While most people here are familiar with All Star mitts, very few in North America have seen/owned a Hatakeyama mitt. I have had an All Star mitt in the past and it is what the catchers on my high school team use. Over the past few months I have been breaking in a Hatakeyama AX-222 mitt, it has been the most difficult break-in I have ever done bar none. I still cannot close the mitt without great difficulty. I have used no treatments or creams, etc., just a mallet and a lot of shaping with my hand. Once I can close it enough to secure a ball, I plan on taking it to the cages and catching a few hundred buckets.
The All Star mitt is what most catchers in MLB use as you all know. Further, it is tried and tested in every level below that in North America. In Japan, NPB catchers use Hatakeyama and Mizuno almost exclusively. I have yet to come across a Japanese catcher playing in the Pacific or Central League that uses an All Star mitt despite the fact that the All Star catchers mitt is made in Japan. Very strange indeed. I have asked a friend of mine who has been teaching in Japan for more than a decade to ask his students who play on the high school team there if they have ever heard of All Star and very few had. The ones that did was only because MLB catchers use them.
From my observations so far, the Hatakeyama is put together better and the leather quality is superior to the All Star mitt. However I prefer All Star mitts because of their patterns and the fact that it won't take a century to break-in plus there is something about the leather that All Star uses for their palms which is undeniably wonderful. The Hatakeyama will last a lot longer than an All Star mitt but I'm still on the fence with regards to which I'd want on my hand if I was playing for in the Majors. I'd love to see more Hatakeyama gloves but at $400 each plus shipping and import duties from Japan, I don't see myself buying many more of these. My next purchase will either be a custom Mizuno from Japan or a custom Hatakeyama... I'm leaning towards the Mizuno because I am so unsure of the Hatakeyama patterns.
In the end you really can't go wrong with either and given the price and availability of All Star gloves in North America, Hatakeyama will remain a Japan-only commodity. However if you catchers out there want something a bit different and want a glove that will last until the year 2093, then give Hatakeyama a try. Swallow Sports (
www.4860.jp) is the best place to buy them in my humble opinion and they speak English! Any questions or comments, leave below or send me a PM. I love talking catchers mitts and gear.