The Blue Chip

Krysti's son is in the club. Lifetime pass with celebrity entrance clearance. And amazingly, the fella cracked the list years to decades ahead of that there line winding indefinitely on down the street

Wilson - 9845 - ‘SoftFlex’ - c.1980

Ok, maybe that 'line' isn't as interminable as framed, but still, it's impressive to me that at such a young age this kid already displays the integrity in adhering to what works for him as opposed to chasing peer relevance or bending backwards with every trend. And to top it off, wherein most youth run screaming from any hint of sentimental nod to even their slightly earlier selves, he embraces the notion in full. Kid's either Benjamin Button or just way more comfortable with being himself at a far earlier age than most... Read– a burgeoning badass.

Kid didn't at all want a new glove. Simply wanted the one he's had all along back in working order. The one that works best for him. The one his mom got in trade with friends with 'S. Little' blocked in sharpie by some other mom from most likely the early 80's. The 'S. Little' his own mom had endearingly suggested was of the adventurous and open-hearted mouse, Stuart, to which he took to from the start with zeal and flat-out digs to this day.

Because badass.

This Wilson, 9845, 'Soft Flex' is from right around 1980 and in great working order. Only needed the basic service of a deep clean and 3 stage conditioning with Ballplayer’s Balm products, palm adhesive extraction and application of oven-heated glove grease by GluvLuv to reshape and hold the pocket. Relaced with 3.5/16" Indian Tan laces from Flatbill Baseball I skived for appropriate sections.

That vertical pattern of laces at the heel was something that was rather ubiquitous on the buyers market in the early 80's. Concept was simple. Instead of a hinge on one side of the heel like every other– Why not hedge the bets and put a hinge at every point? Solid in theory but in practice it quickly vanished from the market with only a small handful of MLB players taking to it. And that small handful primarily being a couple of defensive wizards at second base who lacked the market appeal of hitting for an average above their diminutive weight. Oh, and sometimes Ted Williams in the 60’s. But he literally practiced swinging an imaginary bat in the outfield, so… good chance he just liked how he could roll it up and stuff in his back pocket.

Anyway –All's I'm saying is this– if t kid continues orienting his life in this manner, much like Stuart Little, he won't have to search far for genuinely fulfilling experiences. Regardless, they'll certainly find him.