Dude, Nice Glove!

Scott Payne

Just a dad who got weirdly into baseball gloves. Sharing mine. Learning about yours.

Episodes

  1. 16h ago

    Japanese Craft, American Feel: Inside Cedar Athletics with Jaxon Jabara

    What happens when collecting baseball gloves turns into a mission to create your own? Jaxon Jabara, founder of Cedar Athletics and the glove enthusiast behind Coachella Gloves, joins Scott Payne to share the journey from collecting and working in the glove industry to traveling through Japan and developing his own brand. His goal: combine Japanese craftsmanship with the familiar patterns and deeper pockets American players love. We explore what separates Japanese and American glove designs, how pocket shape and heel padding affect feel, and why Jaxon wants a premium glove to be easier to break in. He also shares his thoughts on water break-ins, leather colors, quality control, and building a glove that earns its place as someone's longtime gamer. Behind the product is a personal story: a name honoring his family's Lebanese heritage, design inspiration gathered abroad, and lessons from Japan about respecting the leather and listening to how a glove wants to break in. Stick around for the lightning round, including his favorite glove in his collection, a Japanese maker he thinks more players should try, and an unexpectedly practical desert island pick. IN THIS EPISODE • From Coachella Gloves to Cedar Athletics • Japanese craftsmanship and American glove patterns • The TK-1, OS-2, and Cedar's developing lineup • Break-in preferences and intentional design choices • Family heritage, customer experience, and lasting quality • Why he'd rather see a customer return in 10 years CONNECT Jaxon / Coachella Gloves: https://www.instagram.com/coachellagloves/ Dude Nice Glove: https://www.instagram.com/dudeniceglove/ Follow Dude Nice Glove for more conversations with the people behind the gloves. For people who love gloves way too much. Product development plans and estimated release dates discussed reflect the time of recording.

  2. 2d ago

    Picking the Perfect Youth Baseball Glove | 14-Year-Old Infielder Preston Gurule Owns 90+ Gloves!

    Is your kid's baseball glove too big, too stiff, or simply the wrong fit? Fourteen-year-old infielder Preston Gurule owns more than 90 gloves—and he has plenty to share about choosing one a young player can actually use. Preston joins Scott Payne on Dude, Nice Glove to discuss youth baseball glove sizing, hand strength, pocket depth, and the buying mistakes parents can avoid. As the son of Marcus "G" Gurule from Emery Gloves, he's grown up around glove craftsmanship. As a player, he's learned what feels good when it's time to make a play. "Whenever you have a smaller glove, it's basically like using your actual hand." — Preston Gurule We discuss: • Why bigger and more expensive don't automatically mean a better fit • Preston's glove suggestions for younger and developing players • When an infielder might be ready for a lighter, shallower glove • His approach to breaking in and caring for a glove • What coaches and parents should consider before borrowing a player's glove • His favorite gamers from a collection spanning American and Japanese brands Along the way, Preston talks Emery, Yardley, Marucci, IP Select, Leggera, Trinity, ASICS, Take 1, and ZETT. Whether you're shopping for your child's first serious glove or you love hearing someone explain their favorite leather, there's plenty here to enjoy. PRESTON'S GLOVE PICKS & MODELS DISCUSSED Youth and developing-player suggestions: • Emery 7107Y Youth Glove https://www.emerygloveco.com/products/emery-7107y-youth-blonde-light-blue • Yardley 279 — older 11.5″ model shown; current collection: https://www.yardleysports.com/collections/gloves • Marucci RS225 11″ — discontinued; reference listing: https://www.justballgloves.com/product/marucci-rs225-series-11--youth-baseball-glove--mfgrs11i/28997/ • Emery Summit Pro 1627 — custom/prototype discussed; current production version: https://www.emerygloveco.com/products/emery-summit-pro-1627-infield-glove-black-gold Advanced infield suggestions: • Leggera LE06 — brand collection: https://ballgloveblueprint.com/collections/leggera-taka • IP Select — exact model not identified; brand collection: https://ballgloveblueprint.com/collections/ip-select • ZETT Prostatus — exact model not identified; official collection: https://zett-baseball.jp/collections/prostatus These are Preston's personal suggestions from the conversation. Some gloves are older or custom models from his collection. Where the exact glove isn't available, we've linked a reference page or current collection; linked versions may differ. Follow Dude, Nice Glove on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dudeniceglove/ Enjoy the episode? Follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with a baseball parent choosing their kid's next glove. Dude, Nice Glove. For people who love gloves way too much.

