Shortstop Mitt Padded Web for High-Speed Ground Ball Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The shortstop position in baseball lacks a specialized mitt design that effectively handles hot ground balls, which are often overlooked in the evaluation of defensive contributions, despite their high speed and frequency.
Innovation Solution
A short stop baseball mitt with a padded circular indentation in the palm area and a padded web area between the thumb and index finger, featuring elastic and resilient nylon webbing, designed to provide optimal control and catching capabilities for ground balls traveling at speeds up to 90 miles per hour.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional baseball mitt design is used, then the mitt is simple in structure and easy to manufacture, but it cannot provide optimal control of high-speed ground balls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a padded web area specifically between the thumb and index finger, while leaving other areas of the mitt with traditional construction. This localized padding provides enhanced control for catching hot ground balls without requiring the entire mitt to be complex or heavily padded, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and device complexity.
2Reliability
If the mitt uses heavily padded areas for better ball control, then ball catching performance improves, but the mitt weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by placing padding only in the specific web area between the thumb and index finger where it is most needed for controlling ground balls. This localized approach improves ball catching performance without distributing weight across the entire mitt, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and weight.
3Reliability
If the mitt is designed with specialized features for shortstop position, then ball control at high speeds improves, but the ease of manufacture decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by adding a padded web area only in the specific region between the thumb and index finger, rather than redesigning the entire mitt structure. This localized modification provides specialized shortstop functionality while minimizing the impact on manufacturing complexity, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of manufacture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The mitt enables better ball control and catching performance by distributing the impact of high-speed balls, reducing the risk of injury and enhancing the shortstop's ability to intercept and rethrow balls effectively, thus improving defensive capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic and resilient circular indentation located at the anterior surface and spaced from the posterior surface
Implementation Method 2
designed for achieving optimal control of hot ground balls that can come at speeds of up to 90 plus miles per hour
Implementation Method 3
a padded web area between the thumb and index finger wherein a user can achieve optimal control of hot ground balls
Data Source
AI summary
A short stop baseball mitt includes a cone-shaped body having a palm area provided with a first baseball-receiving section having an elastic and resilient circular indentation located at the anterior surface and spaced from the posterior surface, and configured to provide ball catching control, a thumb-receiving region located at the first lateral side and engaged with the posterior surface, an index finger-receiving region spaced from the thumb-receiving region and located only at the posterior surface thereby being spaced from the anterior surface, and a second baseball-receiving section including an elastic and resilient padded pocket located only at the anterior surface thereby being spaced from the posterior surface. The elastic and resilient padded pocket is intercalated between the thumb-receiving region and the index finger-receiving region while disposed anteriorly of the index finger-receiving region.