“You were laughing at my helmet hat, laughing at my torch.” - Ben Folds, Philosophy
MLB and MLBPA working together to improve head protection
Dan Jennings went down after being struck in the head on Thursday. MLB and the MLBPA made an announcement concerning improvements to player safety the following day.
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Alex Torres can probably relate pretty well to that old Ben Folds song. He has carried the torch for better head protection for pitchers simply by strapping on that giant hat/helmet and looking like a goof. It's really too bad he looks so absurd in it, because the reasoning behind the helmet often gets lost in the Pharrell jokes and mockery.
Head injuries are one of baseball biggest problems. Sure, replay will change the game, and missed calls were an issue worthy of being addressed, but when it comes to pitchers being hit by batted balls, the words “life and death” are far from an exaggeration.
Alex Torres/Photo credit: Kent Horner, Getty Images In addition to Dan Jennings' head injury on Thursday, several players -- including Aroldis Chapman, Alex Cobb and J.A. Happ, among many others -- have caused entire stadiums to hush with concern that they might have just seen guy withstand serious brain damage ... or worse.
On Friday, Major League Baseball and the Players Association announced a “jointly funded initiative with Boombang, a California-based engineering, research and consulting company, in an effort to advance the development of protective headgear for pitchers,” according to ESPN’s William Weinbaum.
“Our hopes are that they come up with something that pitchers can use without interfering with their mechanics” - MLBPA assistant general counsel Bob Lenaghan said.
Only one protective cap has been approved for in-game use by MLB pitchers. It's the one Alex Torres wears to the unavoidable amusement of many fans. Marlins minor leaguer Ramon del Orbe has also worn the isoBLOX protective cap in game action. Other than those two, no one else has worn protection on the field. However, Rays righty Alex Cobb has endorsed padded inserts for youth baseball and softball.
The issue is almost certainly going to change the game in one way or another. Major League Baseball isn’t forcing anyone to wear protection yet, but that could easily be coming. They wouldn’t let a batter step into the box without a helmet or a catcher take the field without a mask, would they?
But changes of that proportion won’t come for some time, if they come at all. For now, manufacturers are doing everything they can to develop head protection that will safeguard players, avoid altering pitching mechanics, and look non-ridiculous enough for players to volunteer to wear them during games. Because until someone makes them do it, it appears as though they won’t until they can do so without becoming a joke.
See More:
