FACEMASKS!!!

[sdiamond]

Again yesterday during one of my daughters 12U games a pitcher was hit in the face by a batted ball. She had "NO" mask on. When are parents and Coaches going to make their pitchers where a mask for protection. When is ASA,PGF, Triple Crown and AFA going to make it mandatory!!

[Pale Rider]

. When is ASA,PGF, Triple Crown and AFA going to make it mandatory!!

While my personal opinion is that it should be mandatory for pitcher and corners...I dont think we'll ever see it mandatory.

[UmpSteve]

Again yesterday during one of my daughters 12U games a pitcher was hit in the face by a batted ball. She had "NO" mask on. When are parents and Coaches going to make their pitchers where a mask for protection. When is ASA,PGF, Triple Crown and AFA going to make it mandatory!!

Do you want an emotional response about whether it should be mandated, or a factual reply as to the process?

To begin with, no entity would ever mandate any protective device or equipment be a part of the game without a legitimate testing standard being established. That means someone would need to financially support and fund establishing the testing standard by a major standards agency, be it NOCSAE or some other testing agency, so that there is a base line of what is actually protection. Otherwise, some idiot would bend up a coat hanger and wrap it in duct tape, and call it a face mask.

Now of the entities you named, all but one point the fingers at someone else, Triple Crown has no rules; they point to ASA for game rules. PGF has no rules; they point to NFHS for game rules. Both of those are for profit corporations, and would claim someone else needs to do it. Neither would they make a standard that might be unpopular, and lower their market share, unless someone else made it mandatory first.

The legitimate and actual rules-bodies are ASA/USA, NFHS, and NCAA. Well, forget NCAA; they won't even require batter's helmet masks, and I can ASSURE you there are more facial injuries of batters and runners than pitchers or fielders. NFHS decided to not mandate chin straps on batting helmets (to keep them on, for heaven's sake), because they didn't think they should add that expense to school teams!!! And USA/ASA is still smarting from criticism from actually taking a leadership role in protecting players in the past, the first to require batting helmet masks, the first to define (and then redefine) bat standards.

Parents and coaches; REALLY?? Very few seem to be parenting today, they let the children make parental decisions and don't want to upset them by being a parent that actually makes decisions to protect their children. The empirical evidence is in front of you; players that choose not to wear the protection that is available, but optional.

Bottom line; no one will do this simply because it may be the right thing to do. It will have to be a business decision driven by the risk management and legal advisors. At some point, when insurance costs, legal fees to defend liability suits, and settlements drive the costs of the status quo to a critical point, THEN you can expect USA/ASA and NFHS to suddenly show concern and interest in protecting the players.

Until then, watch the carnage; and, hopefully, don't be coddler, be a parent.

[Sam]

It would be much easier to dumb the bats down to wooden bat standards. The bat companies will tell you that they are already at wood exit velocities, but its all bull$hit. They don't want to dumb down the bats. The parents don't want to dumb down the bats because it gives the illusion that their kids can actually hit. The parents could give a $hit about a pitcher being hurt.....until nobody wants to pitch anymore.

[Sam]

The easiest solution would be to go to a softer ball.

[PDad]

It would be much easier to dumb the bats down to wooden bat standards. The bat companies will tell you that they are already at wood exit velocities, but its all bull$hit.

I call BS for softball bats. I think you're mistaking baseball's BBCOR standard, which is right around wood, but that's irrelevant for softball.

The easiest solution would be to go to a softer ball.

I agree. ASA did it for slowpitch and I wonder why they (U-Sing now) haven't done it for fastpitch.

[PDad]

Again yesterday during one of my daughters 12U games a pitcher was hit in the face by a batted ball. She had "NO" mask on. When are parents and Coaches going to make their pitchers where a mask for protection. When is ASA,PGF, Triple Crown and AFA going to make it mandatory!!

Do you want an emotional response about whether it should be mandated, or a factual reply as to the process?
...
Bottom line; no one will do this simply because it may be the right thing to do. It will have to be a business decision driven by the risk management and legal advisors. At some point, when insurance costs, legal fees to defend liability suits, and settlements drive the costs of the status quo to a critical point, THEN you can expect USA/ASA and NFHS to suddenly show concern and interest in protecting the players.

Until then, watch the carnage; and, hopefully, don't be coddler, be a parent.

Good response. I'll add the increasing number of top D-I pitchers wearing masks should be removing the stigma.

[curveballerguy124]

I have always been more of a believer that if you teach a pitcher correctly then come-backers should not be an issue. Moreover, if a kid uses a mask she becomes dependent on that mask to keep her safe rather then working harder to prevent pitches from floating over the plate! That was always my thought process but its changed as of recently, the reason for this change is, I watched a few rec ball games of some girls that I coach. The problem wasn't the pitching it was the coaches, you get some of these knuckleheads yelling at the pitcher to throw strikes (as if she's up there trying to throw balls) then they start telling the catcher to hold the glove over the center of the plate....I was like are you kidding me and it was both teams doing this, that's like flicking lite cigarettes at puddle of gasoline , eventually BOOM the inevitable is going to happen!!! Listen, pitchers are going to miss enough up the middle without some knucklehead blowhard coach telling her to throw it over the plate thats just stupid!!

It hurts the sport big time because then you get these kids that become scared to pitch and ultimately quit. My "new" belief is if your kid is gonna pitch keep her safe, slap the mask on her and call it her "pitching training wheels" when she gets older and demonstrates spin and location let her take the mask off if she likes but let that be her choice. Lets face it the game is not fun if your afraid of getting bashed in the face by a ball, the youth ages should be fun not scary. That's my .02

[Sam]

I have always been more of a believer that if you teach a pitcher correctly then come-backers should not be an issue. Moreover, if a kid uses a mask she becomes dependent on that mask to keep her safe rather then working harder to prevent pitches from floating over the plate! That was always my thought process but its changed as of recently, the reason for this change is, I watched a few rec ball games of some girls that I coach. The problem wasn't the pitching it was the coaches, you get some of these knuckleheads yelling at the pitcher to throw strikes (as if she's up there trying to throw balls) then they start telling the catcher to hold the glove over the center of the plate....I was like are you kidding me and it was both teams doing this, that's like flicking lite cigarettes at puddle of gasoline , eventually BOOM the inevitable is going to happen!!! Listen, pitchers are going to miss enough up the middle without some knucklehead blowhard coach telling her to throw it over the plate thats just stupid!!

It hurts the sport big time because then you get these kids that become scared to pitch and ultimately quit. My "new" belief is if your kid is gonna pitch keep her safe, slap the mask on her and call it her "pitching training wheels" when she gets older and demonstrates spin and location let her take the mask off if she likes but let that be her choice. Lets face it the game is not fun if your afraid of getting bashed in the face by a ball, the youth ages should be fun not scary. That's my .02

Why not have her don ALL the catcher's gear. Wasn't a problem until the bats got so freaking hot. The defense of the pitchers hasnt changed.

[jtat32]

I have always been more of a believer that if you teach a pitcher correctly then come-backers should not be an issue.

Listen, pitchers are going to miss enough up the middle without some knucklehead blowhard coach telling her to throw it over the plate thats just stupid!!

These seem to be contradictory statements if I'm following your message correctly. If I misinterpreted, please clarify.