sdiamond wrote: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.