I am thinking that MLB pitchers should be required to wear goalie masks.

Coinstartled

Forget the saps in the seats, the pitcher is 60 feet from a potentially deadly liner up the middle.

First and third base coaches should wear Kevlar underwear. The old dudes can't get out of the way all that fast.

stevek

Players can get bad injuries running the bases. We need to make going around the bases safer as well.

Perhaps some sort of transportation system like a travelator around the bases should be put in place.

After a hit, a player hops on the travelator, and it safely and conveniently takes him to first base.

Let's do this ASAP before someone else gets hurt.

JoeBanzai

Did you know that at at least two American League parks, there is no difference in the outfield ground material and the warning track except for color?

I think Seattle and Tampa, but not certain.

Seems ridiculous.

SDSportsFan

@Coinstartled said:
First and third base coaches should wear Kevlar underwear. The old dudes can't get out of the way all that fast.

Mike Coolbaugh was only 35 when he was hit in the neck by a line-drive, while standing in the first base coach's box. He died within an hour. This happened in 2007.

Steve

Coinstartled

The poor home plate ump having to lean on the shoulder of the catcher to keep from tipping over. Limit each at bat to 4 pitches. Two balls is a walk and two strikes is an out.

illini420

Why stop at just the goalie mask? Goalie pads would provide even more safety!

stevek

Let's just ban all sports entirely. It's just too dangerous.

What's wrong with everyone just settling down to a nice pleasant competitive game of chess?

Although snowflakes may say that prolonged playing of chess could develop finger injuries from constantly picking up the pieces and moving them around on the chessboard.

Coinstartled

@stevek said:
Let's just ban all sports entirely. It's just too dangerous.

What's wrong with everyone just settling down to a nice pleasant competitive game of chess?

Although snowflakes may say that prolonged playing of chess could develop finger injuries from constantly picking up the pieces and moving them around on the chessboard.

Pacifists will decry the warlike undertones of the game of chess.

Monopoly might work as everyone is handed free money throughout the game.

jay0791

When my son played little league the level just under majors was right next to their field.
The left and center fielder had to wear batting helmets in case of any fly balls coming over the fence.
I agree with that. As an adult I probably would have a very very hard time wearing protective gear like that.
Then again we played tackle football on the asphalt street in the winter time.

craig44

Imagine my surprise when I showed up with my 9 year old for softball this spring and all the infielders were wearing masks.

Coinstartled

Only activity around here were you need protection is at the early bird buffet, near the senior center, when they have shrimp.

TNP777

Lots of college pitchers and corner infielders wear masks. Not a terrible idea, given that the base paths are only 60 feet apart and the pitcher's rubber is only 43 feet away. By the time the pitcher finishes her stride, she's looking at a lot less room for reaction.

For several years in beer league slow pitch softball, I played against a pitcher that wore a catcher's mask and shin guards. He was the only one I ever saw do that - I'm guessing he got a bit tired of taking liners off his grill and whatnot. Played with and against lots of dudes that could absolutely smoke the ball, especially given the double wall bats and the occasional pos team that had doctored bats. Anyone who's played slow pitch has seen pitchers get drilled. Lots of those pitchers are damn near geriatrics whose reaction time has been dulled by too many years of 12 oz curls and double cheeseburgers will all the fixings.

All the other suggestions here are asinine, which of course was the point. Guess the jokes were too funny to keep in the original thread, huh, Glick?

Nets are coming, fellas. That's a good thing.

DIMEMAN

@TNP777 said:
Lots of college pitchers and corner infielders wear masks. Not a terrible idea, given that the base paths are only 60 feet apart and the pitcher's rubber is only 43 feet away. By the time the pitcher finishes her stride, she's looking at a lot less room for reaction.

For several years in beer league slow pitch softball, I played against a pitcher that wore a catcher's mask and shin guards. He was the only one I ever saw do that - I'm guessing he got a bit tired of taking liners off his grill and whatnot. Played with and against lots of dudes that could absolutely smoke the ball, especially given the double wall bats and the occasional pos team that had doctored bats. Anyone who's played slow pitch has seen pitchers get drilled. Lots of those pitchers are damn near geriatrics whose reaction time has been dulled by too many years of 12 oz curls and double cheeseburgers will all the fixings.

