Matt Shoemaker Update

[Stradling]

59 minutes ago, DMVol said:

Toward the end of the article.....

http://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/la-sp-angels-mariners-20160904-snap-story.html

Thanks, I was looking for the link that says pitchers don't wear them because they don't look cool.  

[eaterfan]

I think it's a harder issue than we are making it out to be. If they have one that provides decent protection and is light weight I think it would be great to have pitchers wear it. But pitching isn't like playing other positions. It's so much about balance and shifting weight that putting weight that far away from a pitcher's center of gravity could have a significant effect on performance. Nothing in sports requires the precision of pitching where missing by 3 inches is the difference between  leaving one "over the middle" and hitting the corner and 3 inches the other way is off the plate.  I don't know enough about the state of the art helmets that could be used so maybe it exists and is functional, but I'd certainly listen if a pitcher were to say it effected his performance. 

I think it would be far easier and probably more effective to make hitters wear face masks when they hit. 

[eligrba]

Being less than 60 feet from home plate is just plain sketchy.  Consider how close to the batter the best fielding third basemen would play.....and this is usually only done in bunting situations...and typically in a better "ready" position.

[Tank]

9 hours ago, gurn67 said:

I still don't know why pitchers are not required to wear some sort of protection on their head. Especially in the temple areas. If it's about not wanting to look like a doofus, even a hard cap with a little padding underneath would be better than a cloth cap. As scary as this is, we'd be having a whole different conversation here if that ball had hit flush and had ricocheted back toward the plate rather than ricocheting up.

you'd need something with a double ear flap, like a minor league batting helmet. gotta be a way to make them practical while not looking/feeling bulky and goofy.

[CaliAngel]

Lol Strad my gawd your density is unparalleled. Have you never hung out with dudes and had a couple beers?

Why don't people wear helmets when they ride a bike or skateboard even though it could save their lives?

I don't understand what is wrong with you, but there doesn't need to be an article that says dudes don't think wearing helmets is cool for it to be known.

[Stradling]

Pitchers are not not wearing helmets because they don't look cool.  If that was the case then hitters still wouldn't be wearing them.  Pitchers aren't wearing them because they are bulky and they mess with mechanics.  Then again, I am arguing this with someone who thinks the Angels are cursed, like that is a real thing.  

[Stradling]

51 minutes ago, eaterfan said:

I think it's a harder issue than we are making it out to be. If they have one that provides decent protection and is light weight I think it would be great to have pitchers wear it. But pitching isn't like playing other positions. It's so much about balance and shifting weight that putting weight that far away from a pitcher's center of gravity could have a significant effect on performance. Nothing in sports requires the precision of pitching where missing by 3 inches is the difference between  leaving one "over the middle" and hitting the corner and 3 inches the other way is off the plate.  I don't know enough about the state of the art helmets that could be used so maybe it exists and is functional, but I'd certainly listen if a pitcher were to say it effected his performance. 

I think it would be far easier and probably more effective to make hitters wear face masks when they hit. 

@CaliAngel eater said it better than I could, this is the reason.  It has nothing to do with, "chicks don't dig the helmets" or they "don't look cool" mentality.  

[CaliAngel]

I'm sure wearing a helmet going up to bat was a bit different for hitters when they started wearing them, but just the same a pitcher would get used to wearing and adapting pitching with them on the exact same way.

Right now they're just like "I'm not wearing that crap, it looks stupid, it messes with my performance," blah blah blah. Excuses excuses.

Again it's the same with bike riders and skaters, they don't wear them cause their not cool even though it could literally save your life. And no pitcher has died from a ball to the dome, and rarely if ever is it really going to be needed as a pitcher. 

It's the same as the net down the line conversation for foul balls. It's talked about when it happens then gets swept under the rug in a couple weeks.

[Bruce Nye]

If this season was a fish, I'd happily throw it back.

[totdprods]

Yeah, I don't think we will see anything like that implemented for this 'generation' of pitchers. It will have to be a technology tested, applied, and eventually mandated in youth leagues and through high school and college, so the next generation of pitchers develops accustomed to wearing that headwear. And I think that's the plan, they just haven't created the ideal equipment yet.

[eaterfan]

13 minutes ago, CaliAngel said:

I'm sure wearing a helmet going up to bat was a bit different for hitters when they started wearing them, but just the same a pitcher would get used to wearing and adapting pitching with them on the exact same way.

Right now they're just like "I'm not wearing that crap, it looks stupid, it messes with my performance," blah blah blah. Excuses excuses.

