Taylor Ward is a practical man, and the stitching on the pinkie of his glove reflects that. “Wardy,” it says. In case he loses that vital piece of equipment, he hopes that name will help his glove find its way home.

Rico Garcia’s glove is far less obviously his own. One must know the Orioles reliever to know who Diosdado is and what he means to Garcia. Stitched near the thumb of his Nokona glove is his grandfather’s name, and along with Garcia’s post-inning arm gesture to the sky, the name on that prominent location is another way to honor his grandfather’s life.

And that mint green and pink glove atop right-hander Tyler Wells’ locker? Well, we’ll get into that.

All around the Orioles clubhouse, the gloves in each locker are simultaneously a creative outlet and a visible reminder of some of the most meaningful aspects of a player’s life. It is a utilitarian instrument — a requirement of baseball — and an individualized work of art, handcrafted to their desire with personal notes stitched on.

Each glove tells a story.

Tyler Wells: A family on the mound with him

Timing was everything. Soon after Wells underwent elbow surgery in 2024, he and his wife, Melissa, discovered she was pregnant with their first child. Wells had been through the rehab process before. He knows the grueling days, the setbacks, the repetition.

So he asked Rawlings for something special, something that would help drive him through those unforgiving days. The light bluish green and pink glove that arrived sports his daughter’s name, Ava Faye.

“Whenever we look at our gloves, we’re always trying to put meaningful things on there because it allows us to really kind of anchor into what our purpose is, why we’re really doing this,” Wells said.

During his rehab, Wells wore that vibrant glove. It drove him forward and helped him return to the majors.

“This is probably a glove I’ll keep forever,” Wells said, “and eventually she’ll be able to see it. And hopefully I’ll be in the game long enough to where we have two or three more kids [and] each one of them will also be able to have a glove of their own.”

In games Wells uses a more subdued glove, but that version still has personal meaning. Stitched onto it are the letters M.B.A. — Melissa, Buckley and Ava. Yes, Buckley is the family’s dog, and he’s very deserving of that place on every one of Wells’ gloves.

“Whenever I go home, these are the three,” Wells said. “Buckley, he was our first, we’ll call him our first kid in a sense.”

Cade Povich: A former coach’s saying

Look closely, and there are many phrases and initials written on various gloves Povich uses. And on one there is a stitched pair of sunglasses because he and catcher Samuel Basallo thought it looked funny while the Rawlings glove representative visited Sarasota, Florida, during spring training.

The sunglasses aside, all of the phrases mean much to him. There is S.P., his wife’s initials. There is “Go Big Red,” shouting out his Nebraska Cornhuskers. AMDG — a shorthand of the Latin phrase Ad maiorem Dei gloriam, meaning “for the greater glory of God” — is a nod to Povich’s faith.

There’s one acronym, though, that stems from a coach at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, where Povich pitched before joining Nebraska.

TGHT. The Game Honors Toughness.

“I think it’s a good mindset, especially with this game being, essentially, a game of failure and a lot of ups and downs,” said Povich, who knows that all too well. Even after pitching a standout 6 2/3 innings against the San Francisco Giants this week, he was optioned to Triple-A. He won’t quit trying to find his way back.

“The Baseball Gods kind of know if you’re just cashing it in or if you’re really trying to work through stuff, and I feel like the toughest guys, the toughest teams, are the ones that kind of come out on top in the end,” Povich said. “Just something I try to live by and remember when it comes to the game.”

Blaze Alexander: Those aren’t even his kids

Jace Peterson, as the veteran he was, offered advice to Alexander. In 2024, when they played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Alexander made a few defensive blunders immediately after debuting. Peterson thought of a solution: a new glove.

“A lot of people up here use 12-inch gloves. Try a bigger glove,” Peterson told Alexander. And then Peterson handed Alexander a brand-new, freshly broken-in 12-inch Rawlings glove.

“And he was like, try this glove,” Alexander said. “I fell in love with it. He said, ‘Dude, as long as I’m here, you can use it.’”

The problem? Peterson wasn’t there very long. After 14 games, the Diamondbacks designated Peterson for assignment, and his major league playing career was over. Alexander, the beneficiary of Peterson’s glove, didn’t know what to do.

“I said, ‘Dude, I’m not giving that glove back. I’m using it,’” Alexander said. Results were results, and that glove still works wonders when Alexander plays in the infield. It has been beaten up over the years, and Alexander had to relace the leather to hold it together anew, but it still is his trusty (stolen?) property.

It’s apparent that this isn’t Alexander’s glove, though. Stitched on the glove are the letters M.M.B. They’re the initials of Peterson’s children and his wife, Brianna. So Alexander reps not only Peterson but his whole family whenever he makes a play. And that won’t change.

“It was coming to the end of 2024, and he was like, ‘Hey, I know you’re still using my glove. Send it to me in the offseason,’” Alexander said. “I’m like, ‘Dude, this is my glove now.’ He understood. I’ve talked to him and stuff, but I haven’t seen him. … Our paths will cross again, and it’ll be kind of funny.

“He showed me the ropes early on in my career. And now I’m gloving it with his glove.”

Grant Wolfram: A short memory

When he was working with a sports psychologist a few years ago, a phrase struck Wolfram and has never left him. “‘My baseball history begins today,’” Wolfram said, is a “constant reminder that it’s a new day. Try to stay where my feet are in that moment.”

He placed it on his all-black Wilson glove: MBHBT. And, although he doesn’t stare at the glove, when he catches a glimpse of those letters, the message spins in the back of the left-handed reliever’s mind.

“I put it on my glove, because all the conversations I’ve had with him, he’s helped me out a ton since I got to pro ball,” Wolfram said of the sports psychologist. “I just have a lot of respect for him and put it on my glove to remember those conversations and that perspective.”

Chris Bassitt: A major league time capsule

In storage tubs at Bassitt’s home are 15 to 20 gloves. They span his major league career, and for the 37-year-old, they create a time capsule of 12 seasons and five teams.

The green and yellow lacing on one? He was an Oakland Athletic at the time. The blue and orange? The New York Mets. Only his daughter’s name is stitched on that glove, which dates from 2022. It’s an all-black model with Landry Jayne in blue lettering.

But, after Colson was born in 2023, his son’s name made it on his glove next to his daughter. Maybe, when they’re old enough, Bassitt and his kids can crack open those bins and take a trip down memory lane, with each glove representing a distinct point of his major league journey.