All the other suggestions here are asinine, which of course was the point. Guess the jokes were too funny to keep in the original thread, huh, Glick?

Nets are coming, fellas. That's a good thing.

I agree 777...…...anyone who has played softball knows the ball ain't really soft. I played some 3rd and there were many times a chest protector and shin guards would have been nice!

TNP777

Jon, it's even worse if your local parks & rec department takes crap care of your fields. Despite the increasing fees ours exacts from us, the infields are far too often in less-than-ideal condition. Bad hops happen on any infield, but they're exacerbated when there's gravel and dirt clods where there shouldn't be.

Coinstartled

@TNP777 said:

For several years in beer league slow pitch softball, I played against a pitcher that wore a catcher's mask and shin guards. He was the only one I ever saw do that - I'm guessing he got a bit tired of taking liners off his grill and whatnot.

Maybe he got tired of getting slammed into by lushes. Why the hell would you mix drinking with athletics?

If you guys were drinking while playing...that is idiocy. If the beer league moniker referred to going out for a couple drinks after the game, no sweat.

stevek

They say that one day in the future, human beings will be born, raised, work, live, and die all in the same room.

Future historians will perhaps attempt to figure out what began this descent of humans evolving into snowflakes, and may come to the conclusion that it began with placing too many nets at the extinct game of baseball.

TNP777

Nice reading comprehension, Glick. At no point did I infer that people were drinking before the game.

TNP777

@stevek said:
They say that one day in the future, human beings will be born, raised, work, live, and die all in the same room.

Future historians will perhaps attempt to figure out what began this descent of humans evolving into snowflakes, and may come to the conclusion that it began with placing too many nets at the extinct game of baseball.

Wrong thread, Steve. We're wringing our hands over hockey masks now.

Coinstartled

@DIMEMAN said:

@TNP777 said:
Lots of college pitchers and corner infielders wear masks. Not a terrible idea, given that the base paths are only 60 feet apart and the pitcher's rubber is only 43 feet away. By the time the pitcher finishes her stride, she's looking at a lot less room for reaction.

For several years in beer league slow pitch softball, I played against a pitcher that wore a catcher'> @TNP777 said:

Nice reading comprehension, Glick. At no point did I infer that people were drinking before the game.

It is easier to get an honest answer from Hillary.

Was alcohol involved while the "athletes" were competing or not? I did add the disclaimer at the end of my paragraph that if it was after the game was over....cool.

DIMEMAN

@stevek said:
They say that one day in the future, human beings will be born, raised, work, live, and die all in the same room.

Future historians will perhaps attempt to figure out what began this descent of humans evolving into snowflakes, and may come to the conclusion that it began with placing too many nets at the extinct game of baseball.

Steve you are a HOOT! You are getting right up there with Bronco!

LarkinCollector

Ah, midnight coed restaurant league softball back in the day. A keg in someone's trunk and me pitching with a growler of some fine microbrew behind behind the mound. Never got hit once, but my growler almost did.

stevek

@DIMEMAN said:

@stevek said:
They say that one day in the future, human beings will be born, raised, work, live, and die all in the same room.

Future historians will perhaps attempt to figure out what began this descent of humans evolving into snowflakes, and may come to the conclusion that it began with placing too many nets at the extinct game of baseball.

Steve you are a HOOT! You are getting right up there with Bronco!

Up there with Bronco? Impossible. No mortal man can possibly do that. LOL

stevek

Admittedly, I have been getting a little bit nervous about all this talk of terrible harm from foul balls. I think the pro-net activists may be right.

I'm no longer anti-net. So what I've done is place a net in front of my TV set, just in case any foul balls come thru the TV screen.

I actually don't mind the net at all and I feel a whole lot safer now.

softparade

I always worried about foul balls coming through the TV as well. I mean its only a matter of time before one hits that wormhole just right.

