History has shown that uniform changes designed to improve player safety aren’t generally met with enthusiasm by habit-bound athletes.
Whether that means transitioning from leather helmets to something sturdier in football or introducing helmets and later visors in hockey, tradition often trumps safety for years before the latter wins out.
The next great battleground might very well be in protective gear for pitchers, as Major League Baseball and its players’ union ramp up their efforts to protect hurlers from line drives.
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According to an ESPN report Friday, 20 big-league pitchers will soon receive new protective headwear to test out during spring training. The hybrid cap/visor is designed to be worn over a nylon skullcap and has an open top, focusing protection on vulnerable areas on the front and sides of the head. It also has a single earflap, like batting helmets, that will align to a pitcher’s follow-through — covering the right ear for right-handers and vice-versa for lefties.
OTL Report: MLB pitchers will receive new protective headwear from MLB & MLB Players Assoc. https://t.co/e9J49NVCcr pic.twitter.com/Cbcc38yKS4
— Outside The Lines (@OTLonESPN) February 12, 2016
The headwear is manufactured by Boombang, a California-based company that has been working on the project since May 2014. MLB vice president Patrick Houlihan told ESPN that input was sought from each of the dozen pitchers who have been hit in the head by line drives since September 2012, some of whom will receive the custom-made prototypes this spring.
Each weighs 10 to 12 ounces and has been tested to hold up to impact testing at 85 mph, Houlihan said, with the expectation that the headgear can handle impacts at even higher speeds.
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It remains unclear how many might actually wear it in a game, though, as even pitchers who are open to protective measures have expressed concerns about wearing something that looks too different from a traditional cap.
“I’m definitely one of the guilty ones,” said Indians pitcher Jeff Manship, whose brother was hit in the head by a line drive as a 12-year-old. “I want to have it look right, which sounds terrible when you’re talking about safety, but that’s how it is.”
The more pitchers choose to adopt this or a similar product, though, the faster opinions figure to change.