Glove Day for Chapman, Ryu and other Toronto Stars

See the custom A2K and A2000 gloves for Matt Chapman, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Ross Stripling and more.

Wilson continued the 2022 Glove Day road trip with a stop in Dunedin to visit Matt Chapman, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Ross Stripling, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Teoscar Hernandez and other stars at Toronto spring training. Chapman, who has used the same glove since 2018, prefers his 11.75” A2K MC26 GM for its durability.

“I am particular about how I break in my glove,” Chapman said. “The nice thing is, when you get a new glove and you put it on, it’s ready to kind of form and mold to your hand.”

Toronto recently acquired the third baseman from Oakland, and he worked with #TeamWilson to revamp his A2K MC26 GM for the upcoming season with a new team. With Senior Glove Designer Ryan Smith, Chapman swapped out Kelly Green laces on his glove with new Sky Blue laces.

“Maybe some blue laces will help,” Chapman said. “I’m excited to show people what I can do with my glove. I feel extremely lucky to have Wilson, and I don’t think anybody can make a custom glove like Wilson does.”

Stripling picked up a pair of custom 12.5” A2000 B125 baseball glove on Glove Day. The right-handed pitcher said he saves his new gloves exclusively for use in games.

“I do like to pitch in my new glove every year,” Stripling said. “I will literally only pitch in this. I won’t play catch or anything. I keep it stiff… so that I can’t flare it or anything to possibly tip pitches.”

Stripling designed one glove in Saddle Tan and another in Walnut. Both custom A2000s featured his nickname “Chicken Strip,” embroidered on the ring finger and the Texas state outline stamped in the palm.

“I’ve always liked this color. I’ve never just pulled the trigger on that,” Stripling said. “I’m from Texas. I’ve got the Texas (stamp) in there. You’ve got something called Saddle Tan – that just couldn’t make more sense for me.”

Starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu keeps coming back to his Wilson gloves with the Dial Fit Wrist system. This mechanical dial on the wrist, common on Wilson gloves in the 1990s, allows Ryu to adjust the tension and fit of his glove. Ryu ordered two versions of his special A2K RYU99 – one in Teal and another in Royal Blue.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. works new colors into his designs every year. For 2022, he designed a custom 12.75” A2000 Y dedicated to his dad, a glove to pair with the custom A2000 Y he already designed for his mom. The custom features White SuperSnakeSkin™, Blue Pro Stock® leather and Green accents. He used pink stitching to write “Mom” on the thumb, and he embroidered her name on the ring finger.

“I focused on my mom for this glove,” Gurriel Jr. said. “Mom here (on the thumb), her name on the back.”

Visit the Wilson Baseball/Softball YouTube channel for all the scenes from #GloveDay, and follow @wilsonballglove on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok for exclusive views from spring training.