Coinstartled

The nanny stater's always fail and today TNP777 gets the prize.

To recap, he opines that MLB stadiums should be covered in netting to the foul poles, maybe the rest of the stadium as well, to prevent the one in ten million visitor injury or the one in two billion death.

On the other hand, TNP condones and has participated in a softball league where the game is secondary to getting blotto drunk. No risk of course, having a 250 pound, fifty year old guy slamming Buds before swinging a metal bat. Certainly the old guy's fielding acumen will sharpen after a few too many Michelobs.

My guess that the hospital visit ratio for the beer leaguers is exponentially higher than slow moving fans that get whacked with a ball at a MLB game.

JoeBanzai

@TNP777 said:
Lots of college pitchers and corner infielders wear masks. Not a terrible idea, given that the base paths are only 60 feet apart and the pitcher's rubber is only 43 feet away. By the time the pitcher finishes her stride, she's looking at a lot less room for reaction.

For several years in beer league slow pitch softball, I played against a pitcher that wore a catcher's mask and shin guards. He was the only one I ever saw do that - I'm guessing he got a bit tired of taking liners off his grill and whatnot. Played with and against lots of dudes that could absolutely smoke the ball, especially given the double wall bats and the occasional pos team that had doctored bats. Anyone who's played slow pitch has seen pitchers get drilled. Lots of those pitchers are damn near geriatrics whose reaction time has been dulled by too many years of 12 oz curls and double cheeseburgers will all the fixings.

All the other suggestions here are asinine, which of course was the point. Guess the jokes were too funny to keep in the original thread, huh, Glick?

Nets are coming, fellas. That's a good thing.

The regular pitcher on my softball team refused to pitch to me in practice after one too many line drives off his body.

If you're reading this Bob, you were a pu$$y. ;-)

JoeBanzai

@Coinstartled said:
The nanny stater's always fail and today TNP777 gets the prize.

To recap, he opines that MLB stadiums should be covered in netting to the foul poles, maybe the rest of the stadium as well, to prevent the one in ten million visitor injury or the one in two billion death.

On the other hand, TNP condones and has participated in a softball league where the game is secondary to getting blotto drunk. No risk of course, having a 250 pound, fifty year old guy slamming Buds before swinging a metal bat. Certainly the old guy's fielding acumen will sharpen after a few too many Michelobs.

My guess that the hospital visit ratio for the beer leaguers is exponentially higher than slow moving fans that get whacked with a ball at a MLB game.

Don't forget, they drive home (or to the bar) after the game drunk.

TNP777

That’s a pretty juvenile attempt to turn what I’ve clearly stated at all points in this debate into something else entirely, Glicker.

That’s okay. You do you. Nets are still coming, fella.

Coinstartled

@JoeBanzai said:

@Coinstartled said:
The nanny stater's always fail and today TNP777 gets the prize.

To recap, he opines that MLB stadiums should be covered in netting to the foul poles, maybe the rest of the stadium as well, to prevent the one in ten million visitor injury or the one in two billion death.

On the other hand, TNP condones and has participated in a softball league where the game is secondary to getting blotto drunk. No risk of course, having a 250 pound, fifty year old guy slamming Buds before swinging a metal bat. Certainly the old guy's fielding acumen will sharpen after a few too many Michelobs.

My guess that the hospital visit ratio for the beer leaguers is exponentially higher than slow moving fans that get whacked with a ball at a MLB game.

Don't forget, they drive home (or to the bar) after the game drunk.

Sort of hoping that they have designated drivers. Probably not though.

DIMEMAN

@stevek said:

@DIMEMAN said:

@stevek said:
They say that one day in the future, human beings will be born, raised, work, live, and die all in the same room.

Future historians will perhaps attempt to figure out what began this descent of humans evolving into snowflakes, and may come to the conclusion that it began with placing too many nets at the extinct game of baseball.

Steve you are a HOOT! You are getting right up there with Bronco!

Up there with Bronco? Impossible. No mortal man can possibly do that. LOL

I said "getting" …….. you're not there yet.