The Complete Handbook of Baseball & Softball Protective Gear

Chapter 1: Understanding Baseball & Softball Protective Gear

Baseball and softball protective gear exists to reduce the risk and severity of injury from impact. A pitch travels at speeds between 40 and 100 mph depending on the level of play. A batted ball can travel faster. A sliding player can strike a fielder, or a player can collide with a base, fence, or another player. Catchers absorb repeated impacts from foul tips and errant throws. A blow to an unprotected head, face, throat, or torso can cause permanent injury or death. Protective gear — helmets, face masks, chest protectors, shin guards, and other equipment — is designed to absorb or deflect that energy before it reaches the body.

Understanding protective gear begins with understanding impact energy. When a baseball strikes an unprotected surface, the energy transfers into the tissue beneath. Bone, soft tissue, and the brain absorb that energy through deformation and vibration. If the energy is too great or the time of impact too brief, tissue tears, fractures, or sustains concussive injury. Protective gear works by spreading impact force over a larger area and over a longer time interval. A helmet's foam liner compresses on impact, absorbing energy that would otherwise travel to the skull. A catcher's chest protector distributes the force of a pitch across a wider surface area, reducing the pressure on any single point and giving underlying tissue more time to absorb the blow. A face mask deflects or disperses the trajectory of a fast-moving object