Georgia pitchers (and others) wearing a mask

obbay said:

Brain fart I was referring to Florida!
RB fair point and I agree, but I wanted to seize the opportunity to dump on those coaches with out of date thinking.

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Haha! I was like, well I didn't see the LSU play, but damn if Fla didn't just do this with a pitcher wearing a mask. It was like you just served the opportunity up on a platter!

The generation entering college is the first where masks were widely used at young ages.
Someone smarter than me should be able to track historical sales from Rip-it/Schutt etc

The Kentucky Pitcher was drafted to the NPF..and well..she wears a mask. ;-) That will set the tone of the future.

indianafp said:

The Kentucky Pitcher was drafted to the NPF..and well..she wears a mask. ;-) That will set the tone of the future.

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She was not the only one.

I think this is just a matter of time. I look at every infielder and the pitcher on our team wearing a mask and all the teams we play all wear masks, I think college coaches are already getting the message they are not going to pass on a great player because they wear a mask. Here is the reason pretty soon the teams in their conference will start beating up on them and at that level winning means job security and when the AD asks you why the Star recruit in the state went to your rival and is now crushing you, the answer "well I know both of their pitchers shut us out this weekend but they wear masks so I did not recruit them" is not going to fly as an answer. Social media being what it is it also might not take long for word to get around; basically you will have what happened years ago in reverse; instead of coaches bullying players into not wearing masks, kids will simply say no thanks if f they can't wear a mask and before long coaches will see too many good players walk and change their mind.

riseball said:

Another less discussed aspect is that the skills of those wearing fielding masks has improved. While you can make a compelling argument today that wearing a mask is not the mark of an inferior player, a few years ago that was not the case. When masks first started to appear many of the players wearing them has suspect skills. Thankfully things have changed since then.

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I don't know why you keep perpetuating this myth that players who wear (or previously wore) masks somehow had inferior skills and therefore needed a mask to compensate for their poor fielding skills? Is it possible that these players (and their parents) witnessed pitchers taking line drives or bad hops off their faces to realize that not wearing a mask was not a wise decision. Also, I would argue that wearing a mask makes the fielder/pitcher less fearful of being hit in the head and can attack the batted ball more aggressively without worry of injury to the face.

I have only been around the game for 7 years but I have never seen a correlation between wearing a mask and weak/inferior fielding skills. Sounds more like a poor justification for an outdated argument for why players should not be wearing a mask.

Rocketech1 said:

I don't know why you keep perpetuating this myth that players who wear (or previously wore) masks somehow had inferior skills and therefore needed a mask to compensate for their poor fielding skills? Is it possible that these players (and their parents) witnessed pitchers taking line drives or bad hops off their faces to realize that not wearing a mask was not a wise decision. Also, I would argue that wearing a mask makes the fielder/pitcher less fearful of being hit in the head and can attack the batted ball more aggressively without worry of injury to the face.

I have only been around the game for 7 years but I have never seen a correlation between wearing a mask and weak/inferior fielding skills. Sounds more like a poor justification for an outdated argument for why players should not be wearing a mask.

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I will say it again, it is the way it was not the way it is. Understand the difference. As you stated you were not around the game during the advent of fielding masks. Times and circumstances change. As I have stated many times the "stigma" is all but dead, and with it are all of the excuses.

Rocketech1 said:

I don't know why you keep perpetuating this myth that players who wear (or previously wore) masks somehow had inferior skills and therefore needed a mask to compensate for their poor fielding skills? Is it possible that these players (and their parents) witnessed pitchers taking line drives or bad hops off their faces to realize that not wearing a mask was not a wise decision. Also, I would argue that wearing a mask makes the fielder/pitcher less fearful of being hit in the head and can attack the batted ball more aggressively without worry of injury to the face.

I have only been around the game for 7 years but I have never seen a correlation between wearing a mask and weak/inferior fielding skills. Sounds more like a poor justification for an outdated argument for why players should not be wearing a mask.

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If wearing a mask makes them less afraid and attack the ball more aggressively doesn't it prove the point that they're afraid of the ball and need to work on their skills? The masks should be a last resort prevention method, not a crutch for poor fielding skills.

By "last resort" I mean final wall of protection. I'm pro mask, I'm just not for replacing learning proper defense and to not be afraid of the ball with wearing masks.

RB has helped me understand why there are coaches who are prejudiced against the mask- thanks! makes sense when you put it in perspective.

If wearing a mask makes them less afraid and attack the ball more aggressively doesn't it prove the point that they're afraid of the ball and need to work on their skills? The masks should be a last resort prevention method, not a crutch for poor fielding skills.

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just like face shields and helmets are crutches for those nancy-boys in the NHL. MLB and their silly batting helmets with earflaps- what's up with that?

... on the other hand in softball , aside from the obvious protection from impact, I have seen the mask take fear out of the equation so kids could focus on their skills and just play the game-which is a helluva lot more complicated than most of the other sports they can play.

MNDad said:

If wearing a mask makes them less afraid and attack the ball more aggressively doesn't it prove the point that they're afraid of the ball and need to work on their skills? The masks should be a last resort prevention method, not a crutch for poor fielding skills.

By "last resort" I mean final wall of protection. I'm pro mask, I'm just not for replacing learning proper defense and to not be afraid of the ball with wearing masks.

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I think the only ones that are afraid are the ones not playing the game. It is obvious that the issue or non-issue of fielding masks is a much bigger deal for those sitting in the stands than those who are actually on the field flashing the leather. Let the players play and the parents and fans sit quietly in the stands eating hot dogs.