Why don’t Cricket players wear gloves (except the catcher), while Baseball players do?

wot u need to remember is that cricket is the gentlemen's game … i.e. it has got codes and conduct …

e.g. if a batsman asks for a runner, he runner would b required to wear the full gear i.e. pads, gloves, guard, helmet so that he does'nt get any advantage …

fielders in cricket r not allowed to wear any gloves … thats the code … just like u cant handled the ball if u r a batsman …

baseball is a yank game … and jus like in their society, they hav got no discipline at alll … dnt lose ur sleep over it …
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it will be hard to pickup and throw the ball for the fielders if they start wearing gloves…
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Every game has a different rule. Why in American football players wear helmet and in rugby they didn't wear it.
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i dunno!!
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its more coz of the size of the ball..than the hardness…baseball size is bigger..n its not easy 2 grab it n pouch it one handed without that glove!! while cricket ball sticks easily into the hands
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In the beginning baseball players did not wear gloves. It was looked upon as unmanly to do so. In the 1890′s rules changed from pitching underhand to allow for overhand pitches. This created much more velocity on the ball and batters were hitting the ball harder. Hence, the advent of gloves for protection that was not needed when pitchers threw underhand.

In cricket the swing is quite different as well as the bowler’s delivery. This means cricket balls are not typically hit as hard as baseballs. The glove has little to do with throwing from base to base or from OF to base. Its evolution was due to harder thrown and harder hit balls. When the overhand delivery was allowed and pitches could be thrown 100 mhp or more, catchers needed protection that wasn’t needed in the softball type throw.

Although Cricket has pace bowlers who throw as fast as modern baseball players it still has spin bowlers who throw at half speed. Also Batsman are concerned much more with placement rather power of the swing. Baseball players often do not have the ability to place as well because of the strike zone. If the ball is in the strike zone it is hard to place. If it is out of the strike zone you are not penalized by swinging. Whereas in cricket a batsman can’t let the ball hit the wicket. Baseball players take pitches they can’t hit hard and swing when they think they can. Speed of the hit ball rather placement is often the easier to control. So you find that the speed of the ball coming off the bat is typically more in baseball.

That is the key to why baseball players wear gloves and cricket players do not. The typical speed of the ball coming off the bat. Line drives often come off of MLB bats at 120 mph. You need protection for that. Catchers in both cricket and baseball wear gloves to protect the hands from pitches in the 90 mph and above range. Fielders wear gloves to protect hands from screamers, hard hit balls that are much less common in cricket.

Now are gloves necessary in softball is totally different question.

BTW, Baseball has been historically a gentleman’s game with gentleman’s rule. There were so periods where it was less so but overall it has been the most gentlemanly American sport until recently. Then again maybe even today if you accept BH Liddell Hart’s idea that using the best available weapons is not necessarily conduct not becoming of a gentleman. Granted he was referring weapons of war as opposed to PEDs but the concept is the same.