Requiring Facemask for pitchers... Possible league policy... THoughts?

[Rocketech1]

I think maybe because he is the President of the league. So he might have felt obligated to to see how she was ??

Also the ball came off the bat HOT, so just seeing how she was doing. The pitcher continued to pitch 3 innings after this too. Facemasks saves the day.

And these are not isolated, rare occurrences anymore. On any given weekend in the U.S. there are likely several softball pitchers getting hit in the face with line drives as the hot bats, better conditioned batters, and smaller strike zones have contributed to the increased rate of getting hit by a batted ball. Glad she was ok and was able to continue to pitch the rest of the game. Should be a wake-up call to players and parents alike...

 

[Carsonsig]

I really appreciate all your comments. I was exposed to some arguments and thoughts that I hadnt considered, both for and against... I brought it up at my board meeting the other night and the discussion was very fruitful. We discussed it, and tabled to July's meeting to allow people to think about it. Sentiment seemed to run towards educating parents on the risk, motivating kids to wear them, and facilitating the purchase.. but we also discussed a policy of strong recommendation.... We will see. the arguments on here are the same I might hear from moms and dads in my league... so it is valuable and interesting.

 

[wheresmycar]

Since you know of the risk I take it you will also require mouth guards and heart guards? And you will need to ban composite bats and use nerf balls. And of course you will need to have an ambulance on standby at all games. Will all players be required to have physicals with a statement from a physician that they are cleared to play? What about baseline concussion testing? If it keeps one kid safe isn't it worth it?

Got to draw the line somewhere. For most the risk associated with not wearing a mask just does not rise to the level of justifying a mandate. If you truly feel it does there are things that rise to that level sooner and should be addressed, like heart guards which actually save lives. Facemasks are the cause de jour of fastpitch softball. Your energies are best spent elsewhere.

Risk of death is very small... mask or no mask. Risk of a permanently disfiguring injury with no mask, dramatically higher... so high, that is easily justifies a mandate for protective equipment.

I would never allow my 8u and 10u daughters to play without a mask... but I also don't want my daughter to be the one who hits a hot come-backer at a pitcher with no mask, and sends her to the hospital, simply because the pitchers parents were too ignorant or too macho to require their kid to also wear a mask.

 

[riseball]

Risk of death is very small... mask or no mask. Risk of a permanently disfiguring injury with no mask, dramatically higher... so high, that is easily justifies a mandate for protective equipment.

I would never allow my 8u and 10u daughters to play without a mask... but I also don't want my daughter to be the one who hits a hot come-backer at a pitcher with no mask, and sends her to the hospital, simply because the pitchers parents were too ignorant or too macho to require their kid to also wear a mask.

Care to quantify "dramatically higher"? I get the idea that information is from your nether region.

FWIW the OP has already stated that his board has declined to move forward with a mandate.

 

[FP26]

I really appreciate all your comments. I was exposed to some arguments and thoughts that I hadnt considered, both for and against... I brought it up at my board meeting the other night and the discussion was very fruitful. We discussed it, and tabled to July's meeting to allow people to think about it. Sentiment seemed to run towards educating parents on the risk, motivating kids to wear them, and facilitating the purchase.. but we also discussed a policy of strong recommendation.... We will see. the arguments on here are the same I might hear from moms and dads in my league... so it is valuable and interesting.

I am personally an advocate of masks, but not to the point of mandating it. I consider it a family choice, although I would not argue against a mandate at the younger ages.

DD has been wearing a mask since she started pitching in 10u. She didn't really offer any resistance until the start of her freshman year in high school. No one on her high school team wore masks, and she was hearing some comments from the older girls on the team. I had to be the "bad guy" and insist that she wore it as a freshman. I explained to her that when she pitches she would be facing juniors and seniors, some as much as 3 years older than her. When she played other positions I allowed her to make her own decision. She agreed. As soon as travel ball started there were no further discussions because several of her teammates also wore masks. At the beginning of this season she was pitching during a scrimmage and was hit in the shin with a line drive. It knocked her to the ground and she laid their holding her leg for what seemed to be an eternity (probably no more than 2 minutes in real time). She managed to get back up and pitched two more innings, but it was an eye opener for her. She realizes that there is always the potential for something to happen, but she wears the mask without question at this point.

 

[wheresmycar]

Care to quantify "dramatically higher"? I get the idea that information is from your nether region.

FWIW the OP has already stated that his board has declined to move forward with a mandate.

Seriously?


Based on an extrapolation of data collected by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from U.S. emergency departments through its National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), there were in 2007:
an estimated 109,202 baseball- and softball-related injuries among 5- to 14-year-old children treated in US emergency departments;

Nearly half (44%) involved the head:
25% to the face, including eyes and nose;
14% to the head and neck; and
5% to the mouth.

So roughly 47,000 head/facial injuries per year that required a trip to the emergency room.

 

[riseball]

Seriously?


Based on an extrapolation of data collected by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from U.S. emergency departments through its National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), there were in 2007:
an estimated 109,202 baseball- and softball-related injuries among 5- to 14-year-old children treated in US emergency departments;

Nearly half (44%) involved the head:
25% to the face, including eyes and nose;
14% to the head and neck; and
5% to the mouth.

So roughly 47,000 head/facial injuries per year that required a trip to the emergency room.

It is called correlation without causation. Using the same level of data analysis skill we can also conclude that drownings are increased by ice cream sales.

 

[MNDad]

Seriously?


Based on an extrapolation of data collected by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from U.S. emergency departments through its National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), there were in 2007:
an estimated 109,202 baseball- and softball-related injuries among 5- to 14-year-old children treated in US emergency departments;

Nearly half (44%) involved the head:
25% to the face, including eyes and nose;
14% to the head and neck; and
5% to the mouth.

So roughly 47,000 head/facial injuries per year that required a trip to the emergency room.

An emergency visit is nothing trivial, but it's a far cry from "permanent disfiguration". There's plenty of good reasons for pitchers to wear face masks, but the risk of "permanent disfiguration" certainly isn't high enough to justify mandating them. That's just a scare tactic

 

[Carsonsig]

FWIW, we didnt decline to make a mandate, I said in our opening discussions, it seemed to edge towards not... but I dont know. We will see.

The issue I am hearing in my discussions is that the younger kids dont NEED it... But that it is hard to get the older kids to wear it once they are facing hotter bats... The conflict of those two viewpoints wasnt apparent to them... but we will see what happens.

 

[canyonjoe]

If you have 14U teams have the board members pitch BP to some of the good hitters and see how they feel. Or even good 12U hitters. I pitch to our 14U team from about 25 feet but stand behind a screen and I can't even start to pick the ball of the bat of some of the good hitters. Even with a net it's scary. I think mandating for all players is way over the top, but Pitchers should start wearing them at a younger age.