Valle Eagle Pro 1050WT Weighted Outfield Training Glove
The Valle Eagle Pro 1050WT is the weighted version of Valle's 10.5 inch Pro outfield trainer, built in Japanese kip leather for baseball and softball outfielders who want to train glove speed alongside glove accuracy. It keeps the trapeze web, open wrist back and 10.5 inch pattern of the Pro 1050 and adds roughly eight ounces.
Weight in an Outfield Glove Does Something Different
In the infield, added weight mostly trains how early the glove starts moving. In the outfield the demand is different, because an outfielder is often catching with the arm extended, above the head, or on the run. Eight ounces at the end of an extended arm is felt far more than eight ounces at the end of a bent one, so this glove works the shoulder and the stabilising muscles that hold a glove still at full stretch.
The practical effect is that a fielder stops flicking at the ball and starts taking it with a stable glove, because a heavy glove will not tolerate the flick. Then the weight comes off and the game glove feels quick and easy, which is exactly the sensation you want twenty minutes before first pitch.
Valle's figures are approximations rather than measurements: unweighted gloves run about a pound, weighted ones about a pound and a half, and the difference between a model and its twin is around eight ounces. We would rather quote that honestly than publish a number to the ounce that nobody has actually measured.
Ten and a Half Inches, Which Is the Other Half of the Work
A regulation outfield glove is twelve and a half to thirteen inches. This is two inches smaller, so the ball has to be caught rather than collected. Combine that with the weight and you have a glove that grades both where you caught it and how well you moved to get there. It is a demanding tool and it assumes an outfielder who already catches cleanly.
Japanese Kip and an Open Wrist Back
The Pro Series shell is Japanese kip, a lighter and finer-grained hide than steerhide with a tighter fibre structure, laced with USA-tanned leather. It breaks in faster than steerhide and then holds that shape rather than continuing to soften, which matters on a glove taking the same repeated impact in the same spot.
The wrist back is open, as it is across the Pro line. The S-Series uses an adjustable Velcro strap instead, which holds the glove tighter to the hand. If that is what you want, the S-Series weighted models are the 975SWT for the infield; there is no S-Series weighted outfield trainer, which makes this glove the only weighted 10.5 inch option Valle builds.
Who This Training Glove Is For
Baseball and softball outfielders at high school level and above, and programmes that already run fly ball work and want a way to make it harder without making it artificial. It suits a player whose hands are fine but whose glove arrives late or unsteady on the ball at full extension.
An outfielder still learning to catch in the pocket should start unweighted with the Pro 1050 or the S-Series 1050S, and add the weight later.
How to Train With It
Short blocks. Fifteen to twenty-five baseballs off a fly ball machine or a fungo with the weighted glove, then the same number with the game glove. Include balls that make the fielder run and balls caught above the head, since that is where the weight teaches the most. Do not use it for a full team session, and do not use it on consecutive days if a player is already carrying arm or shoulder fatigue.
Valle Eagle Pro 1050WT Weighted 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: yes, roughly 8 ounces heavier than the unweighted Pro 1050
- Color: white
- Hand: right hand throw or left hand throw
- Sport: baseball and softball
What Is Included
The glove, in the hand you select. The weight is built in; nothing is added or removed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much heavier is it than the Pro 1050?
About eight ounces, which is Valle's own figure for the difference between a weighted model and its unweighted twin. They do not publish an exact weight for either glove.
Is there a weighted S-Series outfield trainer?
No. The weighted 10.5 inch outfield trainer exists only in the Pro Series, so this is the one. The S-Series 1050S is unweighted.
Is it available for left-handed throwers?
Yes, in both right and left hand throw.
How often should a player use it?
In short blocks inside a normal session rather than as a replacement glove. Two blocks of twenty catches is plenty, and the point is the round you take afterwards with your own glove.
Will the weight throw off my timing in a game?
Not if you take a round with your game glove after the weighted work, which is the standard way to use any weighted implement. Going straight from weighted training to live play is the thing to avoid.
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.