Yesterday, the NFL and NFL Players Association announced that ten helmet models will be prohibited from use in the NFL for players that did not wear the ten helmets during the 2017 season. NFL Senior Vice President of Health and Safety Policy Jeff Miller said the league is “encouraged that this is an important step for player health and safety.”
Even if not all the studies are completely accurate, everyone probably agrees that attempting to make the game safer whatever way possible is a good thing—which is what the NFL has done as CTE and other head injuries become more well-known.
Personally, I would like to see Major League Baseball also take stronger steps for player safety with their own helmets.
In 2013, the MLB forced all players to wear the Rawlings S100 Pro Comp model, with the exception of those that wear double flapped helmets, as the S100 Pro Comp is only made with one flap. It was good action taken by the league, but perhaps they should go further.
Giancarlo Stanton was hit in the face by a Mike Fiers pitch back in 2014 against the Brewers. It was not a pretty sight, and Stanton has since worn a protective guard against right-handed pitchers.
Stanton wearing a guard has really led the way for other players to do the same. Today, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper—perhaps the best two players in the game—both sport the c-flap on their helmets. With both of them doing it, you can bet other players are going to feel it’s an OK thing to do.
The Stanton the pitch was only 88 miles per hour. With guys on every single team now throwing 96+ MPH, a lot of serious injury can occur to batters. There is only so much time to get out of the way of a fastball from less than 60 feet away, and sometimes it’s nearly impossible.
I believe Major League Baseball should force all minor leaguers and players that have not played in the big leagues to wear a c-flap on their helmets. This would give them time to make the adjustment, and those that are already in the MLB can keep their helmets without the flap if they so choose.
All minor leaguers are forced to wear double-flapped helmets, which can also be included in this discussion. When running the bases, guys can easily take a baseball to the side of the head—particularly on pickoff attempts. Double-flapped helmets are a separate discussion, but it’s also one worth having. But at the very least, more protection while batters are in the box against guys that throw 100 MPH seems necessary.
It might seem blasphemous to some, but the best players in the game are starting to wear more protection in what can be a dangerous sport. Forcing guys to do something might not seem right—imagine forcing NHL players to wear full face masks (good luck trying to do that)—but I guarantee anyone that takes a major league fastball to the face will have wished they had an extra flap there to protect them.
With pitchers throwing gas it’s kind of stupid not to use that flap.
I’d wear one that’s for sure
I don’t think mandatory…. but highly recommend players to do it