Horween receives around 1 percent of the 650,000 hides that are made from slaughtering cattle each week (Silva 2011). Of this 1 percent, only the top 3 percent are used to make baseball gloves (Silva 2011). Because of this, quality control is a crucial process that occurs at each step in production of leather and the glove as a whole. Even the slightest blemish or imperfection could ruin the entire hide, and in turn the resulting gloves. Horween uses only about 30 percent of each hide, which in turn will make three or four gloves (Berlow 2007). Because of this, quality control is imperative if Horween wants to keep their reputation as making some of the best leather products available.
So much attention is needed at each stage in manufacturing that the craftsman is not only responsible making the glove, but also for being their own quality control manager (Berlow 2007). If any imperfection is apparent, it’s their responsibility to make sure it is thrown out. This intense quality control begins as soon as the cowhides arrive at Horween Leather Company. Upon arrival, the hides are tested for strength and condition to make sure the skin will survive the tanning process (Berlow 2007). After tanning, one man is accountable for deciding whether the leather will be used for boots, belts, footballs, or baseball gloves (Silva 2011). Baseball gloves must be 5 ½ ounces and have no imperfections (Silva 2011). From there the leather is crafted into the famous Rawlings Gloves, with the workers continuously checking their work to make sure the product is perfect.
This goal to make the most flawless leather possible is one of the reasons that Rawlings makes the official gloves used by players in the MLB. If it wasn’t for Rawlings’ tedious manufacturing and quality control processes, another company such as Wilson, may take the place as the official glove.
However, with such high standards set by the Horween Leather Company, it has proved challenging to maintain the impressive quality of leather. This is because in recent years, cattle have been slaughtered at younger and younger ages, which causes the hides to not be as durable as the older cows (Burgdorfer 2007). Tanneries have also had to alter their tanning methods as new regulations of the dyes and oils that are allowed to treat the leather have been enacted (Silva 2011). This change in the quality of the hides shows how intertwined the leather business is with other areas of the economy. As one change is made in this commodity chain, the entire process can be affected as a whole.
Because of this possible downgrade, other methods of making baseball gloves without leather have come about, such as the Carpenter Trade Company. (Silva 2011). This idea of using baseball gloves that are not based in leather may seem surprising to some, but this may one day be the standard if leather quality continues to decline. However, the superior quality control of Rawlings Baseball Gloves combined with the long lasting tradition of using leather gloves should keep them as the official glove of the MLB for years to come.
(“Photo Gallery,” 2015)
By Andrew Pund