Masks

Softball face masks and guards come in a variety of styles; some resemble an old catcher’s mask while others look like clear plastic versions of a grasshopper’s jaw.  I started noticing them as soon as Clare switched to softball.

Pitchers standing 40-43 feet from the plate were in obvious need, as were first and third basemen; the baselines are all of 60 feet.  Insert a strong hitter like Clare into the equation, and you’re asking for injury.  Of course, being both a guy and a lover of baseball, I thought a far better solution than face masks would be for softball to adopt baseball-like distances.  As of last night, I stand corrected.

Melky Cabrera of the White Sox lined a pitch up the middle against Cleveland in the top of the first inning.  Indians’ starter Carlos Carrasco was barely able to deflect the ball; what could have struck Carrasco directly in the cheek or eye socket appears to have been more of a glancing blow off the side of the face.  The next pitcher may not be as lucky.

Masks look strange, I grant you, but a fractured cheek, nose or socket is infinitely worse.  Looks be damned.  Softball should make masks mandatory—and yes, adopt longer distances—while baseball should offer the option to any pitcher who wants a mask.  Macho can’t protect a head by itself.