Should Major League Baseball Implement Protective Headgear?

Happ was taken off on a stretcher after being hit in the head

J.A. Happ became the latest pitcher to fall victim to a vicious line drive right back at him during a Major League Baseball game. Happ, pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays, took a Desmond Jennings' liner off the left side of his head during the second inning of last night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. He was taken off of the field on a stretcher, but fortunately he is in good condition and was released today from a Florida hospital. However, Happ's injury is becoming all too familiar in the game of baseball. It begs the question: should the MLB implement protective head gear for pitchers?

Think about it. A pitcher starts just 60 feet, six inches away from home plate. When he releases the ball he is inside 60 feet and he is throwing the ball, depending on the level of baseball, at about 80-100 miles per hour. The ball comes off of the bat even faster than that and the reaction time is so minute it's nearly impossible to get out of the way. The man must get lucky. Happ attempted to put his glove up, but it was no use. The ball hit him square and he collapsed to the Tropicana Field turf.

So far, despite the amount of injuries, Major League pitchers have not been in favor of the protective headgear. There have been talks about using padded hats or helmets, but pitchers have not liked the proposed changes. It remains to be seen what the MLB will do, but a possibility is that they could implement the headgear in the minor leagues. To have it in the Major Leagues though it would have to be passed by the MLBPA and as of now that doesn't seem likely. Also, while the padding would help, the reality is that the impact will still be absurdly forceful. Yes, some padding is better than none, but this is an issue that is difficult to fix.

Here's the other thing about pitchers that will most likely keep the protective headgear out of the game: they know the risks. Baseball is a game that has been around for a long, long time and unfortunately this is something that could very easily happen. Many pitchers have expressed that they understand the dangers of pitching and, because they do, they are able to recover and go pitch again after a horrific hit to the head.

When I was a junior in high school I had a similar thing happen to me. I took a line drive off of my rib cage and I had to go to the hospital. I was sore for quite some time and I missed a few games, but it was never really something I thought about while pitching. I think, as a pitcher, you aren't worried about those things when doing your job. With that being said, I still don't think that's an excuse to ignore the issue that is at hand.

All it will take is one man to die from a blow to the head and the game will drastically change. All sports are experiencing issues with dangerous plays. Because men are getting bigger, faster and stronger all of our games are changing. Suddenly, the games aren't what they once were. Football is more dangerous than it was 30 years ago. Baseball players can hit a ball back at a pitcher faster and harder than ever before. Hockey players are more physical than the past and the same can be said for basketball. As the science of conditioning and weight lifting continues to advance, sports will continue to get more dangerous.

The MLB should look into ways to help pitchers, but it is a very difficult problem. There is no way to fix it and it will be hard for veteran pitchers to change the gear they use after using the same stuff since they were kids. This is a change that will come the hard way or a change that will have to start at the bottom in youth baseball. It's not something that baseball can ignore, but it is something that we have to understand is part of the game.