Vegan glove makes majors

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2011:

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.–Pitcher Brian Gordon of the New York
Yankees and the first non-leather baseball glove used in the major
leagues debuted together on June 16, 2011. Gordon’s vegan glove was
hand-crafted from nylon microfiber by Scott Carpenter, 30, of
Cooperstown, New York, whose shop is near the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ten ounces lighter than conventional leather baseball gloves,
the vegan glove meets the strength and safety requirements of Major
League Baseball Inc. Non-leather vinyl baseball and softball gloves
were introduced for recreational play by several makers circa 1990,
but have a notoriously short useful lifespan and are now sold only
for use by children who are just beginning to play ball.
“The quality of synthetics back then was awful compared to
now,” Carpenter told ANIMAL PEOPLE. “I believe the tipping point
for synthetics in professional baseball gloves is now–it wasn’t
plausible earlier.”
Several minor league pro players are also using Carpenter
non-leather gloves.