![baseball](http://www.torontomike.com/images/blog/baseball.gif)
I got my first baseball glove when I was six or seven years old. I played with that plastic Canadian Tire brand glove for years until I received a Black Diamond glove made by Cooper.
That Black Diamond glove was used every day of every summer for years until I received the glove that would see me into adulthood. That glove, which I absolutely adored, was a Rawlings mitt with Fernando Valenzuela's autograph printed in the palm. I've had several gloves since, and it now seems like I go through a glove every 18-months, but I've never had one I've liked as much.
I liked it so much, I couldn't throw it out. The insides were completely eroded when I found her stored in my basement last weekend. Here are my final photos of my old Rawlings Fernando Valenzuela glove before I chucked her.
![P5098905](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3341/3516628200_f0dd32842b_m.jpg)
![P5098906](https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3572/3515816671_32650bd4f0_m.jpg)