MLB looks to protect pitchers from line drives - Yahoo! Sports

It's probably well past time for "pitcher's helmets" or some other form of protection. There was initial reluctance to batting helmets in the beginning and now you really can't imaging going up to hit with just a regulation baseball cap on.

Plus they give you something to toss after a strikeout.

Seriously, I'm not sure how badly a pitcher needs to get hurt at the ML level before something gives.

Some of the more recent instances illustrate the seriousness of the injuries pitchers face.

from Fox News report
MLB studying headgear for pitchers
FoxSports.comSeptember 18, 2012:

Nicasio, struck in the left temple by a line drive on Aug. 5, 2011, suffered a fractured skull that produced bleeding on the brain — and a broken neck on his subsequent fall.

McCarthy, after getting hit by a line drive on Sept. 5, required two hours of brain surgery after suffering an epidural hemorrhage, skull fracture and brain contusion.

A fatality occurred from a similar incident involving a minor-league coach — Mike Coolbaugh, coaching first base for Colorado’s Double-A affiliate, was killed when a line drive struck him in the neck on July 22, 2007.

Major league general managers decided the following offseason to require first- and third-base coaches to wear batting helmets. Coaches, though, are not players. Pitchers likely would resist anything but the most gradual change.

Players, fans and media teased Mets third baseman David Wright when he wore a large protective helmet in 2009 upon returning from a concussion.

Wright ditched the “Gazoo” helmet after only two days, saying it was uncomfortable.

Seems rather silly to opt for "comfort" and avoidance of a little "teasing" over safety. I don't imaging a brain contusion is very comfortable at all.

I was at a game once where one of our pitchers was hit in a similar fashion to Fister and McCarthy. The ball ricocheted off his head and landed in short LF. The sound of ball hitting head is a very sickening sound. I'm surprised Fister continued, he had to have been operating on pure adrenaline.

If the bigs implement, the lower level youth and HS leagues will follow. That would be a good thing.

I am very glad to see MLB fast-tracking this issue.

from Yahoo Sports.com
MLB looks to protect pitchers from line drives - Yahoo! Sports:

DETROIT (AP) -- Major League Baseball is looking at ways to protect pitchers from being injured by batted balls such as the one that struck Doug Fister in the head, and says hat liners are a possibility in the minors next year.

The safety issue is on a ''fast track,'' MLB senior vice president Dan Halem said Friday night.

MLB medical director Dr. Gary Green has been talking to companies about protective headgear for pitchers, Halem said. A report is on the agenda at baseball's winter meetings in December.
A cap liner with Kevlar, the high-impact material used by military, law enforcement and NFL players for body armor, is among the ideas under consideration.

Halem said baseball already was exploring options when Oakland pitcher Brandon McCarthy was hit in the head by a line drive last month, causing a skull fracture and brain contusion.

''We think it's possible for 2013 in the minor leagues,'' he said.

'via Blog this'