Question. Has anyone considered the size and color of the ball between baseball and softball (a softball is twice the size of a baseball and a bright optic yellow) and the ability to see a high pop-up, for example, as a difference for taking off the mask in baseball?
It's not the color of the ball. The old style catchers masks were not attached to a helmet but were secured with a head band, so when you moved your head to make a play, the mask would often move and obstruct your vision. With a hockey style helmet, this does not occur. The problem is, old habits, and old teaching, dies hard, and does not take into consideration the history of why something was taught in the first place, and why it is no longer necessary.