Gear of hypocrisy

[Rolling Hard]

Ok, watching a little college softball this morning and a two way player (pitcher and batter) is up to bat. She has on elbow protection on both elbows. She has on a shin guard and foot protector, BUT no face mask on her batting helmet. She fouls an inside FB right back at her own face and the ball luckily catches the brim of her helmet missing her face by inches. One can only determine that the jaws, eye sockets, noses and teeth are expendable but the elbows and shins are vital.

You know it wasn't that long ago NHL goalies didn't wear face protection. Come on coaches, evolve already.

 

[BT3100]

Haha. That's a great point.
All of these players hit with a full cage in HS and Travel so no excuse that they can't see.

 

[Gags]

That seems to be much more common in SB than BB - but I'll admit I don't frequent LL message boards to know otherwise.

Aside from Max Scherzer two years ago (which was while bunting) - does anyone know of foul balls in baseball coming up into the players face?

And agree with the OP - if you're protecting your back elbow, you may as well just add a chin guard (which may not have helped in this case - but how is face protection the last thing to get covered?

 

[jdint]

Ok, watching a little college softball this morning and a two way player (pitcher and batter) is up to bat. She has on elbow protection on both elbows. She has on a shin guard and foot protector, BUT no face mask on her batting helmet. She fouls an inside FB right back at her own face and the ball luckily catches the brim of her helmet missing her face by inches. One can only determine that the jaws, eye sockets, noses and teeth are expendable but the elbows and shins are vital.
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You know it wasn't that long ago NHL goalies didn't wear face protection. Come on coaches, evolve already.

I either watched the same game or I saw the exact same thing happen. Can't remember which game I saw it on, but it was kinda scary. I don't recall ever seeing that happen before, or maybe the lack of a mask made it stand out more to me.

 

[CalvinBall]

I think it's just playing the laws of probabilities. Getting hit in the face while at bat (whether by foul ball or pitch) is exceedingly rare at that level and players would rather not have their vision obstructed. Taking a foul ball off the ankle or getting hit by a pitch in the elbow is more common.

 

[Yanko70]

I've never really understood the vision impairment of the argument. Most helmet cages are wide open in front of the eyes. They're not like a hockey goalie mask or even an old football face mask that has about a 1/4 inch gap to see through.

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[Schmick's Gloves]

That seems to be much more common in SB than BB - but I'll admit I don't frequent LL message boards to know otherwise.

Aside from Max Scherzer two years ago (which was while bunting) - does anyone know of foul balls in baseball coming up into the players face?

And agree with the OP - if you're protecting your back elbow, you may as well just add a chin guard (which may not have helped in this case - but how is face protection the last thing to get covered?

A Mercado 16U girl fractured something in her neck/throat last month bunting. And she had a mask on.

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[CalvinBall]

A Mercado 16U girl fractured something in her neck/throat last month bunting. And she had a mask on.

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My daughter took a shot in the throat from a ball and she was wearing full catcher’s gear. Throw from the outfield took a funny hop and got up under her mask. Fortunately, no serious injury.

 

[Schmick's Gloves]

My son played all the way through college ball without ever wearing a cup, he finished his playing days, unscathed.
His Sr year in HS in a HS game vs a rival school, a player on the other team who also played cupless took a pitch to his crotch. Laid on the ground at least 15 mins before he was helped to first base and then to a waiting vehicle for a trip to the ER. Not sure if they were able to save his test-i-cule but the rumors then were he may be at half mast now.
Still couldn't get my son to wear the protective equipment, he said he wasn't "a spastic with poor reaction time"


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[HunterMO]

My DS played 7u baseball last year and wasn’t required to wear a cup. Only the catcher was required. We had him wear one anyways, but he plays hockey so it wasn’t a big deal. He’s used to wearing one. Not that a ton of kids at that age are hitting straight lines to the infield...but fielding techniques and reaction times are less than ideal.

I’m on the fence regarding full cage on batting helmets for college softball. On one side....face masks are optional. They are “adults”. Foul tips to the face are rare. The other side....visibility isn’t that obstructed if at all with a cage. Vision and faces are forever.

I play men’s league hockey with a full cage. You get used to it and after awhile mostly forget it’s there.

Last Sept Ian Happ of the Cubs fouled a ball and it came off the ground to hit him above the right eye.