By: Mike Jones
Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. is one of the most well known producers of baseball equipment in the U.S., especially when it comes to baseball gloves (Nickerson & Rarick, 2000). Rawlings is the official baseball of Major League Baseball (About Rawlings). The gloves are endorsed and used by countless professional players, from the likes of former icons such as Mickey Mantle, to the stars of today like Bryce Harper (About Rawlings). The company has even been known to provide gloves to professionals at no cost in return for autographs and signed memorabilia. Rawlings is also the official sponsor of the Gold Glove award, the most prestigious defensive award in Major League Baseball (About Rawlings). The Rawlings name being tied to this attribute increases the credibility and popularity of the brand. When selling a product that prides itself on how valuable it is as a defensive tool, it speaks volumes to sponsor such an award. The connection to Major League Baseball gives Rawlings an edge over its competition.
(Yadier Molina)
Rawlings gloves are purchased by people of all ages. Rawlings is one of the most popular gloves among youth baseball and softball players, thanks in part to the endorsement power of professional athletes (Nickerson & Rarick, 2000). This increases the range of the target market for Rawlings, as they also focus on selling to kids, teens, and young adults. Most young athletes idolize professional athletes. When they see their favorite players sporting a new Rawlings Glove, such as the Pro Preferred Series (About Rawlings), they want to buy that glove so that they can be just like their idol. In addition, names like Pro Preferred Series and Gamer Series make the product sound extremely appealing. Those names use a marketing strategy that says the best of the best use these gloves.
Rawlings baseball gloves are sold online through their website. They offer plenty of options. Each and every glove they make is available online (About Rawlings). The most popular feature on the website is the ability to customize a baseball or softball glove (About Rawlings). An interested buyer can choose a glove and customize every aspect of it, from color scheme to web design to size. This is especially popular among young athletes. Many Major League Baseball players have their named stitched onto their glove, which creates a uniqueness that young players often want to mirror. The gloves online range in price from $5.99 (youth gloves) to $499.99 (Gloves). These prices depend on how new the glove is, as well as how the glove is made and what size and age group it is being sold for.
Additionally, Rawlings markets their gloves through website such as JustGloves.com, a popular platform that specializes in the selling of baseball and softball gloves. Dick’s Sporting Goods and local sporting goods retailers are another common retailer for Rawlings equipment, especially gloves (Nickerson & Rarick, 2000).
Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. has transformed the sporting goods market, especially for baseball. Through innovative design and a strong hold with Major League Baseball, the company has grown into a powerhouse that dominates the baseball equipment industry. Not only are they the leading provider of gloves, they are also the official baseball of Major League Baseball (About Rawlings). The sales of these gloves are widespread and fairly balanced across the country.
Rawlings Sporting Goods, Inc. is based out of St. Louis, Missouri (About Rawlings). St. Louis is famously known as a baseball city, and has even been rated the number one city in the United States for baseball fans (Bernardo, 2015). This makes the city a perfect location for Rawlings’ headquarters. Due to this location, the Rawlings brand is most popular in the Midwest and along the east coast, although it has a widespread market (Nickerson & Rarick, 2000). Through its licensee, Rawlings also sells baseball uniforms and equipment in Japan, further expanding its market (Nickerson & Rarick, 2000).
Rawlings is focusing on innovation across several fronts (Nickerson & Rarick, 2000). In the last decade, they have developed the Rawlings Sports Camp and Caravan. This activities serves as an advertising campaign. It combines a baseball museum full of memorabilia with a sporting goods workshop (Nickerson & Rarick, 2000). For these events, Rawlings partners with charities such as the YMCA and Boy & Girls Club of America (Nickerson & Rarick, 2000). This marketing strategy has increased the popularity and appeal of the company over the years (Nickerson & Rarick, 2000). Another strategy Rawlings has developed is called the Dugout Display. This is an interactive display that gives interested buyers the opportunity to see the latest innovations in the field and try out new products offered by the company (Nickerson & Rarick, 2000). This feature not only helps Rawlings sell their products, but it also helps retailers merchandise them (Nickerson & Rarick, 2000).
In 1997, Rawlings signed a contract with Host Communications Inc., the nation’s leading sports marketer (Rawlings Sporting Goods Co., Inc. History). This heightened Rawlings’ marketing and advertising ability, as it allowed them to be marketed to coaches’ organizations and amateur sports contests that Host would have (Rawlings Sporting Goods Co., Inc. History). That same year, Rawlings bought out Daignault Rolland, a manufacturer of hockey equipment in North America and some baseball equipment in Canada (Rawlings Sporting Goods Co., Inc. History). This further broadened the market for Rawlings and increased its sales and positive reputation.
I have a professional model Rawlings catchers mitt from the he Kirby Puckett estate. I had the letters LBEO1 stamped in it. Is there some way to research the glove to determine why Kirby would have had a catcher’s mitt?
Did you ever get info on that glove?.. I collect gloves and know some people that could maybe identify it.. he could have a catchers mitt as a gift from a player or just for messing around at practice .. where it says the model number on the palm it should start and end whith pro for hert of the hide or pros for pro preferred and end with pro or pros.. pros-cm33-pros for example.. the letters stamped into the glove are probably the manufacturer date code
LBE01 is a date and leather Manufacturer code used by Rawlings. This code says that the mitt was made by Rawlings in the month and year: July of 2021. The last two numbers of 01 are the code for Horween Leather company out of Chicago IL. They are the leather supplier of that particular glove.
Hope this helps.