Two piece Catcher's mask

The pros are he’ll look cool. The cons are they are not legal for play in HS and they also don’t protect the brain as well.

The cons are that the side of the head isn't protected much. Take a look at the Willson Contreras play from last week when he got hit by a swing on the follow-thru. The bat snuck right between the mask & the helmet into the side of his head, lots of blood.

My son plays with a kid who wore a 2-piece in 15u-16u summer travel. At least 1-2x per year, an ump would tell him he couldn't wear it, even though it wasn't specifically outlawed in the rules. Had to borrow a full mask from another catcher.

I see kids that want to wear that all the time.   It is in every rules book I have read and/or used.  All equipment must have the NOCSAE stamp and a 2 piece does not meet that requirement.   Tournament rules usually have a clause that says something along the line that any rule not covered will default to (NFHS, Cal Ripken, LL, etc).  I am not aware of any organization 18U and below that does not have the NOCASE stipulation in their rule book.  I believe only in events that follow OBR would that be allowed.

@947 posted:

The cons are that the side of the head isn't protected much. Take a look at the Willson Contreras play from last week when he got hit by a swing on the follow-thru. The bat snuck right between the mask & the helmet into the side of his head, lots of blood.

My son plays with a kid who wore a 2-piece in 15u-16u summer travel. At least 1-2x per year, an ump would tell him he couldn't wear it, even though it wasn't specifically outlawed in the rules. Had to borrow a full mask from another catcher.

They actually are specifically outlawed in the rules. They don’t meet safety requirements. Some umps don’t care and kids wear them. Others will tell them they can’t wear it.

As a parent, I want my kid wearing whatever protects his brain the most. Taking a 95mph fastball foul tipped to the head will ring your bell.

Good points I am not feeling too thrilled about this now. What's weird is there is a kid that wears one frequently we play against. I am surprised that they allow it. Does PG allow them?

Is the two piece mask more of a higher level thing like college or MLB? I guess besides looking cool you have more visibility? Maybe it's lighter too...

I was actually thinking of getting it for him and myself to protect my face when throwing BP. The balls are coming off the bat pretty fast now even behind an L screen.  It's making me a bit nervous our cage is small so sometimes balls ricochet off the frame and go weird places. I've been hit a few times.

Maybe a softball style mask would be better for that application.  I would like my kid to keep his brains intact.

I’m guessing a lot of PG umps just don’t care. Every kid I saw try to wear one in a HS game was told to switch it. I believe the MLB is 50/50. I believe another advantage with the hockey style is more protection for plays at the plate. Most MLB guys who wear hockey style don’t automatically flip their helmets off like they used to. The guy my son works with (works with several MLB catchers) started teaching to only lose the helmet on a popup behind the plate.

I'm shocked at how little the umps care about that stuff.  All of or summer catchers wore 2 pieces.  Kids would also wear metals on turf fields and the umpires never said a word.

If you're worried about the transition, my son went from a hockey style to a two-piece in college without a hitch.

@OskiSD posted:

If you're worried about the transition, my son went from a hockey style to a two-piece in college without a hitch.

I am not worried about it. But  I am wondering what the advantage is to the two piece besides that it looks cool. Lol.

2025 Son tried the 2-piece and didn't like it. Flies off his face on throw downs, foul tips to the face hurt more, comes off when you don't want it too. One situation that sealed the deal and he went back to hockey mask was, he throw a back-pick to first (got the out) and the mask came off. Runner on third tried to come in to score, throw came in from 1st, had him dead to rights, and son got trucked with no head protection on (Runner was thrown out of the game).

Only time the hockey helmet comes off now is on popups that he can not see where the ball went in the air. He says if he can see the ball he keeps it on. This was the case when he had a diving catch where he hit his head while sliding into the wall next to the dugout. He was happy the helmet was still on.

Son has and uses both.  As mentioned by others the 1 piece Hockey style is required for High School.

He prefers the 2 piece for travel ball - he wears glasses and is unable to take the 1 piece helmet and mask off without the glasses coming with it so he's forced to leave it on at all times.

Did purchase the Force3 mask for the 2 piece setup to help ease some of the safety concerns (i.e. foul tip) also mentioned by others (not sure if it does but looks like it should ??)

Will also add he was involved in a collision at the plate where the 2 piece helmet and mask came off during contact with the base runner and son banged his head on the turf and exited the game.  Couldn't help but think that wouldn't happen with the 1 piece.

My son also uses both.  He strongly prefers 2 piece but have to use 1 piece in HS (he can use 2 piece in travel w/o any issues - PG and PBR).  When I read up on this, my understanding is that 2 piece has better protection from the top compared to 1 piece, but piece has better protection every where else.  My son told me that 1 piece is not able to handle a foul tip straight to the mask vs. 2 piece bec the mask in 2 piece can move more to better absorb the hit?  Not sure the truth behind that but the 1 time he got concussed from a foul tip was when he had his 1 piece on.

@atlnon posted:

My son also uses both.  He strongly prefers 2 piece but have to use 1 piece in HS (he can use 2 piece in travel w/o any issues - PG and PBR).  When I read up on this, my understanding is that 2 piece has better protection from the top compared to 1 piece, but piece has better protection every where else.  My son told me that 1 piece is not able to handle a foul tip straight to the mask vs. 2 piece bec the mask in 2 piece can move more to better absorb the hit?  Not sure the truth behind that but the 1 time he got concussed from a foul tip was when he had his 1 piece on.

What brand helmet? The All Star MVP has an incredible amount of protection. Some of the other brands skimped on padding and are more susceptible to head injuries.

@TerribleBPthrower posted:

What brand helmet? The All Star MVP has an incredible amount of protection. Some of the other brands skimped on padding and are more susceptible to head injuries.

All his gear is all star except for the skull cap (he has a Rawlings skull cap).