Some baseball players love their gloves. But there's no glove affair for Kevin Macdonald.

Since the fall, the Hawai'i junior first baseman has been playing with Rawlings, which has literally weathered a storm. Sweat and rain from past weeks have made it a bit water-logged and heavy. Little does Rawlings know Macdonald is breaking in Easton — not teammate Torigoe, his possible heir apparent — another glove.

Hawai'i's romance with defense begins at first base.

"The main reason we were 10th in the country in fielding percentage last year was Kevin," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "You can work technique, but it still comes down to having some talented guys on the field. Kevin's got hands that you can't teach. He saved probably 30 errors last year and he's off to the same start this year."

In baseball, putouts by the first baseman off of grounders to the other infielders are not created equal. It would be nice if all throws to first came in chest high. But infielders will find themselves in less than ideal position when throwing across the diamond. So it's not uncommon for Macdonald to have to short-hop the occasional throw in the turf.

"It's a sigh of relief," UH third baseman Vinnie Catricala said of Macdonald's ability to dig out low throws. "He's saved me a couple times this past weekend, for sure."

The 6-foot, 200-pound Macdonald prefers low throws because "I can't jump." But he does everything else the other three infielders can do.

Ironically, Macdonald said he isn't particular about his glove. He admittedly doesn't know the difference, such as the model number, between pieces of leather. Yet, he is a work of art around the bag.

He doesn't only handle low throws well, but he fields grounders and throws to other bases as well as the other infielders. First basemen rarely have a chance to throw to other bases, as most of their assists are from grounders they field with the pitcher covering first. Of Macdonald's eight assists this season, only one was to home with two others coming on runners leaning the wrong way in caught-stealing situations.

"He's got soft hands," Trapasso said. "He's got the hands of a shortstop because that's what he was in high school."

Macdonald said he doesn't do anything specifically to practice digging up low throws, but said it was just a matter of applying the same skills of a middle infielder he picked up at Palm Desert (Calif.) High.

"Sure, there are some tough ones (low throws), but most are routine short hops," Macdonald said. "Our field gives you true hops. You just have to trust yourself."

Yet, despite being a middle infielder in high school, UH recruited him as a third baseman and catcher. But not knowing what the future would hold, Macdonald found his way at the opposite corner. Catricala had settled in at third, and Landon Hernandez at catcher. Macdonald was tried at second and left field as a freshman before finding his way to first.

"Whenever we put him there, we saw the hands and that's where it fit him best," Trapasso said.

Added Macdonald: "It gets me in the lineup. I'm just happy to be playing."

Macdonald's middle-infield experience improves the infield defense. He usually plays slightly toward the second-base hole than most first baseman. That extra range especially helps pitchers like Jayson Kramer. More than half the outs recorded by Kramer this season are from grounders.

Meanwhile, Macdonald's hitting has been coming along after a slow start. Although he is batting .250, his 10 RBIs are second on the team.

But it's his glove that is special. It wasn't long ago Andrew Sansaver (2003 and '04 seasons) was doing the same wonders at first.

"It's beyond obvious now that he's as good a first baseman as I've seen in 20 years of college baseball," Trapasso said. "We used to say, 'I never thought I'd see another Andy Sansaver, defensively.' But we have."