Another Call for Pitcher Safety in Youth Baseball

I wrote this article a year and a half ago regarding player safety. It includes a video of my son nearly getting killed by a line drive.

Today, I am proud of our league, Myers Park Trinity Little League, for mandating protective head gear and chest protection for its Major League division pitchers. Each team's pitchers are using the IsoBlox Skull Cap. And many players are using the Evoshield Heart Guard. We just had our first Saturday of games using this equipment, and things went very smoothly. I've heard nothing but support. The players are adjusting quickly and the parents are happy. The only negative sentiment has been that composite bats are still allowed.

It's time for Little League International and other youth baseball organizations to step up and do the same thing that our league has done in mandating head gear and chest protection for pitchers. I believe they should also back up the mound for all player pitch divisions, ban all composite bats and mandate the use of BBCOR youth bats to limit how hard a baseball can be struck.

The game is different than it was years ago. Some of the players are huge. The composite bats they are swinging, with more mechanical training than ever before - the ones that are tested and approved by Little League (yes, the bright orange and green ones) - shoot rockets through the infield. I see it every game.

Little League, in particular, prides itself on being a leader in safety. It's time to lead. Do something.

For more on this issue, please read my previous article:
It's Time for Some Safety Upgrades in Youth Baseball

Baseball Gift Ideas For the Last Minute Shopper

Only one week left to shop, but here's what I would get a youth player that is serious about baseball, whether it's for Christmas or not....

1. Bats - More specifically a new bat that's not overpriced. I like to shop at CloseoutBats.com, a discount site that sells great bats at very low prices. They are usually last year's models, which means they have a different paint job from the ones that came out recently. I like most DeMarini's, Eastons - although they tend to break after a long season - and Combats. If you want a great composite youth bat that is approved by Little League, they have a DeMarini CF5 for $140. Or if you want to spend less and get an alloy, the DeMarini Voodoo is another good option for $60. Make sure the bat you want is approved by your organization before purchasing. Here is the Little League list of approved composite barreled bats. Alloys are fine.

2. A Tee and a Net - Not the most exciting thing in the world, but having a tee and a net in the backyard is a great thing for a kid working on his swing. I have a Tanner Tee and love it. It is durable, easy to set up, and fits in a backpack. I use a small one and it extends plenty for taller players.

3. A Fielding Pad - These things are a great way to practice infield grounders. It's basically a flat glove that forces the player to use two hands and field the ball correctly. I just roll balls to my team and they get in the habit of doing it the right way. I saw them in-store at Dick's Sporting Goods, but they are obviously online too.

4. A New Glove - A quality glove takes a while to break in, so don't wait until the beginning of the season. There's nothing like a Wilson A2000, Nokona, Rawlings or other brand new glove under the tree. I also came across a custom glove company, Rico, that will make just about any color combination you want. They'll also stitch on the player's name and put an American flag on there. Pretty sweet. Make sure you get the right size and glove type for your player.

5. Lessons - Yeah, I had to put this one on here. Start the season right with a little knowledge and pre-season training.

6. Books - Speaking of knowledge, how about a book on hitting or pitching? This is probably for the older players or the coaches, but you can learn just about everything you need to know from Mike Epstein on Hitting, John Bagonzi's The Act of Pitching or any of the H.A. Dorfman books on the mental side of the game.

7. A Bat Bag - Most kids like backpack bags these days. They are easy to carry around and fit things like shoes and helmets better than the old over the shoulder long bags.

8. Coldgear - We think of baseball as a warm weather sport, but the first month is usually pretty cold. Having some Under Armour or Nike coldgear shirts or pants is key.

9. Batting Gloves - A great stocking stuffer. I like the ones with extra padding on the palm for durability and to absorb some of the vibration off the bat. I've bought three pairs of these Eastons for the kid over the years. That's from Baseball Savings - another good discount site to find a lot of the stuff mentioned above.

Good luck. Post a comment with any questions. Merry Christmas.

It's Time For Some Safety Upgrades in Youth Baseball

We had an interesting situation over the weekend in our Little League Fall Ball game, where one of our base runners  kept losing his helmet. Whether the helmet was too big or the player's head was too small, it fell off his head while he was running to 2nd base, and then again while rounding 3rd. The umpire called time said he would eject the player, or any other player on the team, if it happened again. I was shocked that he would threaten such a severe action for something that was clearly unintentional. But it was a safety concern - and a legitimate one. Bad things can happen.

 

The video below shows how my son's final game on my team ended for him. In the 1st inning, he somehow hit a triple. A minute later while standing on 3rd base, he was struck in the head by a hard line drive. He was 60 feet away and the ball shot off the bat of one of our best hitters like a rocket. As you can see and hear in the video, it was almost instant. My son had just enough time to turn his face away from the ball and he was struck just in front of the left ear hole of his helmet. The impact slammed the inside of the helmet into the side of his head and cheek bone. But he was extremely lucky, by about an inch and a half. He was deemed okay by the emergency room doctors.

This video was shot by me - it was a meaningless last game, and I wanted to capture some memories of our departing 12-year-olds. I obviously don't like watching this, but I consider it a wake-up call worth sharing.

Little League Bat Resource Page

Little League, Inc. has created a new comprehensive web page regarding its most recently posted bat information. This is the place to go for parents and coaches in search of 2012 regulations, lists of approved bats, definitions of bat terminology and frequently asked questions. Little League has put out most of this information in various places before, but now it has been grouped together in one convenient place.

Laying Off the Doughnuts

Here's an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal about the actual effect that swinging a weighted bat in the on-deck circle has on your swing at the plate.

Baseball players have used bat doughnuts or other types of weights for many years in order to make their regular bat feel lighter during their at-bat. Doughnuts are not allowed in Little League, and technically neither is the on-deck circle, but players often use two bats or a weighted bat sleeve to warm up.

But scientific testing has proven that swinging a weighted bat in the on-deck circle actually slows down your swing at the plate by activating slow-twitch muscle fibers best used for endurance, not the quick burst of speed needed to hit a fastball.

Titanium Necklaces: Do They Work?

If you've watched a baseball game on TV lately, you've no doubt seen titanium necklaces draped around the necks of many professional players. If you watched the World Series, you may have noticed the new braided Phiten Tornado being worn by several. Anyone can buy one in his favorite team's colors, and sales have skyrocketed. 

Since Phiten is an official MLB partner, they are very common in the game.  Some like them big and flashy.  Some not only wear them around their necks, but also on their body as discs.

Many players swear by them, but few know what they actually do. Some say they increase energy or balance. Some say they are a muscle relaxer (if that's the case, I need to wrap them around my bad back). The company claims they "regulate and balance the flow of energy throughout your body."  In turn, this "helps to alleviate discomfort, speed recovery, and counteract fatigue by restoring the body’s natural healing powers."

But doctors point out that no scientific evidence has shown that the liquid titanium, or "aqua-titanium," that the necklaces are infused with actually has any healing powers. They have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, so that basically classifies them as a fashion accessory.

Fox Charlotte recently produced the story below on titanium and magnetic necklaces, and interviewed some area players, including one of my own former players, Colin Walls, about whether they actually "work," or if there is merely a placebo effect at hand. I think many young players might agree that they look cool, but I'm not sure they are worth the $25-$50 price tag unless one can actually fix my back.