‘It’s in our blood:’ Man turns love for baseball into thriving glove-making business in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) — If you ask any baseball or softball player about his or her first glove, the story is always special, and Marco Soto’s story is no different.

With a deep passion for baseball, he turned his childhood memories in Mexico into a thriving glove-making business in the Long Beach area called Soto Gloves.

“It brings you back to when you were a child,” said Soto. “Maybe during that time you were playing, you were actually maybe with your dad.”

Soto’s grandfather made leather saddles and whips so naturally, he made Soto his first glove.

“It took about three days. That was the first one he made me,” recalled Soto.

When Soto arrived at Long Beach Poly High School in the ’90s, his teammates quickly noticed that one-of-a-kind glove.

“The kids on my team are asking me, ‘How come your glove says Soto and it has your name on it?'” he said. “[I said] well, my grandfather made it.'”

At Soto Gloves, you can get a glove that’s 100% you. The form-fitting gloves are designed with a unique software program where you can pick the shape, style, size and color.

“The process that we created was always been eight to 10 weeks,” said Soto.

The gloves aren’t mass-produced but Soto said he and his team are currently fulfilling 1,800 custom orders.

Each glove will be broken in before they’re shipped.

“Me personally … baseball has always been in our blood,” said Soto. “I’m the one who brought it to the U.S. I’m the one who started from zero.”

Soto Gloves is located at 2499 E Willow St. in Signal Hill.

For more information, visit their website.