As of this writing, you can customize something like 46 different A2000 gloves or 18 different A2K gloves. That includes infield, outfield, pitcher, catcher, first base and fast pitch gloves.
Wilson Custom Glove Options
Once you’ve made the difficult decision on which of those 65+ gloves to choose from your decisions only get harder. Check the number of color decisions that are coming your way–half of which I don’t even know where they are on a glove:
Back Finger
Power Finger
Thumb Strip
Web
Palm
Binding
Welting Palm
Welting Shell
Lacing Web
Lacing Fingertops
Lacing Heel
Wilson Logo Patch
Wilson Logo
Binding Stitching
Web Stitching
The great news is the site makes the process remarkably smooth. In fact, our favorite option was the ‘Color Play’ which instantly generated 8 options based on a swatch of colors you selected.
As if I didn’t actually have a real job, or anything better to do, Wilson put an optional ‘Randomize’ function on the process. I think I spent something like 9 hours clicking that forsaken button. “No, I didn’t get to that pile of paperwork” I’d e-mail to my boss later that day “I got tied up on a phone call.”
We’ve played catch with one of these custom gloves and can confirm they are fantastic in every respect of the A2K or A2000 name.
You can also customize some writing and logos on the glove.
Long story short, we are gigantic fans of this process and glove. Even if you aren’t willing to spend nearly $400 for the custom A2000 or getting close to $600 for the A2Ks we still suggest the site is worth a swing or two. But be careful as you might find yourself with a design you just can’t pass up.
Every thirteen year old in the world should have a custom A2K or A2000 on the very top of Christmas/Birthday list. Check that, any human being with a pulse between ages 13 and 53 year old should have a custom A2K or A2000 on top of their Christmas/Birthday list.
The World Baseball Classic, an international professional baseball tournament with teams representing different countries, will be held for the fourth time, this coming March. MLB.tv providing coverage this year is a big plus. Another plus: the WBC teaming up with Wilson to deliver custom A2000 1786 gloves for most of the teams. We cover the Wilson World Baseball Classic gloves by country below.
What should be the favorite, but rarely is and rarely wins it all, is the USA team. Guys like Stanton and Daniel Murphy will be there. Not sure if Murph will be sporting the 1786 A2000 at second base, but we will see. The glove is beautiful. We bought one.
Venezuela took 3rd place, beating out rival USA, in the 2009 WBC. This year they come with a roster full of MLB stars. Jose Altuve and Migeul Cabrera, among others, will be there. We would LOVE to see Altuve sporting this gem of a glove on the two-bag.
Cuba does not have a single MLB player on their team. That is likely because most of them defected to the USA. But, the team they do put together is always quite good. Baseball is their national sport and they take this very seriously. They finished 2nd in the 2006 WBC. Their Wilson 1786 Glove is dynamite.
Wowza. The Mexico designed 1786 may be the best looking glove on the planet right now. Definitely a Christmas holiday’s sort of theme—but that does not mean it is not flat out smoking hot. We bought one of these too. Expect Danny Espinoza and Adrian Gonzales to lead this team to a serious run at the title.
South Korea always puts together a dead serious team that competes. In 2009 they were runners up. Although only one MLB guy is on the roster (Seung-Hwan from the Cards), the very deep and talented South Korean and Asian leagues deliver a committed squad.
Japan, like Korea, only has one player on the roster in the MLB (Nori Aoiki from the Astros). However, they are the favorites to win. The Japanese take baseball very seriously and they produce great ballers who often stay in their national league. Expect great things from these folks. Will they wear the 1786 Japan design or something from Mizuno? We will see.
Dominican Republic Designed Wilson 1786 Glove
The Dominican Republic glove is nearly as impressive as the team’s roster. Manny Machado, Jose Bautista, Adrian Beltre to name a few. Throw in Robinson Cano wearing this glove at the 2-base spot for the DR and it really is an impressive moment. The DR won it all in the last WBC and it would be no surprise for them to do it again come 2017.
