Fielding Masks in College

[tmolina]

One person said softballs don't travel as fast as baseballs, however they are heavier and carry more mass, plus pitching distance in fastpitch is 17ft closer than baseball(43ft vs 60.6ft) so reaction time is less or equivelent and added mass causes alot of damage. I like masks for any kid that wants to wear one. No one has mentioned professional bull riders whom now wear masks and vests, back in the day that was unheard of. But you can't continue riding if you get a career ending injury because you didn't have proven equipment on and that would be sad. Of the handful of pitchers that wear a mask at college, it might be because they got hit in the face prior and were told they cannot take another injury like that ever again, who knows? Why not wear one to prevent injury and not have to worry as much about vision problems, head aches, facial reconstruction, dental surgery later on in life because of an injury that could have been avoided!

 

[LAdad]

Machismo, or, as applicable, the female equivalent. Coaches, not players.

DD, a pitcher, broke her nose during her college freshmen year, not while pitching but while trying to field a ground ball during practice. Apparently the (female) coaches urged her to wear a facemask after that, figuring that she might otherwise play too tentatively, but DD refused with the argument that "I already look bad enough while pitching, I'm not going to make it worse by wearing a facemask." Must be the female "equivalent" of machismo

 

[GTRH8R]

Did you all know that college is experimenting with a different ball?

I did not, please share.