Again it's the same with bike riders and skaters, they don't wear them cause their not cool even though it could literally save your life. And no pitcher has died from a ball to the dome, and rarely if ever is it really going to be needed as a pitcher. 

It's the same as the net down the line conversation for foul balls. It's talked about when it happens then gets swept under the rug in a couple weeks.

Once again, hitting is very different than pitching. In hitting the head basically stays as still as possible over the center of gravity and the the base. Pitching requires a lot of movement from the head to not be over the center of gravity and with that movement comes momentum. More of it happens the farther out you go from the core. Pitchers literally fall forward with every pitch. Saying hitters adjusted so pitchers will to isn't fair. They are completely different activities and require different skills. It's why pitchers are often not great hitters and hitters aren't great pitchers for the most part despite most MLB players being world class athletes at the skills they have. It's like arguing that because catchers wear catching gear then 3rd basemen will adjust to wearing it too.

[notherhalo]

was he wearing one of those plates that go under the hat?   They make employees at budweiser plant all wear them and I head they arent that bad.  I believe they were invented for pitchers.  Hopefully they will become the norm sometimes.

Watching a pitcher get hit in the head is the worst thing someone can see in baseball.

[Slegnaac]

49 minutes ago, CaliAngel said:

I'm sure wearing a helmet going up to bat was a bit different for hitters when they started wearing them, but just the same a pitcher would get used to wearing and adapting pitching with them on the exact same way.

Right now they're just like "I'm not wearing that crap, it looks stupid, it messes with my performance," blah blah blah. Excuses excuses.

Again it's the same with bike riders and skaters, they don't wear them cause their not cool even though it could literally save your life. And no pitcher has died from a ball to the dome, and rarely if ever is it really going to be needed as a pitcher. 

It's the same as the net down the line conversation for foul balls. It's talked about when it happens then gets swept under the rug in a couple weeks.

Brandon Patch died in 2003 after being struck in the head by a line drive. 

[John Smith]

 

 

 

Tim Mead ‏@TMeadAngels

.@MattShoe52 underwent successful surgery last night to stop bleeding sustained after yesterday's injury in Seattle. Resting comfortably.

 

 

[John Smith]

 

 

Jeff Fletcher Verified account ‏@JeffFletcherOCR

Shoemaker is expected to make a full recovery for next season. #Angels

[Slegnaac]

Excellent News! 

[bloodbrother]

Good to hear.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

2 hours ago, CaliAngel said:

Lol Strad my gawd your density is unparalleled. Have you never hung out with dudes and had a couple beers?

Why don't people wear helmets when they ride a bike or skateboard even though it could save their lives?

I don't understand what is wrong with you, but there doesn't need to be an article that says dudes don't think wearing helmets is cool for it to be known.

I remember in the 60s a lot of people wouldn't wear sit belts even if the car came with them. It's almost automatic to buckle your seat belt without even thinking about it. On the other hand a helmet may interfere with a pitchers motion and effect his wind up. It seems unnatural to have a heavy helmet on when you're throwing a ball. Anyway that's my take. It would help pitchers from getting hit as Shoe was.

[JAHV76]

Glad to hear he will recover that was a scary incident 

[Guest]

That's a relief. Good news

[gotbeer]

Hypothetically.  What if some pitcher, who saw what happened to Shoe and the others over the last few years tries on one of those protective things.  And realizes that for himself, it doesn't make that much of a difference and wants to wear it during the game.  Would MLB block it as an unapproved piece of equipment?  Would the union object, like they seem to do for weird reasons? 

[totdprods]

Just now, gotbeer said:

Hypothetically.  What if some pitcher, who saw what happened to Shoe and the others over the last few years tries on one of those protective things.  And realizes that for himself, it doesn't make that much of a difference and wants to wear it during the game.  Would MLB block it as an unapproved piece of equipment?  Would the union object, like they seem to do for weird reasons? 

I don't think so. I even think there was an instance a couple years back where a pitcher voluntarily chose to wear a prototype protective hat in a game. It may have been a minor league or Spring Training game though. 

[eaterfan]

Also they allowed John Olorude to wear his batting helmet in the field. Even though that was an approved piece of equipment for hitting I'm not sure how that squared with the uniform policy. I think MLB would be totally fine with any piece of "protective" equipment as long as it wasn't dangerous or interfere with a hitter's ability to see the pitch coming.

[Angelsjunky]

Do you mean John Olerud?

[IEAngelsfan]

Man, good news. Speedy recovery Shoe!