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Pitchers Need To Be Taught To Protect Themselves

T thepainguy1,000+ posts
Let me try bringing this up in a more appropriate place...

In today's San Jose Mercury News, the following story ran about a young pitcher who is recovering from a line drive to the face...

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/colleges/16603967.htm

It's a great story that makes the point that pitchers need to be taught to finish in a position that allows them to protect themselves. If this young man hadn't had his glove in the neighborhood of his face, he might have been killed.

I bring this up because it's not something that every coach teaches, or knows to teach. I know I didn't when I just started out.

I now teach my guys to finish as Greg Maddux does; with the glove at the Glove Side pec so that it can protect the face and the sternum (another very vulnerable area).



For safety reasons, I will not let them pitch if they insist on finishing with their gloves behind their backs.

I think it also makes them better fielders. There's a reason why Greg Maddux has won 14 gold gloves.
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M micdsguy1,000+ posts
Good thread and not often addressed, Painguy. I know that baseball fatalities (statistically VERY rare) often follow shots to the chest and not just to the head.

Want to emphasize that more baseball/softball related deaths are caused by alcohol... before, during and especially after games. A drunk Dad can be far more lethal than a 90 mph ball.

Back to the players, I know that there are limits to what padding and similar safety devices can accomplish, as the sport of boxing discovered.

Anyone have other pitcher safety tips?
RT Roger Tomas100+ posts
Just yesterday, at a pre-season camp at my son's HS, the top hitter on the varsity team was pitching and took a hard liner in the face just above one of his eyes. Word has it that he has a fractured skull and broken eye socket. They will be performing surgery to reset a piece of bone from the eye socket. I'm sure he has a concussion. Beyond that I don't know what else is wrong but I'd be surprised if something else wasn't wrong. I happen to know the kid drops his glove a bit at release. But I didn't see it happen so I don't know if anything would have prevented it.

Regardless, I'm with PainGuy. I teach my kids to finish with the glove up in front. It helps with front-side stability and with self-defense.
Last edited by Roger Tomas
TSP4TSP410+ posts
Honestly, I don't believe that there is too much that you can do when you're 60 feet away from a hitter. To avoid this, a pitcher should stay on line rather than falling off to get themselves into a better fielding position. When I'm pitching however, I react mainly on my instincts and unfortunately, that's something that you can't teach.
MN-MomMN-MomHSBaseballWeb Owner
The subject of painguy's link, Erik Davis, is the son of a frequent poster in our forums. I tend to agree with Texan that in some of these cases, there just is not enough time for the pitcher to react, no matter where his glove finishes and how quick his reactions are. Erik was pitching in a summer league where you find some of the best college and future pro players in the country.

I'm very thankful to hear how well Erik has recovered, and his very positive approach to being back on the mound: "If you really think about it, I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than getting struck in the face by a baseball again."
H hsballcoach100+ posts
When you are throwing from that distance, some risk is always involved. My last collegiate game involved a pitcher taking a shot off his temple and he had to be airlifted out. Just last summer I myself took one off my forehead in my 28 and over league because I had gotten lazy in my mechanics. I do however think there are steps you can take to help the matter. I work to get our pitchers to finish facing the plate and to not expose the temple to the ball. Also, in practice we do a lot of PFP (pitcher fielding practice) like I am sure everyone does but I have them pitch and I hit some liners at them. Now don't go out and hit rockets at your kids, just hit some softly in the air at them and keep them on their toes. You can also use tennis balls and hit as hard as you like, if you have had a rough day! Big Grin

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