Here's something I wonder about sometimes: How come when some baseball players get on base, they take off their batting gloves and hold them in their hands for baserunning. Is it just a quirky thing, or is there something else that causes it?

When players hold their batting gloves, i have learned that when you slide you want to keep your hands up because having them on the ground with your legs will slow you down. I have heard to hold rocks too so if you do slide with your hands down it will leave a mark and make you remember it. They hold their gloves for the same reason without the consequence incase they do forget.

They use the glove to get a better grip on the bat but bothers them with it on other times.

they do it for good luck.

I see them put the glove or gloves in their back pocket.

see i play softball and i do that it because running with tight gloves on is annoying and someone else might want to use them so you take them off and give the gloves to them

The baserunners hold their batting gloves in their hands when they run, mainly if they slide head first a lot. If their gloves would on, they would rip when they rub against the ground. If they didn't have gloves on, they'd get scrapes.

Now you may be thinking, why do they care if their gloves rip, they have a ton of money. Now that may be a quirky thing (it may be their lucky batting gloves)... or it could just be the fact that it would be an inconvenience to the players and their money could be spent better otherwise.

The reason that ball players grip their gloves is so that if they slide into a base, they won't break a finger, wrist, or jam a thumb. Also if they are sliding into a base to break-up a double play there is less of a risk of the oppisite teams player landing on a finger with his cleats.