Oh Canada! What a seriously beautiful glove. It would be hard to decide between playing with this glove or hanging it over your fireplace right next to the mounted moose head. It looks a lot like the Japan glove. Canada has plenty of professional dudes on their national team–mostly in the Minors–but has a real shot at doing some memorable damage in the 2017 WBC. That glove though…
Puerto Rico also has a few serious ballers on the roster. Guys like Javier Baez and Carlos Beltran will make any team quite good. Their 1786 Custom Wilson country glove is a site to behold, too. Smooth 11.5-inch Pro-Stock leather on a white palm with blue webbing is worthy of a flash or two.
A few countries either did not get gloves, or Wilson is holding off on releasing information. A few first timers in the WBC countries might make some dope looking gloves. Israel and Columbia, for example, could make for some sweet designs. As well, why there is no Australia, Italy or China, we are not sure. A straight red Glove from China would be sweet. An Italian glove with the flashy green would be smooth too. But, alas. Maybe 2021?
The A2000 and A2K are the two top flight gloves made by Wilson. In the major leagues, they are the most popular gloves—although others are gaining steam too. The A2K and the A2000 are more similar then they are different.
They do, after all, come in many of the same patterns and made in the same workshops. There are, however, enough differences to compare to the two and, as many do, have a preference. Here we discuss the differences between the A2k and A2000 baseball gloves from Wilson.
Difference Between A2K and A2000
There are a number of sources and youtube videos that discuss the differences in the two gloves. We think our 1-minute glove review video discussing the differences is as helpful as any one out there. And, the great part, it is only one minute.
Before 2017, one advantage of the A2000 class of gloves was the offering of the Super Skin on some select models. These synthetic backings decreased the total weight of the glove and made it more durabale and weather proof. Some, on the other hand, thought they should not be paying more for less leather so did not find the premium priced A2000 Super Skin worth it.
In 2017, Wilson put Super Skin on the back of a 1788 model of an A2K. It was the first time they had done it save the DATDUDE faux snakeleather pro-stock select. We are hopeful Wilson will begin putting Super Skin on the backhand of even more A2Ks in the future. As such, the Super Skin advantage of the A2000 (if indeed you thought it was one) may soon be obsolete.
What’s the Difference Between the A2K and the A2000 Wilson Baseball Glove?
There are not many differences between the A2K and A2000. However, the things that are different may make all the difference for any given player. Most find the A2K’s soft leather very attractive. Others like the rugged and workman’s feel of the A2000. More pro’s use the A2000—although there A2000 gloves get special treatment. In the stock models made available to the public we think the A2K is a nicer glove but, honestly, both are great choices.
As a general rule you will find four distinct differences between the A2k and the A2000 from Wilson. However, with every set of general rules, there are always exceptions. As Wilson improves upon the unique features of the A2000 and A2K become more blurred.
Pro Stock Select vs Pro-Stock
A2K uses a “Pro-Stock Select” leather while A2000 uses “Pro-Stock”. Both are high quality leathers raised specifically for Wilson ball gloves. Literally, there is a specially bread cow in Japan that is made to produce top quality leather for Wilson Ball gloves. The A2K leather is triple sorted into good, better, best piles. That is, they sort leather into a good, better and best pile then take the best pile and sort them into those three piles again. They do that one more time before accepting leather as “Pro-Stock Select” leather.
Heel Padding & Double Palm Construction
There is more padding found in the A2Ks then in the A2000’s palm. Some patterns have exceptions to this (see the DP15, for example). But more padding tends to mean a softer catch. It also means more break in time and, potentially, less feel of the ball on exchanges. You can feel the differences in the padding size by touch.
(As one example of an exception to the rule, the DP15 A2K has a very thin heel pad. Pedroia likes it that way so his game model, although an A2K, has a very thin heel pad.
Rolled or Rough Welting
The welting on the A2K’s is softer (aka “rolled”) while the welting on the A2000’s sometimes rough. Do note, some A2000’s often have rolled leather especially when they are a particular color Functionally this means little difference—although some would say a rolled welting is easier to break in. But expect a softer feel on the welting which, you may need to learn, is the seams that fit the back of the fingers together.
Work In Factory Time
Glove technicians work on the A2K’s pre-sale work-in period three times longer than the A2000. This creates a much softer leather at purchase and generally more comfortable feel the first time it is worn.
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