More at the link...Early in spring training, 20 big league pitchers are expected to receive newly designed protective headwear resulting from a collaboration between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association.
"A hybrid of a cap and a helmet" is how MLB vice president Patrick Houlihan describes the customized hats that weigh 10 to 12 ounces, depending on head size, have a carbon fiber shell and roughly resemble sun visors with extended forehead and temple coverage and single earflaps like batting helmets. The average thickness is about 0.7 inches and is greatest in places most susceptible to catastrophic injury, according to Boombang, the company hired to design and produce the headwear.
Research cited by Boombang showed that line drives to the side of the head -- a pitcher's most vulnerable area -- typically strike right-handers on the right and lefties on the left because of follow-through position, so the hats are righty- and lefty-specific.
Houlihan and MLBPA assistant general counsel Bob Lenaghan told Outside the Lines they are optimistic the pitchers will take a liking to the partial head covering supplemented with nylon New Era performance skull caps, and they hope it will lead to usage in games and other pitchers requesting their own.
Throughout the MLB/MLBPA project begun with Boombang in May 2014, input was solicited from pitchers, including the dozen who have been hit in the head by line drives since September 2012, said Houlihan. He added that the first group of pitchers to receive the new cap consists of some pitchers who have been struck, some who are opinion leaders and others who have expressed interest.
Tampa Bay's Alex Cobb, who suffered a mild concussion and experienced vertigo for two months after he was hit in the head in 2013, said he tried on a prototype for the new hat last year.
"It felt great and looks good, similar to a helmet with the top cut off," Cobb said.
Cobb said the shot off the bat that hit him probably would have struck the ear flap if he had been wearing the new product, but he is not prepared to commit to wearing it in a game.
"If I put it on and it's close to wearing a baseball hat and I've got nothing to complain about, I think I'd be open to it," said Cobb, who is an endorser for isoBLOX protective caps for youth leaguers.
I think this is a much needed change. We have seen numerous pitchers get hit by a comebacker the past few seasons... If this protective gear can prevent even one injury from a comebacker it is worth it...
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14765775/mlb-players-association-work-together-develop-more-protective-pitching-hat