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| Jan. 15, 2016 Capt Kirk 541 posts | Words of Wisdom Cecil, posted this message face book that should resonate with senior softball players: I have at least 2 friends that have been hit in the face with softballs recently. One is blind in one eye from now on and the other is lucky to only have 15 broken bones around his eye socket. If you are taking batting practice, use a screen. If you pitch without a mask or helmet, your pride will one day be bigger than your ability. Be safe my friends, and to my not so lucky friends (you know who you are), I pray you recover the best you can and am happy you live to play another day. |
| Jan. 15, 2016 Capt Kirk 541 posts | Correction: Sometimes I make a mistake and post something before I proof read it, it would be great if we could edit our post(s): Words of Wisdom Post is: facebook sb: (facebook) Thanks Capt Kirk |
| Jan. 15, 2016 rlspls1974 Men's 65 119 posts | Agreed! Well said Capt. |
| Jan. 15, 2016 hemi racer Men's 65 237 posts | Can't imagine anyone pitching without heeding this warning. Seems basic common sense to use a screen, way in the world take the risk. |
| Jan. 15, 2016 DoubleL10 Men's 70 907 posts | Gary, I could not agree more. I pitch a lot in batting practice and I would not pitch without my screen. In fact, yesterday we were hitting and I hit a good friend of mine in the eyebrow (ball actually deflected off his hat) because he was not completely behind the screen. Thankfully, he told me this morning that the doctor said he should be OK but he did need several stiches. It was awful looking and scared me to death. He was calmer than I was. |
| Jan. 15, 2016 sheik03 5 posts | Good advice but it does not go quite far enough in my opinion. I play either first base or third base and have been wearing a mask for over 3 years. Have seen way to many bad hops exploding players faces. I took some ribbing when I started using the mask, but now I see if more and more, much to my delight....listen we are all slower with our reaction times, and many of the fields we play on are not groomed as good as they should be, do not let pride or ego get in the way of protecting yourself! We are all priviledged to play this great game so late in life, let's be safe so that we can play many more years without any serious injury....... |
| Jan. 16, 2016 JDub Men's 60 206 posts | S T O O O P I D B A T S ! ! ! Have Fun, Be Safe, Jeff White #7 AZ Elite 50/55M+ |
| Jan. 16, 2016 Bubble Gum 122 posts | Do you really think the bat is the only reason pitchers get hit? You don't think a batter with a ASA bat could take out a pitcher? The only difference between Senior Bats and USSSA bats is only 1% as tested and stamped on the bat. 1.20 bpf vs 1.21 bpf. |
| Jan. 16, 2016 docswear1 4 posts | I have been looking at eyes for over 40 years and the worst injuries I have ever seen have been balls that hit eyes. Handballs, baseballs, softballs,tennis balls, ping pong balls,even balls from the pool table. They fit right into that socket so nice and you can fracture the orbit, get a retinal detachment, retinal hemorrhage, a bleed between the lens and the cornea, dislocate the lens in the eye...all kinds of neat stuff. If the damage is just right, your sight can be gone for ever. Not to mention the potential head, nose, mouth injuries that are just waiting to happen. So... please wear a face mask... As Jeff says... Have Fun, Be Safe |
| Jan. 16, 2016 16wood Men's 65 77 posts | Doc, That is great insight (no pun intended) and comes from a pro... Along those same lines, should a BP pitcher wear hip pads for that rare instance when perhaps a stone pull hitter decides to deviate from form? I recognize that this might be extremely unlikely... Any thoughts? BW |
| Jan. 16, 2016 titanhd Men's 60 638 posts | Why are you hitting the middle in Batting Practice? Must be out of homeruns! |
| Jan. 17, 2016 Webbie25 Men's 70 2414 posts | Last year one of our guys hit our bp pitcher-who is also a regular pitcher and broke his foot-he didn't get behind the screen. Turns out, being friends and teammates for a long time, the opposite had happened many years ago. Long time to wait for a payback. I play third base in 60 M+ and tried a rip-it this year -for 2 innings-I felt like I was catching and had reduced visibility and took it off. Any other ideas on a mask? |
| Jan. 17, 2016 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | webbie the rip-it to me is the best one....all the other's in my opinion...block off the feet area from view.....i wear it whenever on the infield or pitching....when pitching i also add a batter's helmet the style they used to coach the bases with......and wear it backwards like a catcher does... bubblegum...there is no difference in the bpf number.....the 1.20 uses a 47 c.o.r. ball.....and the 1.21 uses the 44/375 ball for testing...... |
| Jan. 17, 2016 BruceinGa Men's 70 3233 posts | mad dog, happy birthday! Capt Kirk, please excuse the hijack. |
| Jan. 17, 2016 Bubble Gum 122 posts | dog Your correct....Which means it's NOT the bat! |
| Jan. 17, 2016 FOFO Men's 60 284 posts | I took one off the side of the head in Sacramento while playing the Warriors. I was wearing the Rip-It mask. Problem was I flinched and turned my head leaving the unprotected side of my head exposed. Left a nice lump but fortunately wasn't hurt bad. If I ever pitch again, and my wife says I won't, Imwould go for a full helmet design such as the Worth. I have also heard good things about the LaCross helmet. |
| Jan. 17, 2016 UMBACH 68 posts | SCREENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| Jan. 17, 2016 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | FOFO...that is the reason i wear a coaches helmet when pitching....it protects the side of my head also.......not as full covered as the worth or the other catchers style helmets.... also seem to be able to keep my chin down for ground balls...played the inf my whole life so it comes naturally for me.....don't turn... |