  3. 4d ago

    Mizuno Haga Gloves: What Makes Them So Special? | Adam Vella - Mizuno Corporation

    What makes a baseball glove worthy of the Haga name? I sat down with Adam Vella, Lead Product Manager at Mizuno Corporation, to explore the people, precision, and passion behind some of Japan's most remarkable baseball gloves. Adam shares a story that captures Haga's standards perfectly: he needed a glove sample for a photograph, but the craftsmen wouldn't send it. The glove wasn't closing correctly—and even for a photo, it wasn't good enough to leave Haga. We step inside Adam's visits to the factory, including entering Ko Kishimoto's studio and having a glove made for Ichiro Suzuki placed on his hand. We talk about Ichiro's demanding expectations, Nori Ito's years of developing his skills, and the extraordinary opportunity to visit Haga for a personal glove consultation. Adam also brings out special releases and shares their stories—from classic World Win designs to the Zilla glove and Scott Rolen's Big M revival. We explore how Mizuno's limited-time offer program brings these ideas to North America, where Pro Select and youth Neo gloves fit, and the innovation that put Adam's name on a patent. Then we finish with the Dude, Nice Glove Lightning Round. For players, parents, collectors, and people who love gloves way too much. IN THIS EPISODE • Inside Mizuno's Haga factory in Japan • The craftsmen behind Ichiro's gloves • What it takes to become a Haga craftsman • The Mizuno Craftsman Order experience • Limited-edition gloves and the stories behind their designs • Pro Select, youth Neo, and glove technology • Adam's patented pull/attach tab GUEST Adam Vella — Lead Product Manager, Mizuno Corporation FOLLOW DUDE, NICE GLOVE https://www.instagram.com/dudeniceglove/ EXPLORE MIZUNO https://usa.mizuno.com/ HAGA CRAFTSMAN ORDER https://jpn.mizuno.com/baseball/craftsman-order Disclosure: Adam provided two Mizuno glove samples for my son and me, which we discuss in this episode.

  4. Oct 26

    The Relentless Pursuit of a Better Baseball Glove with Marcus "G" Gurule | Emery Glove Co Head Craftsman

    For Marcus "G" Gurule, there's no such thing as the perfect baseball glove. But that doesn't mean he's going to stop trying to make one. On this episode of Dude, Nice Glove!, we sit down with the head craftsman at Emery Glove Company for a fascinating conversation about innovation, experimentation, and the never-ending pursuit of building a better baseball glove. G's journey is anything but ordinary. He learned to sew from his mother, spent more than two decades serving in the U.S. Army, and eventually found himself surrounded by hundreds of baseball gloves in need of repair. What started as a passion for restoring old gloves turned into a career designing and improving them—including gloves for Major League Baseball players. But what makes G special isn't just what he knows about gloves. It's his relentless curiosity about how to make them better. We kick things off with an incredible Emery 1627 glove developed as part of a project for an MLB player, then dive into the details, stories, and innovations that make G and Emery so unique. In this episode, we explore: The journey from Army veteran to glove craftsman: How G turned a passion for restoring baseball gloves into a career at Emery. What makes an Emery different: The hidden construction details, premium materials, and thoughtful improvements that most players never notice. The art of continuous improvement: Why G prefers making small, meaningful improvements over claiming to reinvent the baseball glove. TruFit: The inspiration behind Emery's innovative approach to improving how a glove fits and feels on your hand. Unconventional materials: How G's military background influenced his experimentation with Cordura and other materials. Guts and Glory: The personal story behind Emery's military-inspired glove design. Wild glove designs: The creativity behind Emery's Hidden Tracks collection and eye-catching colorways. Glove break-in secrets: G's perspective on shaping, hot-water treatments, and making a glove perform its best. Japanese glove craftsmanship: Why G admires makers like Leggera and what he continues to learn from the world's best. The details that matter: Why liners, stitching, leather selection, and internal construction can make or break a great glove. And, of course, we finish with the Dude, Nice Glove Lightning Round, where G shares his favorite glove makers, materials, most underrated features, and some great stories along the way. One of the most fascinating things about G is his humility. Despite years of experience restoring, designing, and improving gloves, he's quick to celebrate other craftsmen, acknowledge what he doesn't know, and recognize that there's always something new to learn. For G, craftsmanship isn't about declaring that you've built the perfect glove. It's about making the next one better than the last. Whether you're a serious glove collector, a baseball player, a coach, or someone who simply appreciates the art of making something extraordinary, you're going to love this conversation. Dude, Nice Glove! #DudeNiceGlove #EmeryGloves #BaseballGloves #GloveCraftsmanship #BaseballPodcast

Ratings & Reviews

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About

Just a dad who got weirdly into baseball gloves. Sharing mine. Learning about yours.

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