USA Today's Sports Section

There is a great article about a pitcher who took a line drive to the face and now wears the mask. With todays HOT BATS, whats it going to take to make ASA, NSA, AAU, WFC, USFA, ISA, ISF...etc make the mask mandatory for pitchers?

 

It probably will not happen for 18U...have heard of several colleges that won't even look at a kid who wears one. And as a consequence have seen a couple of kids who did wear them but have since decide not to.
I'm not against them especially for the younger groups for the pitcher (can't understand why an outfielder EVER needed one) but i never had any success getting mine to even try one.
She says "If i throw it where i'm supposed to they won't hit it back at me hard enough for me not to defend myself".
To me the bigger concern is teaching pitchers how to defend their position. Make sure their finish is in a position for them TO field the ball. And teach them HOW to field the ball. Seen it in college and seen it in HS and TB. Way to many pitchers that either can't, don't want to, or don't like to field the ball and even if they can can't throw it to first. Cost UCLA a national championship and probably Northwestern too. JMO

 

Face Mask

Okay not sure how I feel really, because I am always about choice and rights first. But lets just say, you have a pitcher who is excellent at pitching and fielding, but they face a great batter who just happens to get a great hit, and gets the pitcher right in the head, what about that freak accident, are we willing to take that chance, just a thought. I watched my daughter field a line drive at third, right at her head the other day, and she is a great fielder, but what if? I told her she is going to have to start wearing a mask and she replied MOM IT OBSTRUCTS MY VIEW, which I can see, but it sure scared the !!!!!!! out of me. On the line with this matter.

 

JUST A THOUGHT

Have been talking about moving pitchers back to 43 ft in the next 2 years, will the extra 3 ft even help the pitcher with reaction time, or if moving it back will improve the offence, will it just put the pitcher in more danger with more balls being hit at her ??? Just a thought.

 

My DD will not wear it either. I told her when that Freak accident happens, I hope she lives to tell about it! I understand it obstructing view, but I think if you practiced with it on, you would get used to it . I keep waiting for it to become mandatory for infielders.

 

My DD has wore her mask from day 1....her choice. She has gotten so used to wearing it for the past 3 years, it's just not an issue. And if she didn't want to wear it...well.....that's TOUGH! She is WAY more valuable to me than ANY pitch, softball game, scholarship, or what the other girls think. (I know the older girls laugh at the girls their age that wear a mask.) I had a babysitter 2 years ago who went to watch the Hickory Crawdads game. She was simply sitting in the stands near first base. Foul ball came and popped her right in the head. Knocked her out for a second but then seemed fine. Nursing staff looked at her and said she would be fine. She wanted to leave so they headed home. On the way home she started feeling nauseated. Her dad, being a First Responder, immediately took her to the ER. They IMMEDIATELY took her to Baptist where she had emergency surgery for a bleed in her brain. The surgeon said she was approximately 20 minutes from death. And she was way more than 40 feet away from the batter. My daughter's have seen everything she's had to go through since then. It's not been easy for her but WE are so greatful she's still with us.
My point being....accidents happen but I'm going to do whatever it takes to protect my child...whether she likes it or not. She's 12, she's not in a position to make a decision like that.

 

Catastrophic Head Injuries in Other High School and College Sports, 1982–1999*




Dont know if this helps...

 

can't put it any better than this ^

question i have is would you want your daughter playing for a college coach who would automatically mark through a kid who wears one?

 

Do you make her wear a heart guard too? More fatalities result from an impact to the chest than a hit to the head?

 

Hmmmmmm...haven't seen that style. I like it! Where do you get one like that?