Motte, Cardinals enjoy new gear on Glove Day

JUPITER, Fla. -- Jason Motte smiled as he showed off the leather, then he punched the brand-new hide. It was fresh out of the box, and Motte planned on breaking in his new glove quickly.
"It'll take one day," he said.
Motte was one of the several players to unwrap new mitts Sunday, when Wilson sent sports marketing director Scott Paulson and Shigeaki Aso, the company's glove guru, to Cardinals camp to distribute gloves. Other players who received new gloves included Jedd Gyorko, Paul DeJong, John Gant, José Martínez, Tyler O'Neill, Francisco Peña, Alex Mejia and Edmundo Sosa.
Wilson presents two gloves to each of its players, sometimes more if a player plays multiple positions. If a Wilson client is on the club's 40-man roster, he has the ability to customize his glove. If he was on a 40-man roster the year before, he can customize multiple.

That's the case for Motte, who walked away with two unique mitts Sunday. He plans to use an all-black Wilson 11.25" 1788A A2000 model during games, and give a smaller, purple-and-black version to his young son, Sutter. He designed Sutter's in Rocky Mountain colors because Sutter was born in Colorado when Motte played for the Rockies. For his game glove, Motte had his family's initials and the hashtag "#KCancer" inscribed on the thumb.
"KCancer" is the slogan for Motte's charity, which has provided support to families affected by the disease since 2010.
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"I always try to put stuff on [my glove] that means something to me," Motte said. "I like going out there and pitching for a bigger purpose."
Gyorko, DeJong and Gant also jumped at the chance to personalize their gloves. Gant designed his to match vintage St. Louis colors from the 1980s. DeJong labeled a new H-Web A2K with his nickname, "Pauly D." Gyorko opted for a slightly larger mitt than in years past, as he readies to play predominately at third base this season. The "BKB 3" inscribed on the thumb stands for Gyorko's three young children: Brody, Kadin and Brooklyn.