MLB Pitchers Avoid Helmets Despite Injury Risk

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman was struck in the face with a line drive during a spring training game. The scary mishap left him collapsed on the mound before he was taken off the field on a stretcher with fractures above his left eye and nose, and the remainder of the game was cancelled. He has a mild concussion and will have a metal plate inserted to repair a bone above his eye.

The scary moment raises the question, once again, of whether and how to protect pitchers from the potentially deadly force of baseballs hit back toward them. Like every pitcher in Major League Baseball, Chapman stands 60 feet, six inches from home plate and then lunges himself a few feet closer to deliver pitches. He stands exposed as the batter swings, relying on his reflexes and dumb luck to avoid balls that can come back toward him at more than 100 miles per hour. Read more...