MLB Off-Topic

[Blzer]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Shouldn't the helmet have prevented that? Wonder if the family will sue the helmet maker (I mean, I'd certainly talk to a lawyer about it) for damages. This is assuming that the bat hit flush on the helmet and didn't hit him in the face or next anywhere.

I don't ever think a helmet is a guarantee for anything. We only hope it serves the job to protect your head from a baseball more than not wearing a helmet would.

I think that's hard to sue for. I just wonder how he was nearby a swing (or how the guy was unaware he was nearby). I'd feel so guilty if I was that guy.

[kehlis]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Shouldn't the helmet have prevented that? Wonder if the family will sue the helmet maker (I mean, I'd certainly talk to a lawyer about it) for damages. This is assuming that the bat hit flush on the helmet and didn't hit him in the face or next anywhere.

There's more important things to be worrying and thinking about when a 9 year old passes away tragically than a lawsuit.

[Speedy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

There's more important things to be worrying and thinking about when a 9 year old passes away tragically than a lawsuit.

Well, obviously but it's still a conversation to be had...not necessarily a lawsuit but why didn't the helmet prevent this injury and what can be done to improve its safety.

I would think a baseball thrown as hard as possible would have much more of an impact than a swinging bat, no? Could this injury be replicated within normal little leagues? Even just 1 occurrence is too many.

[Jr.]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Well, obviously but it's still a conversation to be had...not necessarily a lawsuit but why didn't the helmet prevent this injury and what can be done to improve its safety.

I would think a baseball thrown as hard as possible would have much more of an impact than a swinging bat, no? Could this injury be replicated within normal little leagues? Even just 1 occurrence is too many.

I don't know how many 9 year olds are getting hit square in the head with high velocity pitches or bats being swung at a high velocity. The brain is much more vulnerable at that age than for an adult. No helmet maker guarantees 100% protection, because that's impossible.

[kehlis]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Well, obviously but it's still a conversation to be had...not necessarily a lawsuit but why didn't the helmet prevent this injury and what can be done to improve its safety.

I would think a baseball thrown as hard as possible would have much more of an impact than a swinging bat, no? Could this injury be replicated within normal little leagues? Even just 1 occurrence is too many.

A conversation to be had with a lawyer as you said is about a lawsuit. Not about bettering the equipment.

[Speedy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

A conversation to be had with a lawyer as you said is about a lawsuit. Not about bettering the equipment.

Separate points, Kehlis.

As a parent, I'd like to understand how this occurred; what could have been done to avoid it (other than the obvious in not letting young children be bat boys) and whether other parents should be fearful for their children at normal games or even in a backyard somewhere.

Whether they decide to sue is their own prerogative but, at least for me, I believe either the family or the equipment company should pursue the root cause and attempt to forecast whether it can be repeated (and if such an act could be prevented by better equipment).

[Blzer]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Well, obviously but it's still a conversation to be had...not necessarily a lawsuit but why didn't the helmet prevent this injury and what can be done to improve its safety.

I would think a baseball thrown as hard as possible would have much more of an impact than a swinging bat, no? Could this injury be replicated within normal little leagues? Even just 1 occurrence is too many.

I'd rather get hit by fifty baseballs thrown at 95 MPH before getting whacked just once by somebody with a baseball bat. The force of pressure from a swing would supersede the speed of a pitch.

[Speedy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I'd rather get hit by fifty baseballs thrown at 95 MPH before getting whacked just once by somebody with a baseball bat. The force of pressure from a swing would supersede the speed of a pitch.

Really? I would think the opposite.

Spoiler

I didn't do well in physics @ school.

[Blzer]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Really? I would think the opposite.

Spoiler

I didn't do well in physics @ school.

Guess it depends on how many times you've been hit, and where. I've been plunked literally everywhere you probably would be hit as a lefty batter, righty batter, and umpire. They surely can hurt, and if you don't brace yourself right you'll probably break something.

I mean I wouldn't be calculating that much, but throw in some real world examples. Imagine the kind of punch you get from somebody swinging. First of all, the weight of a bat is at least 600% that of a baseball. Now I don't know the rotational velocity that MLB or MiLB players swing at, the once they strike an object they continue their force through the swing. Once a ball hits you, it slows up because you act against it afterward. It doesn't continue through you.

If you stood sideways to a pitcher and they threw a ball 95 MPH at your gut, you'd be wearing it for a while... but if Giancarlo Stanton came up and whacked you in the same place with his swing, you'd damage organs. Or just a better example, pretend like you're an umpire with your mask on and a foul tip gets your directly in the mask. For the most part, thankfully there aren't too many adverse effects. Now, have a baseball player turn around and do the same thing swinging at you. You'd be knocked down flat, with a concussion at the very least.

Just remember that force is a product of mass and acceleration. A baseball might have a lot of speed, but it is slowing up as it gets to you. A bat, which is much heavier and the like, is theoretically accelerating up to the point where the arms are extended and the barrel is pointing right at the pitcher (it might be a little before that all depending, but the source of the bat speed from the player's torque is still pushing through you after contact).

[LowerWolf]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

When I was 12, I got whacked in the back of the neck on a follow through. Crazy thing is, I saw the nurse and she had me walk home.

[l3ulvl]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I just wonder how he was nearby a swing (or how the guy was unaware he was nearby). I'd feel so guilty if I was that guy.

I've been trying to think of how this could happen, it doesn't seem possible that neither saw the other. The best I can come up with is both were aware of the other and both assumed the other would avoid them. Very terrible however it played out

[Speedy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Good analogy, Blzr...that makes sense for layman like me.

[kehlis]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Separate points, Kehlis.

Oh okay. Your first post only made mention of contacting a lawyer which means lawsuit.

If you'd actually meant you were concerned about the design of the helmet I thought you would have talked about having a discussion with the manufacturer.

My bad I guess....

[Speedy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Oh okay. Your first post only made mention of contacting a lawyer which means lawsuit.

If you'd actually meant you were concerned about the design of the helmet I thought you would have talked about having a discussion with the manufacturer.

My bad I guess....

Yeah, I'm sorry - I wasn't clear with the direction my thoughts were headed.

[Jr.]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I've been trying to think of how this could happen, it doesn't seem possible that neither saw the other. The best I can come up with is both were aware of the other and both assumed the other would avoid them. Very terrible however it played out

I've seen some very close calls in my years of playing/watching/coaching.

Lots of times, the kid isn't paying attention and might be going out to get a bat weight or some piece of gear, while the on-deck hitter isn't really paying attention to what's going on at that moment.

This might come out wrong, but it's really the bat boy's responsibility to pay attention to what the on-deck hitter is doing. I was a bat boy for a few years when I was around this kid's age, and I was always reminded to make sure I'm paying attention to the on-deck hitter. It's still ingrained in me as a coach to this day.