Helmet being worn by pitcher—men's slow pitch

[MTR]

Helmet - today's lax helmets are relatively light compared to what else is out there. Defenders have always been allowed to wear whatever on the field for the sake of defense.

The 5-man infield relies on the ego of the players and reliance upon the equipment. And smart player could beat this defense on a regular basis.

The pitcher moves supposedly to cover the hole left by the middle fielder when he moves. Also moving back to take a safer position.

The equipment has hurt the game, but these guys can hit the ball over the fence with a broomstick, if need be.

 

[shockcoach]

no,she has been practicing pitching it.She says that one of the bars needs removed in the mask,she says that it works great and it doesnt move around.My dd had 7 hours of brain surgery from getting a concussion,she needs protection on the left side of her head,right behind her left ear.

Nano,

I was just talking with Kaitly Inglesby from the UW today. She wears a lacrosse mask since having her face surgically repaired after taking a line drive during practice. She was saying that they customized the mask for her. Even though she wears the mask that only covers her eyes, I'm thinking that if you called them and explained the situation, they will work on the modifications for you.

Just a thought...

 

[starsnuffer]

There have been deaths of pitchers hit by line drives in slowpitch. Not injuries, not broken faces, but actual lives being ended whilst playing the game. IMHO, a pitcher would be STUPID to not wear a helmet (most wear full catcher gear) while pitching to the best hitters in the game.

Remember, after a certain number of home runs in these games, a HR counts for an out, so these guys have to hit line drives to win.

I don't particularly care for the game either, but I don't want anyone to die playing it.

-W

 

[MTR]

There have been deaths of pitchers hit by line drives in slowpitch. Not injuries, not broken faces, but actual lives being ended whilst playing the game. IMHO, a pitcher would be STUPID to not wear a helmet (some wear full catcher gear) while pitching to the best hitters in the game.

Corrected that for you. But think about it. That pitcher is 60+ feet away and usually set when that ball is hit and you are talking full gear, yet you teach young ladies to charge the plate. Granted, most of the balls in FP are not coming out as fast, but a good swing and contact and the ball......

Remember, after a certain number of home runs in these games, a HR counts for an out, so these guys have to hit line drives to win.

Rubbish. That is part of the stupidity that is killing the game. It is S-L-O-W-P-I-T-C-H softball. They SHOULD be able to hit the ball wherever they please and it doesn't have to be hard to be a hit, it just needs to be where the defender ain't. And think about just how smart the players are (and this matriculates to the lowest level), they are out of HRs and the batter still walks to the plate with their relatively hot bat that can still put the ball over the fence accidentally. Why are they not walking out there with a 20 yo Wal Mart special or a wood bat? Answer: because they rely on the speed of the ball to make up for the lack of skill & bat control. Many players have lost that skill because it is cooler to hit a laser for an out than a bloop to the outfield for a hit. Know what, the hit looks better in the scorebook.

I don't particularly care for the game either, but I don't want anyone to die playing it.
-W

I love the game, prefer working it over FP because there is more action, but with the high-tech equipment, level of skill and the weak, litigeous society in which we live, Wii may end up as the softball king in the next couple of generations.

 

[nanotech14]

Where I live every year there is this big Industrial slowpitch tournament,they get about 60 to 70 or so teams.Last year they went to a new format.They had 3 bats at every feild,they were the only bats you could use,no composites.Mostly older double wall bats,it was one of the best years in a long time for your avg. Joe teams.They could run with the stacked teams.You take away their shaved bats and they hit the ball like everyone else.The defense and the strategy was back in the game.When I played I had 2 bats,my Miken freak 98 and my demarini distance,when we had homeruns left I would use the 98,but if I was jsut looking for a base hit I would use the distance or if the ball was mush.You could still hit them out with the demarini and after awhile I was using it more then the miken.I use to pitch to and I was hit many times,you would try not throw one down the middle.But the problem was the guys would stand clear in the back of the batters box "thats even if they were in the batters box",I felt that they didnt have to hit it back up the middle at the pitcher but some guys did a lot.We only pitched from 46' so you didnt have alot of time to get back.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I, too played ASA slow pitch at a high level. At large trnys, I was the only woman that wore a mask. I can remember a shot that came back to me so fast that all I heard was my teammates gasp. I had a runner on first base and she hid behind me. (Great.) THe only reason that I caught it was, it went right to my glove.

I quit slow pitch, when I thought that my 65 yo teammates were using shaved bats.

 

[Ajaywill]

....For the most part, when the game got so juiced that it no longer meant anything to hit homeruns and the games became 50 to 40 run games, slowpitch lost its appeal. Around my area, it is a dead sport.

To me...this is why slowpitch has become MORE popular and is killing Men's FP.

 

[nanotech14]

To me...this is why slowpitch has become MORE popular and is killing Men's FP.

Thats because most of these guys couldn't hit a pitch traveling at mid to upper 80s from 46'ft.I guess what was getting me was watching a 120 pound man hitting a ball over 300' fences with a swing a LL wouldn't want to do.Then try to act like his bat isn't shaved,I was catching a game on day and the end cap popped off the bat and said something to the guy after he fouled off a pitch,about that bat isn't shaved is it?"Oh no," he said, then next pitch went yard,another guy that had a bad swing and was a buck thirty,with rocks in his pockets,soaking wet.

 

[starsnuffer]

Bat shaving, rampant steriod use, and beer guts. The trademarks of men's slowpitch.

It is unfortunate, as the game has merit. What it doesn't have is any correlation to fastpitch or baseball. The rotational kind of swing that works really well for hitting a slow moving ball dropping nearly vertically through the strike zone to where the batter has plenty of time to step and line up in the direction of their intended hit is far removed from the type of swing needed in baseball or fastpitch where the batter has less then half a second to see the ball, react to it, and hit it successfully.

It is a different game. If the athletes appeared athletic and adopted the healthy lifestyles and sportsmanship required by athletes in most other active sports, the games image might improve somewhat. Until then, there is always co-ed keg night and kickball.

-W

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Bat shaving, rampant steriod use, and beer guts. The trademarks of men's slowpitch.

This is my buddy loaded up for a slow pitch tournament last week, I just had to take a picture because no one would ever believe me.

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