outfield trainer, with a trapeze web, an open wrist back, and a choice of right or left hand throw.

Why an Outfielder Trains in 10.5 Inches

A game outfield glove runs twelve and a half to thirteen inches. Dropping to ten and a half removes about two inches of reach and most of the margin that comes with it, so a ball that would have been swallowed by a big glove has to actually be caught. That is the whole exercise. Outfielders drift into catching balls off the edge of the glove because the glove is large enough to let them, and it works until a ball hits the heel in a game that matters.

The pattern is still an outfield pattern, not an infield one. The trapeze web and the depth are shaped the way an outfielder expects, so what a player learns here transfers directly rather than needing to be re-learned in a different shape.

Kip Leather, and Why It Is on This Glove

The Pro Series is built in Japanese kip. Kip is lighter and finer-grained than steerhide, with a tighter fibre structure, so it breaks in faster and then holds the shape it broke into instead of continuing to relax. Lacing is tanned in the USA. On an outfield trainer that combination is worth having, because these gloves take fly ball after fly ball into the same part of the pocket.

The alternative in the range is the S-Series Eagle 1050S, the same 10.5 inch outfield idea in Japanese steerhide with an adjustable strap wrist back, at a lower price. The choice between them is leather and wrist back, not pattern.

An Open Wrist Back

Pro Series gloves use an open wrist back rather than the S-Series strap. It sits looser on the hand and moves more like a game glove, which suits outfielders in particular: an outfielder is running, reaching and adjusting the glove in the air far more than an infielder is, and a glove strapped tight to the wrist behaves differently while they do it.

Who This Training Glove Is For

Baseball and softball outfielders at high school level and up, and any coach running fly ball work who wants the catch to be graded honestly. It is a strong tool for players who catch well in drills and then drop the occasional routine ball in a game, because that pattern is usually a glove-position problem hiding behind a large glove.

Infielders should look elsewhere in the range; the pattern is wrong for them. The 9.75 inch Pro 975 is the infield equivalent in the same leather.

How to Train With It

Use it for the first half of a fly ball session, then switch to the game glove for the second. Work the routine can-of-corn as seriously as the ball on the run, because the routine one is where the sloppy habit lives. Machine work suits it well: a fly ball machine gives you the same baseball repeatedly, and the trainer will tell you plainly whether you caught it in the pocket or got away with it.

It is also useful for a throwing-and-transfer session. A smaller glove makes a clean transfer easier to feel and a bad one impossible to disguise.

Valle Eagle Pro 1050 Outfield Training Glove Specifications

• Size: 10.5 inch outfield training pattern
• Series: Valle Eagle Pro Series
• Leather: Japanese kip shell with USA-tanned leather lacing
• Web: trapeze
• Wrist back: open
• Weighted: no
• Color: white
• Hand: right hand throw or left hand throw
• Sport: baseball and softball

What Is Included

The glove, in the hand you select. No break-in service is included.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Pro 1050 weighted?

No. This is the unweighted Pro outfield trainer. The weighted version is the Pro 1050WT, which adds roughly eight ounces.

How is it different from the Eagle 1050S?

Leather and wrist back. This is Japanese kip with an open back; the 1050S is Japanese steerhide with an adjustable strap. The 10.5 inch outfield pattern is the same.

Is it available for left-handed throwers?

Yes. The Pro 1050 is made in both right and left hand throw.

Can an infielder use it?

They can catch with it, but the pattern is built for baseball and softball outfielders. An infielder gets more from the 9.75 inch Pro 975 or a smaller Eagle trainer.

Is it legal for games?

No. At 10.5 inches it is well under a regulation outfield glove and it is a training tool.

Care That Does Not Void the Warranty

Kip is a fine-grained leather and it rewards being left alone. Let the glove air dry after a wet session rather than putting it near heat, store it with a ball in the pocket instead of flat in a bag, and wipe the white leather down now and then so it stays white. If it needs conditioning, use a little of the Valle glove conditioner and use it sparingly. Avoid the shortcuts entirely: steaming, soaking, microwaving and baking all void Valle's warranty, and on a trainer they also soften the glove into the very pocket it was built to deny you.

Valle covers the glove with a one year limited warranty against defects in materials or workmanship, running from the date you receive it. Worth knowing: the warranty is void if the glove is steamed, soaked, microwaved or baked to speed up break-in. Playing catch with it is the method that keeps it intact.