In field protection

exactly....but those righties who go lefty(slappers) are most likely and vulnerable to having those type injuiries to those beautiful faces. Facemask is smart and if it were available when i played...........its on my mug for sure!

balls need modified not bats.....5 dollar balls and 200-300 dollar bats...you do the Math!!

if $$$ wins out.....move the mound back (43 ft) and Move the bases back 5ft??

 

Injuries

Thanks for starting this thread. I've worked with two girls who each lost 6 months of playing time due to no face mask on helmets, so I was thrilled about the new rule. By the way, one of the girls was hit in the face with a thrown ball while she was running to first base. Not a smart move, but she turned to see if the ball had gone through the hole and simultaneously took it in the teeth. It was the first inning of her junior year. She didn't play another inning until summer ball and after about four rounds of oral surgery to repair the mess.

As for pitchers wearing guards, I've had this talk with a lot of parents. Everybody seems to be sitting on their hands waiting for "it" to happen, but folks really don't mention it a lot. Seldom does a tournament go by that we do not see coaches, parents and umpires standing over a kid (usually a pitcher) who was hit with a batted ball, occasionally in the face. Not to sound cynical, but without adequate protection there will come a time when someone's kid will suffer a severe and permanent injury that will force a rules change. But, that's the way our society works: dodge the bullet as long as we can, then when something aweful happens, we decide to act. Dangerous intersections, unsafe cars, insufficient levies, ineffectual equipment (or not as safe as it could be) are all symptoms of how we look at things. Heck, raise your hand if you remember when in little leage our helmets were made of hard cardboard held together with elastic and only wrapped around your head, ear-to-ear. (Showing my age.) Can you imagine sending a kid up to the plate with one of those things on today?

I'm not convinced three more feet will make that much difference, especially since the girls continue to get bigger, stronger and their bat speed continues to increase. And, don't forget about third basemen, too. They are nearly as vulnerable, if not moreso because they are positioned so far down the line and when one of those girls really turns on one, well, yikes!

There is absolutely nothing more important than the safety and welfare of the kids. A face guard on a pitcher would probably not deminish her effectiveness and it sure could save a lot of teeth, pain or even a life. (Anyone know how fast a line drive ball is flying when it comes off the bat?) That's worth a little discomfort or getting accustomed to.

 

Curious

There must be some stats on how many pitchers over the past several years or so have been hit by a line drive in the face. Is there any governing body that keeps up with that? Could we determine the ratio of pitches thrown to pitches hit, to pitchers being hit? I know if one kid gets hit it is bad, so not being insensitive at all. However, as I have said society seems to want to legislate everything they feel may or could cause some reaction at some time. Has anyone asked the players? Any surveys? Good project for a sociology major or a statistics major so softball gurus would have good strong reasons for their actions. How about baseball? HS and AAU, as well as college use aluminum bats and are throwing 100 MPH fastballs at 60 feet and have them hit back at them while they are off balance or in akward positions, should they wear a mask? Would they wear a mask? As someone else said, change the cores on the balls, change the bats, move the mound but masks? Is it possible the mask restrict the vision of the pitcher? Just asking as I am certainly no expert on the equipment. The girls we have playing the game are awesome, skilled players, and their reaction time is every bit as good as baseball players. As in all sports the chance of being injured is high! Football is probably higher, hockey higher, for girls, maybe even basketball is higher for knee injuries. Sorry got on a soapbox but do not like to see games messed with unless a real threat to the safety of the kids is proven.

 

Good thread. From the number of, and length of the posts alone you can see the concern and worries that well respected people in this sport have for the safety of the girls.I think the dimensions of the field is one of the biggest issues with safety.But to me it is also one of the things that makes the game most appealing.There is nothing that compares in girls sports to watching 16 and 18 year old girls playing on a t-ball size field.Sometimes I think even the parents and fans watching in the stands do not realize how fast this game is played.With runners reaching 1st in less than 3 sec. and pitchers throwing in the mid-60s you just have to react,thats all you have time for. As the parent of a pitcher I am worried about her getting hit every game. When the infield is played in, with a batter showing bunt, then hits away 1st and 3rd are worse.I would hate to see the quality of the game compromised, but where do you draw the line? Is it the bats,balls,face masks or size of the field?If the answer was easy we would already know it.

 

I will have to say that it would be tough for some if not a lot of HS teams to move the pitchers mound back to 43 feet. There are not a lot of pitchers who can pitch from there to go around...at least in hs...
What I would like to see is the 18U Showcase tournaments play by college rules. I don't mean wearing metal cleats but moving the pitching rubber back to 43 feet and playing by college rules which pretty much follow asa. None of these rules about earrings or rubber bands in the hair that will get you thrown out of the game if you wear them. Just trying to expand the thought process on this thread even further.

 

I would love to see some kind of designed helmet for pitchers. It will probably never happen...too many purists won't allow it, but when you see a kid take a p-rod off his/her head, one's feelings will change.

 

No...they won't wear masks, but they would love to wear some kind of protection..perhaps something that could insert in a hat. Some players wear helmets in the field, but it would be difficult and very annoying for a pitcher to wear a batting helmet. I still say that something could be designed for both softball and baseball pitchers that would not be cumbersome.

 

Forgive my ignorance, but if college plays at 43 feet, HS don't have enough pitchers that can do that? It would seem that softballers would want to play at equal distances...but please understand that what I know of softball is from cfball, so blame him

 

I now understand your ignorance...lol
The only reason I would be opposed to HS players pitching from 43 is the age and develop issues involved. Not sure if most of the HS younger pitchers would be able to be effective from that range. Have I seen some good young pitchers in travel ball that would have no problem throwing from there...YES...but, then again Travel ball is a big step above...

 

43 ft would be an easy transition.

those hs are in the minority.

you and i are both great students, even at our age!!