The new helmets are not popular with players, but they can withstand pitches up to 100mph. A must-use equipment in the minors this year, the Rawlings S100 helmet includes an expanded liner made of polypropylene for more protection.
“I don’t even look in the mirror,” said Justin Turner, an infielder for the Norfolk Tides, The Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. “I think they’re ridiculous. I’ve been hit in the face in the College World Series. There’s got to be a way to put more protection in the helmet and not have them look that atrocious,” he said.
“New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli is the only big leaguer wearing one on a regular basis. He’d already sustained a couple of concussion when manger Joe Girardi persuaded Cervelli to pick safety over style. “It’s ugly,” Cervelli said in spring training, adding, “It’s not about how it looks, I’ve got to take care of myself.”
It will be interesting to see how the new helmets are accepted in minor league baseball and their impact on concussions. If favorable, the trend could spread to the major leagues, colleges, and high schools. Its not clear if the pitch speeds in youth baseball justify the extra protection at this point.
We came across an excellent webpage from Riddell on their sports uniforms and equipment reconditioning, and recertification process to meet strict standards for athletic equipment. This reconditioning process fights bacteria, viruses and mold, which reduces health risks. Once the process is completed, a final inspection is done to recertify the equipment and uniforms according to the original manufacturing condition. Click on the following link to see a video and learn more about the benefits of reconditioning and recertification.
The American Sports Medicine Institute has released its position statement on best practices for youth pitchers in avoiding injuries.
Of particular interest is the statement that throwing curve balls is not a risk factor in youth shoulder and elbow injuries but……. this does not mean that youth pitchers don’t need to take precautions before doing so.
The position statement addresses how to avoid overuse, mandatory 4 month rest periods, and pitch counts.
A recent news release by ABC News indicates that many youth baseball leagues are reporting smaller registrations as the recession impacts family spending. In addition, it is reported that team sponsors are becoming more difficult to recruit and league concession sales are on the decline.
Some leagues have responded by lowering registration fees and providing scholarships. Others are asking sponsors to contribute less in order to sponsor a team.
Do these anecdotal stories reflect isolated pockets or do they reflect a national trend?
Steve Keener, President and CEO of Little League, indicated that national registrations are in line with past years but that the trend will need to be watched closely.
Could it be that fundraising will become popular again? In past years, fundraising was on the decline as many parents preferred raising the registration fees in lieu of fundraising.
All types of sports carry some type of inherit risk. But what are these risks? For contact sports, a very common occurrence is the concussion (defined by Websters as “a stunning, damaging, or shattering effect from a hard impact; a jarring injury of the brain resulting in disturbance of cerebral function.”) According to the CNN report below, there is increasing evidence that brain damage actually occurs during a concussion.
Participation Question: What are some ways that your local organization has been pro-active in preventing head injuries or putting measures into place to nurture the injury, or prevent further injury, once it has occurred?
Commotio cordis or cardiac concussion is a cause of sudden death in young baseball players. It is the result of a low velocity impact to the chest from a thrown or batted ball traveling usually at a speed of between 20-50 mph. The impact must occur directly over the heart, the closer to the center the greater the risk. The cause of death is the development of an abnormal rhythm, ventricular fibrillation, though there may be some affect on the blood circulation to the heart as well. For the catastrophic event to occur, the impact has to be precisely timed to strike the heart during a 15-30-millisecond phase of the electrical cycle (during repolarization or just before the peak of the T-wave).
Commotio cordis is associated with a death rate of 90%. The lack of response of these young health baseball players to CPR is unexpected and remains unexplained, but it is clear that a rapid response is essential. This response is probably required in three-five minutes…….
Batters should learn ball avoidance and turn away from an inside pitch and not open chest to the impact, as is so typically the case. Avoidance while bunting requires special attention. Pitchers as well should be coached in proper fielding positions and ball avoidance when necessary. Chest wall protectors that are commercially available have not been demonstrated to prevent commotio cordis. Studies with baseballs seems to indicate that lighter and softer balls may diminish the risk, but their acceptability for play by older children is of question.
In My Opinion: Studies indicate that the chances of survival of a commotio cordis incident is enhanced if a shock from an AED can be delivered promptly. Most ball parks don’t have AED’s and those that do must have well practiced procedures in place for the rapid use of the device or all if for naught. I am often amazed at the marketing efforts by the vendors of chest protectors. It makes sense that they would help but the scientific studies indicate that many don’t offer any protection and may actually be contra indicated. Apparently, most chest protector vendors need to go back to the drawing board with their designs. Also, the recent high profile lawsuit in New Jersey of a pitcher being stuck by a batted ball that came off of an alleged “hot bat” involves commotio cordis and resulting permanent disability to the pitcher. The metal bat manufacturer was sued among others. What is interesting to note is that commotio cordis usually occurs only when a projectile travels at a relatively slow speed between 20-50 mph and in this case the basis for the lawsuit is that the ball speed was too fast as a result of the alleged “hot bat”. John Sadler
