Protective Gloves Mitigate Pressure On Hamate Bone

Truletic Batting Gloves

Batting gloves may have been used as early as 1901 by Hughie Jennings and definitely by Lefty O’Doul and Johnny Frederick of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932, according to Peter Morris’ book, A Game Of Inches.

A constant problem hitters have is blisters when they take cut after cut at baseballs during practice.

Batting gloves have helped solve that nagging problem and also helped batters grip the bat better, especially during extremely hot weather when sweating becomes an issue and near freezing conditions.

Over 30 years ago, the Mizuno Corporation came out with unique batting glove that had protective padding on the back side to help hitters stay away from hand injuries.

But by and large, batting gloves have remained essentially the same over the years.

When the Truletic Protective Batting Gloves were introduced for the first time at the 2021 ABCA Convention, it caught the eye of every selection committee member.

The company claims the glove is three times more effective against impact damage than the leading competitor.

Designed and tested with UCLA’s Impact Testing Labs, Truletic’s glove prevents breakage or strain to the hand and wrist (strap and protective inserts) from high velocity pitches that crash into hands.

What sets this batting glove apart from any other on the market is that it protects the hamate bone with padding on the interior of the glove which mitigates the pressure of swings on that area of the hand.  What coach hasn’t had hitters on their teams sustain a fractured hamate bone?

Some of the famous Major Leaguers who have suffered this painful injury were:

• Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
• Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians
• Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
• Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
• Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
• Willy Aybar, Tampa Bay Rays
• Jose Canseco, Oakland A’s
• Ken Griffey, Jr., Seattle Mariners
• Tony Gwynn, Jr., Los Angeles Dodgers
• Jim Thome, Cleveland Indians

The most famous hamate bone fracture in college baseball history was to LSU’s Warren Morris during the 1996 season.  

A Collegiate Baseball pre-season All-American second baseman, Morris did not play 39 games for the Tigers that season after the lefthanded hitter fractured the hamate bone near his right wrist.

He finally was cleared to play in the South II Regional.

During the championship game of the 1996 College World Series, Miami (Fla.) led LSU 8-7 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth as Morris stepped to the plate.

He promptly hit a 2-run walk-off home run barely over the rightfield fence to win it for the Tigers, 9-8.

It was the first time a national championship game was decided on a home run on the last pitch of the game.

Another important safety element in the Truletic glove is a molded protective insert which is placed on the outside of the glove and covers and lower half of the hand for maximum bone and tendon shielding.  The molded hard plate is made from Kydex which has a wide variety of applications, including aircraft bulkheads, firearm holsters, sheaths, and for knives.

Another interesting safety feature is the reinforced cross-strap.  The hook-and-loop wrist strap stabilizes crucial wrist ligaments while securing the protective plate.

Sheepskin conforms to the palm and provides superior grip and strength while wicking moisture.

It also has breathable lycra on the back of the glove.

Truletic was developed when renowned hand surgeon, Dr. Mark Ciaglia, encountered athletes from all levels of competition with debilitating hand injuries.  Having treated baseball players from minor to major leagues, Dr. Ciaglia recognized the importance of re-designing batting gloves to lesson the chance of hand injuries to hitters.

Dr. Ciaglia’s mentor, Dr. Charles Melone, Jr. (Chief of Hand Surgery and Professor of Orthopedics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center in

New York City), has worked in the protective sports glove field before with Everlast Boxing Gloves.  He is now bringing his hand expertise outside of the ring and onto the baseball diamond. EverGEL technology was designed exclusively for Everlast by Dr. Melone.  It provides state of the art cushioning and protection for wrapping knuckles, hands and wrists.

In collaboration with surgical colleagues, experts from MIT and UCLA, as well as professional baseball players, the team at Truletics came up with cutting-edge batting gloves that took 4 ½ years to develop and nine prototypes.

The cost of one set of gloves is $59.95.  To order, go on their website at: https://truletic.com/