Valle Eagle Pro 11WT Weighted First Base Training Mitt

The Valle Eagle Pro 11WT is the weighted version of Valle's 11 inch Pro first base training mitt, built in Japanese kip leather for baseball and softball first basemen who want to train glove speed as well as glove accuracy. It keeps the 11 inch first base pattern, single post web and open wrist back of the Pro 11 and adds roughly eight ounces.

Why Weight Belongs at First Base

First base is the one baseball infield position where the glove hand is regularly at full extension with the body already committed. Stretching for a throw puts the mitt as far from the shoulder as it ever gets, and that is where added weight is felt most. Eight ounces on the end of a stretched arm asks the shoulder and the stabilising muscles to hold the mitt still at the moment it is hardest to hold still.

What that trains, in baseball and softball alike, is a steady target. First basemen who wobble the mitt at full stretch turn accurate throws into adventures, and the weighted mitt makes the wobble impossible to ignore. Take it off and the game mitt feels light and easy to hold on line.

Valle's weight figures are approximations, not measurements. Their unweighted gloves run around a pound, weighted models around a pound and a half, and the gap between a model and its twin is about eight ounces. That relationship is what we can state honestly.

Eleven Inches, Which Removes the Margin

A regulation first base mitt is twelve and a half to thirteen inches and is designed to rescue a throw. At eleven inches there is nothing to rescue with. The short hop has to be picked, the throw off line has to be reached and caught in the pocket, and a stab at the ball simply fails.

Combine that with the added weight and the mitt grades two things at once: whether you got there, and whether you were steady when you did. It is the most demanding first base trainer Valle makes, and it assumes a first baseman who already handles the position.

Japanese Kip and an Open Wrist Back

The shell is Japanese kip, lighter and finer-grained than steerhide with a tighter fibre structure, laced with USA-tanned leather. It breaks in faster and holds its shape once it has. The wrist back is open, as it is on every Pro Series glove; the S-Series uses an adjustable Velcro strap instead.

There is no S-Series weighted first base mitt, so if you want weight at 11 inches, this is the mitt that exists. The unweighted alternatives are the Pro 11 in the same kip, or the Eagle 11S in steerhide with a strap.

Who This First Base Mitt Is For

Established baseball and softball first basemen, and the programmes that develop them. It suits a player whose hands are reliable but who loses the mitt at full stretch, and it suits a coach who wants to add a demand to a drill that a bigger mitt has been quietly absorbing.

It is not a starting point. A player who is not yet picking short hops cleanly should work unweighted first and add the weight when the pick is dependable.

How to Train With It

Short blocks, then take it off. Twenty short hops with a baseball in the weighted mitt and twenty with the game mitt is a sensible round. Work the stretch deliberately, because that is where this mitt earns its keep, and finish with throws that pull the first baseman off the bag so the catch happens on the move.

Do not run a full team infield session in it. It is a training tool used in blocks, not a substitute mitt.

Valle Eagle Pro 11WT Weighted First Base Training Mitt Specifications

• Size: 11 inch first base training pattern
• Series: Valle Eagle Pro Series
• Leather: Japanese kip shell with USA-tanned leather lacing
• Web: single post
• Wrist back: open
• Weighted: yes, roughly 8 ounces heavier than the unweighted Pro 11
• Color: white
• Hand: right hand throw or left hand throw
• Sport: baseball and softball

What Is Included

The mitt, 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 11?

About eight ounces. That is Valle's stated difference between a weighted model and its unweighted twin; they do not publish an exact weight for either.

Is there a weighted 11 inch first base mitt in the S-Series?

No. Weighted first base training exists only in the Pro Series, so this is the only one Valle builds.

Is it available for left-handed throwers?

Yes, in both right and left hand throw, which matters more at first base than anywhere else on the field.

Do the photos show this exact mitt?

They show the Pro 11, the unweighted version of the same mitt in the same leather and the same 11 inch pattern. Valle has no separate photography for the weighted model, and the added weight is inside the mitt rather than anything you would see.

How often should it be used?

In blocks inside a normal session. Two rounds of twenty is plenty, and the round you take afterwards with your own mitt is the part that transfers.

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.