Pitchers to debut new protective headwear in spring training

[soxhop411]

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.

More at the link...

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

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

They could just put up protective netting . . .

 

[geoduck no quahog]

Evolution of cricket helmet

I could see something like the caged ones becoming mandatory for upper level youth baseball, assuming older kids can hit a ball hard enough to cause irreparable damage. Apparently the hat has a foam insert or sandwich that absorbs 80% of the energy.

 

[uncannymanny]

I'd opt for the latter, just in case I get hungry during the game.

Really can't see something like the cricket helmet catching on in MLB, despite the occasional injury, unless mandated by the league.

 

[JimBoSox9]

Evolution of cricket helmet

I could see something like the caged ones becoming mandatory for upper level youth baseball, assuming older kids can hit a ball hard enough to cause irreparable damage. Apparently the hat has a foam insert or sandwich that absorbs 80% of the energy.

I think you're more likely to see variations of the Heyward-style flap that protects the jaw and most of the eye, which are slightly easier to adapt to existing helmet stockpiles and don't have the same vision complaints.

Outside of hitters, every athlete in every sport that involves any contact at all should be wearing, at minimum, FIFA soccer goalie-style caps. No visibility or mobility concerns at all with those things.

 

[Lowrielicious]

There was another later modification around the neck area after the death of an Australian test player in late 2014.

 

[Darnell's Son]

After Johnny Cueto was hit in the head and then left in the game Cuzitt wrote a piece on MLB's handling of head injuries.

Cueto, in fact, pitched three full innings. In a SPRING TRAINING GAME. After being HIT IN THE HEAD by a batted ball. Cueto, as is typical of athletes, convinced the manager and the trainer that he should continue. As Bochy said: