Another young pitcher hurt by a ball

[TorontoCFE]

Not sure what your point you are trying to make. Driving is motor vehicle in a typhoon in Taiwan is a pretty simple and specific action. You would be hard pressed to provide a similar definition of what constitutes a "fielders mask".

It is easy for the insurance industry (or the government in the example I gave) to say all insurance is voided if you don't do X or do Y. They do that for certain riskier than normal activities already (some do so for scuba diving for example). Defining that facial injuries are not covered if you weren't wearing facial protection without defining that protection would be easy.

They don't say you can't do X or Y, but if you do, then it is on you. The insurers are within their rights to add this waiver along withal of the other ones they have.

I'm not saying anything one way or the other on this issue since I think it is up to the individual, but do you think more people would wear some form of mask if they had no medical coverage?

Just wondering.

 

[FP26]

Why is there no call to include baseball in a mandate?

Just curious how the physics actually compare. I don't have any actual facts, so I am just thinking about it. In high school ball the pitcher stands 60'6" away from home plate as compared to 43'. The bases are 90' instead of 60' and I have seen 3rd baseman in softball play at approximately 30' from home plate. Can't say I have ever seen a baseball 3rb baseman play that close. I played aggressively as a 3rd baseman and was never that close.

I am also curious about the base coach helmet rule. Why are base coaches in baseball required to wear helmets while players are not? Is it because the fielders have gloves? Or because they are better athletes?

NOTE: I am not trying to make any real point here, just curious about these things...

 

[Cowdogz]

My DS plays Mustang (PONY 8 & 9 YOs), do the new BBCOR standards apply to them? I know many kids he plays with have composite bats like Easton Makos.

You know, I'm not sure about that. They've done it for the big diamond, but I don't know how many have done it for youth leagues. We've got kids throwing around 60 in 12U at 46'. Don't know what the exit speeds are. Good point.

 

[riseball]

Just curious how the physics actually compare. I don't have any actual facts, so I am just thinking about it. In high school ball the pitcher stands 60'6" away from home plate as compared to 43'. The bases are 90' instead of 60' and I have seen 3rd baseman in softball play at approximately 30' from home plate. Can't say I have ever seen a baseball 3rb baseman play that close. I played aggressively as a 3rd baseman and was never that close.

I am also curious about the base coach helmet rule. Why are base coaches in baseball required to wear helmets while players are not? Is it because the fielders have gloves? Or because they are better athletes?

NOTE: I am not trying to make any real point here, just curious about these things...

At the lower levels it is 60 foot bases and and they pitch from 46ft. That is why it is always interesting to watch the LL World Series where they play baseball at fastpitch softball distances. That said I would expect the physics to be very similar in terms of reaction time.

But I have to at least in part call BS on the "no time to react" premise with regard to injuries at the pitching and corner positions. Yes, there are times when the player legitimately does not physically have time to react. There are certainly instances where the time of flight of the ball is less than the reaction time of the human body. I have to think that more often they "fail to react". Of course this in no way diminishes the danger or any unfortunate result. But, more often than not these are young players with little experience in such circumstances. They are growing and certainly not trained elite level athletes. Is it out of character to expect that from time to time their concentration may lapse and they zone out at the worst possible moment? If in fact it truly was a situation where based on the geometry of the game players were regularly place in situations where they physically had no time to react, we would see an epidemic of injuries not what is fortunately a pretty rare event.

 

[javasource]

Let us take the face-mask away in this scenario:

The reality? You can't. She was wearing one. We can pontificate til the cows come home... hell, we can say that she's a top level player, that she's not a fielder or a pitcher... or that she was called out, or that the angle of the impact would of, could of, should of, etc... but none of that matters. The ball hit a mask. It did not hit her face.

Let us take away the face-mask in this scenario:

The reality? No need to... she wasn't wearing one.

How about this dude:

Or how about this inanimate gelatinous fellow:

Truth is, I don't know any of these people personally. I could care less about their social status, their coaches demeanor, or the fact that she/he was a girl/boy... or pretty, or ugly, or about the mental status of his plastic counterpart, etc. But, after seeing these... I didn't stop to think, "I wonder if her friends make fun of her?"

I actually thought about safety to their face... because the ball hit... their face. I might even think about a mandate for face-masks.

However...

When some turd of a person calls out another kid because they are wearing one... or creates a social stigma... I'm not advocating a mandate... I'm advocating a lottery in the style of Shirley Jackson.

 

[Cowdogz]

I am also curious about the base coach helmet rule. Why are base coaches in baseball required to wear helmets while players are not? Is it because the fielders have gloves? Or because they are better athletes?

It's because a few years ago a minor-league base coach was killed by a line drive to the head. On one hand you can look at it as we are protecting other base coaches from serious danger. On the other hand, you can look at it as a freak accident that happened only once in over 150 years of professional baseball now dictates that we "protect" other base coaches from something that may very well never happen again.

 

[riseball]

It's because a few years ago a minor-league base coach was killed by a line drive to the head. On one hand you can look at it as we are protecting other base coaches from serious danger. On the other hand, you can look at it as a freak accident that happened only once in over 150 years of professional baseball now dictates that we "protect" other base coaches from something that may very well never happen again.

Base coaches in the SEC and many other conferences are required to wear helmets. Even in my DD's JUCO conference they are required. Many coaches are like me, old and slow and we need all the help we can get.

 

[FP26]

Base coaches in the SEC and many other conferences are required to wear helmets. Even in my DD's JUCO conference they are required. Many coaches are like me, old and slow and we need all the help we can get.

I won't disagree with this. Pitching batting practice last summer, I was hit with a line drive right in my gut. It was a ball I may have caught at a younger age, but I didn't stand a chance to stop it this time. I will be honest when I say it put me to my knees. I will no longer pitch batting practice without a screen.

I have been very interested in this thread for one reason. My DD is a high school freshman. She has pitched for 3 years and has worn a mask since day 1. To this day she is still wearing one, but is the only pitcher (V or JV) out of 4 that is wearing one right now. There is only one other player on her HS roster that wears one (SS). She is under pressure from the other girls and is starting to think about removing it. However, I then take her to TB practice and there are 6 other girls that wear masks on our 16u team. Or she practices with the orgs 18u team and sees masks on the P, 1B, SS, and 3B. Mixed signals for sure, and I know that she is confused by all of it. She mentioned the other day that maybe she will stop wearing the mask during high school ball but then put it back on for travel. It is statements like that which worry me. Wear it or don't wear it, but if you choose not to wear it, make that decision for the right reasons. IMO, peer pressure is not the right reason.

It has been very interesting to see both sides of the fence on this topic. While it seems the majority of folks are somewhere in the middle or "pro choice" (as I am), it is also clear that there are those on both extreme ends. While I am not in favor of a mandate, all it takes is one well publicized lawsuit or extreme situation (such as the base coaches in baseball). At the same time, it is also clear that there are those that look at players with masks as inferior athletes because of it.

 

[bucket pinata]

Played this team last week, know the pitcher. send her some positive Thoughts. At least nobody was telling her or her parents what to do?

 

[Jojo]

Want to know how upset I was when I heard 2 of my high school pitchers (same team, same coach) were told by the coach that she did not approve of them wearing their face masks, because it made them look less intimidating.

When some turd of a person calls out another kid because they are wearing one..