Used/Cheap Baseball Gloves for Kids in L.A.?

March 21, 2008 2:53 PM

Cheap/free used sporting equipment for kids (baseball gloves) in Los Angeles?

I'll be in Cuba in a couple weeks and based on what I've seen-done there before, one of the best things I could do would be to bring along some old baseball gloves for the kids there. The last time I did this, I collected them from a community center's member donations, and augmented that with a trip to some used sports stores and pawn shops and such for like $5 and $10 ones... I ended up with about 20 usable gloves and some other gear, and it was the single most appreciated thing of the entire trip.

The problem is that this time I'm going from Los Angeles, not my home base, and I don't know any such places in L.A. There's also not enough time to organize a church or community collection this time, so something more modest will have to do.

So does anyone know any good sources for used kid- or young-adult-size baseball gloves in the L.A. area? (pref Hollywood / Los Feliz / Glendale, but I should have a bit of time to motor if needed) I'll pay a little, but $100 new ones are definitely out of my budget, here. Making ten kids happy is better than spoiling one. Also, as anyone who remembers their childhood will recall, a beat-up used glove is better than a new one, anyway.

(Fine print to maybe prevent derail: I have been to Cuba many times, yes I know the system, yes I am traveling legally (cultural visa), and please keep the politics light okay? They're just kids who love baseball. Bats and balls are made locally and well, but gloves are hard to come by, as the blockade prevents US manufacturers from selling there, so parents have a choice of either very expensive Mizunos from Japan, shoddy handmade ones that make me sad, or gifts from visitors. I have never seen Chinese knockoff, though I don't know why.)

posted by rokusan to sports, hobbies, & recreation (5 comments total)

Check various Out of the Closet locations. And there's a big Goodwill near Hollywood and Vermont.
posted by seldomfun at 2:59 PM on March 21

Partial derail with apologies: You are doing a great thing. Are there any charities that are specifically organized to do good works like this, in Cuba specifically? Or is it just The Church(es)?
posted by JimN2TAW at 3:55 PM on March 21

Within Cuba, charity seems to be mainly a family or church thing (Cuba has caught up to the rest of LA: lots of Catholicism + a dash of Santeria). The only orgs I know of that help Cuba(ns) from afar are focused on medical supplies and such... which are in constrained supply for the same reasons, and of course are even more important than baseball.

Well, almost as important. :)
posted by rokusan at 4:53 PM on March 21

Maybe contact Sean Bonner at Metroblogging LA and ask him to do a reader appeal for you? I'm sure that with a tiny bit of outreach, it would not be hard to round up 20 or 30 gloves in LA.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:10 PM on March 21

Look for a Play it again Sports in the area. You might be able to talk them into donating some just to clean out the used glove shelf.
posted by COD at 5:14 PM on March 21