face mask question

Had a pitcher's game face shatter in a JV game in Anderson County, SC last month. Kid was fine (except for a few nicks), but you can imagine what would have happened without.

My DD has had close calls, but no mask.

 

My daughter is 11. she has worn the mask since she was 8. She pitches and plays infield. One day at my field I was 'sitting on the bucket' and tossed the ball back to her after a pitch. Wasn't even thinking about the mask. Anyway, my toss back was a little high, she reached up to catch it, the ball hit the heel of her glove, dropped straight down, hit the corner of her glasses. 5 stitches and $3,000.00 dollars later, I'm still ticked at myself for not making sure she had her mask on even when just pitching to me.

 

....Confidence my As*, sorry youngfishes, but you need to wear a facemask ANYTIME you have a bat in your hand.
Nevermind the $5000 worth of braces that your wonderful folks have forked out for you to have that pretty smile......uhhh, that you'll appreciate bigtime in a few years.

....So you're a bigtime hitter huh?, no need for a mask?

If you're a bigtime hitter then why make excuses for not seeing the ball because of the mask?

QBs have face masks, WRs have facemasks, umpires have facemasks.....GEEZ kids, the last person I saw with no face mask was some idiot shot out of a cannon at the circus.

My little DD has a pretty nice Opie Taylor black eye today from a simple bunting drill that was slow toss, no helmet and the ball clipped the bat and clocked her in the eye.

I have to admit that I'm proud of her courage, but her ignorance is something that I will not ignore.

Control the things that you have some control over. Wearing protective devices is one of them.

Don't go bein stupid on the fishman!

Marlin

 

Nice post Fishman!!!

 

They especially hate wearing the batting cage during practice. Bunting is one of the main times to wear it; that way you can use the "rule of thumb" technique for learning to bunt without worrying about getting hit in the face.

The "rule of thumb" method I picked up from you by the way. Way back during one of the annual Grand Slam/Challengers clinics. You may be too old to remember that far back. I still use that method; since masks have been required.

Thanks for encouraging kids to protect themselves. The way she hits the ball LW II is not going to be bunting often!

 

My daughter too, has worn a face mask since she was 8. There have been several hard hit balls on "the hot corner", with some bad hops. She is a rising freshman, and I'd like for her to continue to wear the face mask while playing infield, however, much to my dislike, she states that NO ONE wears one, and therefore does not want to wear one. She doesn't want to be percieved as a "weak" player because she wears a mask. To me, as a parent, protection is number one!!
Thanks for everyone's posts!!

 

I've seen too many pitchers and 3rd basemen get hit in the face!

I would tell your DD: You be the role model. Some kid might see you wearing the mask and not be afraid to wear one themselves. With the mask on at 3rd you are somewhat more invincible; they can bounce one off your face and you can still throw them out. Without the mask, they are going to be safe!

 

I would have to say that I have never seen a defensive player hit in the face by a batted ball. Have seen pitchers hit in the shins, hips, groin, chest and arms so I am not saying it isnt possible. I do read about fatalities from hard hit balls to the chest and no one is talking about kids wearing heartguards.

Yet if a parent wants their kid wearing a mask they should wear one. My dd wore a batting mask since day one. Our county required it in Little League and Recball so she grew up with it. Still wears a batting helmet facemask in college and I see quite a few colleges with the batting helmet masks.

The "gameface" will become adopted in much the same way... the kids in the younger ages will wear them their entire "career" in softball and wont think twice about it. We are in a transition with the defensive face mask.

Just curious, does anyone know if the "gameface" is certified for design and if so, what testing agency?

 

This HAS happened...a batter does a fake-bunt-hit, 3rd baseman is playing "up" to field the bunt and the batter knocks a shot down 3rd base line, hitting 3rd baseman in faceguard, which in turn bounces off the mask, all the way into the outfield!!

 

Last year, our 1st string HS pitcher took a pitch off the top of her glove then right on her forehead. She wasn't wearing a face mask. The ball returned like a rocket and she did well to get the glove up to tip it. After the blow to the head she stood for 2 seconds and down she went. She was out the remainder of season with a concussion. She has returned this season ... Wearing a mask.

I would definately recommend them. But the key is to wear them and batting helmets with the face mask whenever you're doing any type of practice. You want to get used to those masks so you're ready for game day. Practice like your going to play!