(Getty)
No fewer than seven catchers working behind the plate in Main League Baseball have been sidelined with concussions in August, a undeniable fact that reporter Mike Beradino rightly if also pun-tasticlly calls “staggering” in a post for the Twin Cities’ Pioneer Press. At the least five of those catchers reportedly use titanium masks. Two play for the Minnesota Twins — Joe Mauer and Ryan Doumit.
The attraction of titanium is the load, or lack thereof, when put next with steel. Producers claim titanium masks weigh sixteen ounces whereas being 10 times stronger than their steel counterparts. That makes the alloy alluring to Doumit, who says: “All through the course of the sport, you start to really feel it behind your neck.”
So this is one thing that issues, even when it’s just for comfort’s sake. Lighter would possibly mean easier for catchers to use in the case of masks, however it might not mean safer.
Any statistician would tell you that it’s a small pattern measurement we’re speaking about — the opportunity of coincidence is excessive — and we’re also not privy to the checks that manufacturers do on these masks. Of course it isn’t of their finest interest to make gear that enables for more concussions. All we have now to go on is the gamers’ instinct, and it is telling them that one thing isn’t right:
(Getty)
“From a catching standpoint, I hope the science catches up, and we will discover a bit of better mask,” Doumit said. “You look across the league, and you see (what’s taking place). We hope that someone comes up with a masks that helps stifle that, as a result of it’s scary.”
Like Doumit, who took a Jason Castro foul tip off the entrance of his mask Aug. 4 in opposition to Houston, Mauer was sidelined after a pair of onerous jolts throughout an Aug. 19 make-up sport towards the New York Mets.
The second one, coming into the seventh inning off the bat of Ike Davis, resulted in the first diagnosed concussion of Mauer’s skilled career.
Mauer has been using a hybrid helmet manufactured by Rawlings that is identical to the new outsized batting helmets. It is one of the best out there gear — which only pins extra speculation on the titanium masks. Those are made by Nike.
Mauer said he would not know what position the tools has in the spate of concussions, only that he hopes “any person rather a lot smarter than” him is researching it. That brings us the curious comments of Twins GM Terry Ryan, who was interviewed by Beradino the day before Mauer sustained his brain damage.
(Getty) Ryan, who has been besieged by questions regarding Mauer’s future and whether it should be behind the plate at $23 million a yr, left no doubt where he sees him enjoying in the coming seasons:
“That’s his place,” Ryan stated. “Anyone’s going to should get again there. We can’t put a mechanical man back there.”
Ryan additionally stated the Twins don’t have a corporation-vast policy on catcher’s masks.
“It is a consolation degree,” Ryan stated. “We have all types. All of them are secure. Obviously, they have to undergo testing, too.”
“All of them are safe.” His gamers don’t appear to agree. Perhaps it is because the way in which the story was written, but Ryan sounds as involved with opening up the crew to legal responsibility as he is all for making sure producers are making the safest stuff potential. At best he is in full “That’s the way it’s,” mode. As Beradino writes, the Detroit Tigers have urged Alex Avila — one other of the concussed catchers — to revert to wearing a mask with steel bars and extra padding.
Until a better masks comes alongside, that is in all probability what the Twins should be doing with Doumit and Mauer. In Mauer’s case, don’t even worry about his non-mechanical brain, in the event you don’t wish to. Just think of it as protecting a $184 million investment.
Titanium catcher’s masks might not be safe enough
0 comments:
Post a Comment