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The Finest in the Field®
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The Finest in the Field®: A History of Baseball Through 50 Iconic Gloves

Author Ed Wheatley, Foreword by Johnny Bench

The gloves themselves are the stars in this rich history of baseball’s most memorable fielding moments, as curated from Rawlings’s unmatched collection.

Highlighting fifty gloves as touchstones of baseball’s most storied players and plays, this book pairs a gallery of sumptuous glove photography with essays to place each glove into its historical context. The treasury also features archival photos of the players, period advertisements, and other memorabilia.

Baseball’s history comes to life with famous gloves and famous moments. They include Christy Mathewson’s game used glove from the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s collection illustrating the model worn during the greatest pitching performance in World Series history in 1905; Jackie Robinson’s model glove worn during the years he broke baseball’s segregation barrier in 1947; and the model like Mickey Mantle wore in 1956 while making the catch to preserve the only World Series perfect game. Other gloves are immediately connected to plays so famous they have their own monikers: Willie Mays’s “The Catch,” Derek Jeter’s “The Flip,” and Ken Griffey Jr.’s “The Wall Banger.”

Throughout the book—which features every Gold Glove Award winner—are quotes from players and vignettes calling out special moments.

This book will be compelling to fans, players, historians, and collectors. Students of the game, from all generations, will now truly own a piece of baseball’s rich history.

About The Author

Ed Wheatley is an award-winning author and film producer. He has earned Sports Collectors Digest’s best book published on baseball, and his films have all been selected for the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s film festival. Founded in 1887, Rawlings Sporting Goods is the number one baseball brand worldwide and creator of the iconic Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 1957.
Johnny Bench played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from 1967 to 1983, with the Cincinnati Reds, leading them to six division titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series championships. A fourteen-time All-Star and a two-time National League Most Valuable Player, Bench excelled on offense and defense, twice leading the majors in home runs and three times in runs batted in, as well as a ten-time Gold Glove Award winner. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 in his first year of eligibility. He was named to MLB's All-Time Team in 1997 and All-Century Team in 1999, and ESPN has called him the greatest catcher in baseball history.

  • Publish Date: March 24, 2026
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Category: Sports & Recreation - Baseball - General
  • Publisher: Rizzoli
  • Trim Size: 9 x 12
  • Pages: 272
  • US Price: $45.00
  • CDN Price: $60.00
  • ISBN: 978-0-8478-7657-0
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Reviews

"'This book reflects Rawlings' deep connection to the history of the game and celebrates the gloves that have epitomized defensive excellence through the years," said Mike Thompson, Chief Marketing Officer for Rawlings...Gloves are the focal point of this richly illustrated collection of stories that highlights iconic moments, famous plays and the defensive greats that have defined America's pastime. Each glove is presented through detailed photography and paired with immersive essays that place the artifact within its historical context. Captivating imagery, period advertisements, and additional memorabilia further illuminate the era each glove represents." — PR NEWSWIRE

"Ball gloves. So much history…so many stories just waiting to be told. We have been there through it all, from Bill Doak’s glove, the first to feature a built-in pocket and web, to Francisco Lindor’s wild and colorful REV1X designs. Now we’re ready to share those special stories with you as told through 50 iconic ball gloves worn by the games’ most celebrated legends, those who are lucky enough to be deemed the Finest in the Field." — @RAWLINGSSG VIA INSTAGRAM

"An athlete’s glove is perhaps their most important tool to success, as it was for me, on my path to winning 13 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards® over the course of my career...To be included in this must-read chronicle of glove design and evolution from Rawlings alongside some of my childhood heroes and the newest class of defensive greats, is truly an honor. Baseball fans of every generation will truly enjoy this special book from Rawlings." — OZZIE SMITH, HALL OF FAME SHORTSTOP

"Like Louisville Slugger and Wilson, Rawlings is the leader in its field and one of the three most recognizable and beloved of all baseball brands. The Finest in the Field (Rizzoli) is not only the company’s main motto, but it now also serves as the title of a sumptuous photographic tribute to '50 Iconic' Rawlings gloves, game-used by various stalwarts of the game, from the Red Stockings’ Doug Allison to the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh. While the 50 beautifully photographed iconic gloves form the core of the book, they are supplemented with scores of other delicious images: of the players in action and, especially, of all forms of Rawlings glove advertising down through the decades. While author Ed Wheatley provides lively bios of the fifty players whose gloves are featured, many readers will likely enjoy even more the text devoted to the history of gloves (their initial adoption, improvements, and evolution) as well as the history of the Rawlings company itself. A must for glove lovers.” — SPITBALL MAGAZINE