Rawlings the preferred glove of choice for MLB position players in 2017

Perfect Game USA has released its research on which brand of glove MLB position players are using, and Rawlings is winning by a huge margin.

Majestic may provide MLB position players with their jerseys while New Era takes care of their caps and Stance has the stock market cornered, but players in the bigs are free to choose other components of their uniforms like cleats, sunglasses and gloves. Rawlings appears to have that market in the back of the mitt.

The company which is the sponsor of the annual Rawlings Gold Glove and Platinum Glove awards figures to be a primary player in this business, and the numbers according to Perfect Game USA support that hypothesis.

These figures are just for position players who started for their teams on Opening Day 2017. Research on preferences for pitchers and position players who did not start that game have not been released as of yet.

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Rawlings has sponsorship deals in place with players like the Chicago Cubs’ Kris Bryant, the Miami Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton and the Kansas City Royals’ Eric Hosmer touting its glove customization business. Toronto Blue Jays players Josh Donaldson and Kevin Pillar have also appeared in videos featuring their custom Rawlings leather.

Most of the materials and options for those products are available to the public with price points varying on the materials and options selected. Competitors Franklin and Wilson also have an extensive glove customization available to the public and have made endorsement deals with players. It’s not likely that nearly 2/3 of MLB position players who were good enough to start for their organizations Opening Day this season all have endorsement deals with Rawlings, however.

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In the end, Rawlings’ connection to the premier awards recognizing fielding prowess in MLB probably has a lot to do with the popularity of the brand among players. It makes sense that if you’re trying to win a Rawlings Gold Glove, you would do it with a Rawlings glove.