Wilson: A2000 vs. A2K

Wilson A2000 vs A2K: Pro Stock vs. Pro Stock Select. Different palm liner. Presence of palm "padding". There are a lot of differences between the two series of gloves, with a $100 difference. I use an A2000 when I play middle infield and I have used an A2K at the hot corner. I also do want to point out that I only use Wilson in the infield and I never used one in the outfield. The reason to that is because I feel like Wilson gloves play an eighth to a quarter inch shorter than Rawlings gloves due to the Dual Welting. This is a characteristic that is unique to Wilson at such a high quality; other glove companies can mimic Wilson but they seem to miss the mark. The dual welting may sacrifice length but it definitely will give you a nice round pocket which is why I choose Wilson in the infield.

The A2000 has the same leather for the palm liner as it has for all around the glove (or as so it feels). It also does not have the palm padding seen in the A2K and they also use pro stock leather. The leather despite the fact that it is “a lower quality” feels great and is comparable to a stock HOH. The lack of the palm padding allows for a thinner pocket and the lack of “dots” as the glove is used. The "dots" will be discussed in the A2K section but the thin palm liner allows for an ease in finding the ball in your glove when fielding a ground ball. I make four pockets in my glove, right under the web, right on the web, on the ring finger and right on the logo indent (for most gloves. In the case of Maruccis, just make the pocket right in the middle of the palm) and wherever the ball is in my glove, I know where it is. The ease to break-in Wilsons make these pockets easy to make in my opinion so if you are looking for a glove that can break in rather quickly but still last you a long time, A2000 could be your go-to (uploaded 10/7/2019, Rawlings HOH and PP logs are not up so wait if you are thinking of comparing Rawlings and Wilson)

The A2K uses higher quality leather (Pro Stock Select) compared to the A2000 and also has a more comfortable palm liner and the palm “padding” to prevent bubbling in the palm. In all honesty cannot feel the higher quality in leather. If there is any difference, it is not as obvious as a Pro Preferred compared to a Heart of the Hide. Bottom line here, the leather quality in A2000 and A2K are that similar. The palm padding does allow for less bubbling in the palm. But like all other gloves, if you try to squeeze the glove as hard as you can while it is stiff, bubbles will form. After observing several gloves on second-hand websites (such as Round2, eBay, SidelineSwap, etc), there tends to be a presence of bubbles on the ring finger more than any other finger. Although this is a characteristic of most used gloves, I see it more in Wilsons and in fact my A2000 does have a slight bubble in the ring finger. I have also had an individual DM me on Instagram a picture of an A2K with a large bubble in the palm, specifically on the ring finger. The A2K padding does not prevent that bubble on the ring finger, but it does the job when it comes to the bubbling in the palm where the A2K indent is on the palm. The downside with the padding is that as you use the glove (especially on lighter colored A2Ks like Blonde or Copper), there will be dark dots forming due to the holes in the padding under the palm leather. This in all honesty looks like the glove has developed chicken pox and there is really no solution to getting rid of these dots as far as I am aware of. If you are thinking of getting an A2K, I would highly recommend a black palmed A2K for this reason.

Ending thoughts: The $100 difference in A2Ks and A2000s are not as simple as the difference in leather. One interesting observation I have made with Wilson gloves is that they break in a lot faster compared to Heart of the Hides. I thought HOHs were easy to break in since I was able to play catch with them after a mallet session and I have owned an HOH before I owned a Wilson glove. In the case of both my A2000 and A2K, I took the tags off and I took them to the field and tossed with it and got some ground balls without any issues at all (if I made an error, that was my fault; not the glove's). Again, the dual welting allows for a rounder pocket due to the reinforcement with the welting. This is why I like to use Wilson in the middle infield with the round and "smaller" pocket. I also think that Wilson gloves are very light compared to Rawlings Gloves and I am not sure how I feel about that. This is because I have heard multiple instances of the plastic thumb and pinky inserts breaking in Wilson gloves. Sacrificing weight also sacrifices durability to a certain degree so what I would advise you to do is not not flare out your gloves at a 90 degree angle (for any glove but especially for Wilsons). Excessive flaring of the outer fingers will hinder the longevity of the glove inserts and even the glove itself.

My choice: A2000. Cost performance wise, the A2000 is a lot worth your money. Although A2Ks are nice, they are overrated in my opinion. A lot of my teammates I have had in the past that use A2Ks think they are great players but in reality they aren't so I take my personal experience in this choice as well.