| Jan. 18, 2016 Bubble Gum 122 posts | It is a LVSSA rule that pitchers wear a face mask and have a pitching screen on the field for all pitchers. Even with that rule in place, I have still seen several pitchers get whacked! The last one was last week, a pitcher got hit on the right leg near his foot, he had to go to Quick care. Don't know if his leg was fractured. |
| Jan. 18, 2016 Jawood Men's 50 943 posts | The 11th defender would help some too. Not preventing balls up the middle, just not as many going that way. |
| Jan. 18, 2016 Bballer3 21 posts | The 11th defender would help big time. No matter what anyone says....the easiest place to get a hit will always be up the middle. If a had a dollar for every person who adjusts his feet, changes his swing, whatever just to buzz middle and then say "sorry pitch," I could fully retire. If the 11th man was in place, there would still be the real mishits up the middle but would definitely reduce the "accidental" ones, especially from the good hitters. I pitch and dont really care either way. But if you play a team that consistently does it intentionally then you hope your team will back you and "miss hit" a few right back. |
| Jan. 18, 2016 Capt Kirk 541 posts | Our league has a PPR in place and finally we are implementing a rule that all pitchers must wear a mask: PITCHER PROTECTION RULE (PPR) The PPR is applied ONLY when a batted ball actually strikes the pitcher (except on the arms – see “Judgment Call” below). Near misses, balls batted sharply through the pitchers box or in the vicinity of the pitcher, without striking the pitcher, DO NOT result in the automatic application of the PPR. The PPR is automatically applied when a batted ball strikes the pitcher’s head, neck, torso or legs. The pitcher MUST be either in the pitchers box, in front of the pitching rubber (within the width of the pitching rubber), or leaning out of the pitchers box with one foot in contact with the pitchers box. A pitcher who delivers a pitch and loses contact with the pitchers box by stepping to the side to assume a fielding position IS NOT covered by the PPR. JUDGMENT CALL: When a batted ball strikes the pitcher on the arm (including the glove), while the pitcher is, in the umpire’s judgment, in the process of making a reasonable defensive play on the ball, the PPR does not apply, this is a PLAY ON situation. 40+ - Any ball hit through the pitchers box (up to the height of the pitcher) will be declared a dead ball and the batter called out. Runners cannot advance. (For their protection, pitchers are encouraged to wear protective face mask, chest protection and shin guards.) |
| Jan. 18, 2016 FOFO Men's 60 284 posts | I'm not in favor of a screen or a PPR for tournament play. For league play either is fine. Oh and Mad Dog. I got smoked by a line drive not a ground ball so having my chin down didn't help. :-) |
| Jan. 18, 2016 docswear1 4 posts | Woody Just saw your post.. I know you tried to be discreet in stating somehow that I managed to strike the posterior end of you spinal column in batting practice. I know you remember that it was about 10 years ago or so. You had arranged for a pre-plano Texas trip batting practice. You suggested that I work on "going the other way" occasionally rather than always trying to punish the third base coach or a runner at third knowing full well to me going the other way meant left center. The pitch you threw was outside..... knee high and left the bat ass-high and didn't slow down until it hit you. I believe it was the first pitch.. Seeing your teeth grind as you tried to accept my apology was entertaining but having you explain the the others at practice why I was hitting it up the middle in the first place was priceless. I will admit now that I felt terrible and had never before or since hit a pitcher.. Fortunately since the ball hit you in a spot that pretty much was fatty tissue all that resulted was a really sweet hemorrhage and your urge to strangle me.. Brought back a great memory... I believe you had a screen up but your tail end was so big it just stuck out to far... as always... ntty |
| Jan. 19, 2016 Dancer 115 posts | I am so glad my other senior league had just passed a pitcher option to use a screen in league play. Sure I wear a mask and catcher's shin guards, but that don't protect the rest of my body. I hit a pitcher last week, but thank God he had on catcher's shin guards. I got all of it and it hit him so hard, the ball actually made it out to the fence. |
| Jan. 19, 2016 16wood Men's 65 77 posts | Doc, you were correct with most of the fact pattern... however, it was the last pitch of the day that got me, not the first... my posterior was outside the safety of the screen because I had zero reason to expect a ball anywhere near me (if your first 4,000 swings were any indication)... I had already started the 'clean up' process and was a sitting duck, so to speak... my fault entirely. I was/am ok with being the sacrificial lamb as long as it helped you use more of the field... you're right, the 10 year statute of limitations has expired but I still like to play the victim role now and then. While I didn't really see it, I'm told that it was the best ball you hit all day. :-) BW |
| Jan. 19, 2016 E4/E6 Men's 70 873 posts | You two crack me up. Bob, Doc follows me in our order and for unknown reasons I am almost always standing on third when he comes up. I swear he looks at me and smiles, knowing full well I'll be dodging his ball. |
| Jan. 23, 2016 HJ Men's 70 481 posts | Just got back to this website. At 72 playing 3rd I realize I am on borrowed time for 1 to the face. Those who know, please advise which face mask has worked best for you. Thank you. |
| Jan. 23, 2016 rlspls1974 Men's 65 119 posts | I use RIP - IT DEFENSIVE FACE GUARD $39.99 on ebay. No sight issues. Good luck |
