different kinds of synthetic fibers on the back side. The inside of the glove is always made of thick leather and the main differences between gloves lie in the amount and quality of padding, the thickness of the leather, the size of the glove and its shaping. The ball is caught into the glove's cup between the thumb and the index finger. Sometimes, however, the ball hits the palm and a properly designed glove can prevent injuries. Other devices to catch the ball are not allowed. Bat The bat is a round, tapered cylinder. Previously the bats used in pesäpallo were made of wood. These were fairly brittle and did not last very long when used to hit such a heavy ball. Now, wooden bats are only used in children's games and the bats used in adult's games are made of a mixture of glass fiber and carbon fiber. The biggest differences between bats lie in the weight, center of gravity, flexibility and length. The maximum length of the bat is . When using a children's ball the maximum length of the bat is . The weight of the bat is considered to be its most important property. A typical bat used in top competitions weighs between and . The heaviest bats weigh more than but these are only used by strong players like batting jokers. Junior players typically use bats that weigh less than . The usual diameter for the bat's hitting point is . Spikes The use of spiked shoes—like in running—is not required to play pesäpallo. However, they do help the player substantially in rapid situations, especially when playing on modern artificial grass fields which are very slippery to ordinary sport shoes. The artificial turf differs from what is used in football fields. There are only a few manufacturers producing spikes designed for pesäpallo and many players use normal running spikes. Some shoes have also spikes at the heel but mostly spikes are positioned under the ball of the foot. Usually there are seven spikes in a shoe and they are 3–15 millimeters long. When playing on artificial turf the maximum length of spikes is 6 millimeters. Ball The ball used in pesäpallo is yellow and has a circumference of . The weight of the ball varies by series: Men's ball Women's ball Junior ball Competing The Finnish championship series is known as Superpesis. Both men and