Another Pitcher Hit in the Face

[smddad]

...there is an equally or greater benefit for wearing a helmet in a motor vehicle.

I like facts. Have you any to back this statement, or is it just your opinion based upon perception?

 

[Jquick823]

Facemasks are great but not going to prevent everything. Situation about a month ago. My DD was up to bat and hit a line drive that made a weird thud under a second later. that thud was the throat of the pitcher who was wearing a mask, luckily this girl got her thumb in front of the ball to i guess slow it down. She was startled but only had a broken thumb. Following week DD hits a line drive off of the pitchers shin, girl is carried off the field. Next AB DD hits it off the pitchers thigh and she hasn't pitched in 3 weeks. I know these are rare occurances but advancement in bats/balls are far better than rules of the game. Maybe 40' or 43' are not the right distances. I really think the new bat technology is playing a big role in more pitchers getting hit. I've been on the field for 5 pitchers taking solid shots off the throat, hands and legs this year. That's 5 more than the last 3 years.

 

[riseball]

I like facts. Have you any to back this statement, or is it just your opinion based upon perception?

This was based on several conversations with Neurosurgeons in Level I trauma centers. I think if you look at data involving TBI and motor vehicle accidents the conclusion is self evident. Not as much as with motorcycles, but quite compelling. If you wish to do your own analysis and draw your own conclusions the CDC is a good starting point.

 

[SBFAMILY]

People still don't wear helmets on motorcyles, since they feel it is their choice. I'm paying taxes for a friend that had a brain injury that has lived in a nursing home for the past 30 years due to a brain injury. It was his right not to wear a helment but society pays the price ! My point is society always gets stuck with the bill of those that seem to think freedom of choice is free!

 

[RetiredCoach]

Facemasks are great but not going to prevent everything. Situation about a month ago. My DD was up to bat and hit a line drive that made a weird thud under a second later. that thud was the throat of the pitcher who was wearing a mask, luckily this girl got her thumb in front of the ball to i guess slow it down. She was startled but only had a broken thumb. Following week DD hits a line drive off of the pitchers shin, girl is carried off the field. Next AB DD hits it off the pitchers thigh and she hasn't pitched in 3 weeks. I know these are rare occurances but advancement in bats/balls are far better than rules of the game. Maybe 40' or 43' are not the right distances. I really think the new bat technology is playing a big role in more pitchers getting hit. I've been on the field for 5 pitchers taking solid shots off the throat, hands and legs this year. That's 5 more than the last 3 years.

Based on the history your DD has with pitchers, I'd tell my DDs to walk her when she comes up to bat.

 

[RetiredCoach]

People still don't wear helmets on motorcyles, since they feel it is their choice. I'm paying taxes for a friend that had a brain injury that has lived in a nursing home for the past 30 years due to a brain injury. It was his right not to wear a helment but society pays the price ! My point is society always gets stuck with the bill of those that seem to think freedom of choice is free!

I am a strong believer in individual freedom but when your individual choice affects other people you are impinging upon their freedom and that's where it makes sense to limit "individual freedom".

 

[riseball]

I am a strong believer in individual freedom but when your individual choice affects other people you are impinging upon their freedom and that's where it makes sense to limit "individual freedom".

Well said. I also all for individual freedoms as long as my wallet is not part of the equation. To the point of motorcycles helmets, those who do not wear them should enjoy their freedom and when luck runs out be treated for what they become; Organ Donors.

 

[MNDad]

a local pitcher in the last 2 weeks where the human reaction to turn the head away from the incoming ball acted in time to take the facemask worn out of the picture and clocked her square on the side of the head.

This is one of the reasons I stopped requiring DD to wear a mask. When DD got to 16U, she didn't want to wear her mask, but I still made her beause I strongly believed in them. The pitching coach at the school she verballed to had been hit in the face during her playing career and suffered a near career ending injury. I thought she'd be the perfect person to back me up and end the facemask debate once and for all.

I asked her about masks on one of our visits and the answer we got surprised me. She didn't like the masks because the natural reaction to a ball coming at your face is to turn your head, thus rendering the mask useless.

I thought about it and that along with no safety standards or studies that I know of proving that masks keep girls safer, I decided to let her play without a mask. I know the masks work at the younger ages. I don't know what the results would be from a hard line shot coming back and hitting her at 70+ mph.

 

[starsnuffer]

People still don't wear helmets on motorcyles, since they feel it is their choice. I'm paying taxes for a friend that had a brain injury that has lived in a nursing home for the past 30 years due to a brain injury. It was his right not to wear a helment but society pays the price ! My point is society always gets stuck with the bill of those that seem to think freedom of choice is free!

Society also pays the price when people stupid enough to ride a motorcycle without a helmet are forced to wear one and survive long enough to pass on their genes to the next generation, whereas in a world without laws protecting the stupid from themselves, the human genome would be in a far superior state.

The argument goes both ways. Your argument is about money, which is a fictional thing with no bearing on reality after one is dead. The other argument has a great bearing on the survival and advancement of our species.

-W

 

[RetiredCoach]

Society also pays the price when people stupid enough to ride a motorcycle without a helmet are forced to wear one and survive long enough to pass on their genes to the next generation, whereas in a world without laws protecting the stupid from themselves, the human genome would be in a far superior state.-W

One of my favorite all-time bumper stickers was, "Ban motorcycle helmet laws! Let the dumb people evolve out!"