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Physics of Catching a Baseball

The physics behind catching a baseball involves calculating the trajectory of where the ball is going to be so that one can catch it and this can be done with the formula given on the hitting page.  However, the overall effect that occurs on your hand, glove, and the ball itself envelops all that physics has to offer. 
The ball as it is traveling in your direction has a given force and trajectory.  Well if you catch that ball with your bare hand it will hurt a lot, due to the fact that the
acceleration of the ball must be brought to zero and that it           http://www.nysun.com/pics/582.jpg                    has a small surface area to do so.  This in turn focuses the blunt of the force over a small surface area and will typically cause your hand to hurt as a result.  This is why one uses a mitt or glove to catch the ball.  How the glove works, besides adding padding so that your hand will not bruise, is that it takes the force that is exerted by the ball and distributes it over a greater surface area which in turn reduces the force exerted on one's hand by the ball.  This allows a player to stop a ball traveling at upwards of 120 mph without breaking any bones in their hand.