By Jordan Long
This past weekend, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker was hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Kyle Seager that was clocked at 105 miles per hour. Shoemaker left the game with serious injuries. He suffered a small skull fracture and needed to have surgery to stop bleeding on the brain which was successful. According to ESPN, Los Angeles’ catcher Jett Bandy said, “I had a good view of it, and when you see it square someone up like that, it’s scary. First things first, you forget about baseball and you think about his health.” It is time to give pitchers protection.
This incident doesn’t happen every single game but a few times every year, far too many. Pitchers only have their glove to protect them from the ball. They may not have much time to react because the baseball is coming at a high speed. When this happens it can cause a serious injury, requiring them to be out for a long time or have permanent damage.
Major League Baseball needs to give these pitchers protection. MLB has a cap that could shield them. The cap is only half an inch thicker on the front and an inch thicker on the sides. The padding on the cap adds only 7 ounces. It’s optional now for pitchers to wear it. Using this would give them a little more protection. They need to make it mandatory to wear it. Wearing it might have saved Shoemaker from being injured.
I think it’s time for MLB to safeguard these pitchers. Batters have batting helmets to defend their heads from getting hit from pitches. Why can’t MLB do the same for pitchers? If they would, fans may not have to see a pitcher go down with a head injury and might even be able to stay in the game.
It wouldn’t be that difficult to enforce but Major League Baseball is slow to change. I just hope they do this soon and not wait for something more serious to happen to a pitcher.
What do you think of giving MLB pitchers more protection during games?
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