Reds closer Chapman hit in face by line drive

Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman broke bones above his left eye and nose when he was hit by a line drive Wednesday night, the latest frightening injury to a pitcher struck in the head by a batted ball.

Chapman was undergoing further testing at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, where he was set to spend the night for observation, according to a statement from the Reds.

First-year manager Bryan Price said Chapman was conscious and talking as he was taken off the field during Cincinnati's spring training game against the Kansas City Royals...........

read more @ http://bigstory.ap.org/article/reds-...ace-line-drive

Karma.

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This is happening more and more in baseball. And it's understandable. With more pitchers throwing consistently in the 90's the velocity of the ball coming back will be faster. Also I notice a lot of these fastball pitchers throw so much of their bodies into the ball that they come off the mound awkwardly and aren't in a good position to defend their position. But more to the point they aren't in position to defend their bodies.

Call me a puss if you want, but before someone gets killed or mentally disabled I think a hard core helmet and thin kevlar chest protector should be mandatory for pitchers within the next 5 years. If everyone has to wear them then there's no disadvantage to anyone. I'm sure there would be a period of adjustment, but if a catcher can do what they can do with protective gear then there's no reasons pitchers wont be able to adjust in time.

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Originally Posted by zulater

This is happening more and more in baseball. And it's understandable. With more pitchers throwing consistently in the 90's the velocity of the ball coming back will be faster. Also I notice a lot of these fastball pitchers throw so much of their bodies into the ball that they come off the mound awkwardly and aren't in a good position to defend their position. But more to the point they aren't in position to defend their bodies.

Call me a puss if you want, but before someone gets killed or mentally disabled I think a hard core helmet and thin kevlar chest protector should be mandatory for pitchers within the next 5 years. If everyone has to wear them then there's no disadvantage to anyone. I'm sure there would be a period of adjustment, but if a catcher can do what they can do with protective gear then there's no reasons pitchers wont be able to adjust in time.

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Pitchers are now allowed to wear a padded cap. The league implemented the rule before the start of last season after Brandon McCarthy got drilled in the head with a comebacker in the 2012 playoffs, when he was pitching for the A's. But of course, neither that nor a helmet will protect a pitcher from getting hit directly in the face like Chapman was. The only thing that would protect against that is to wear a face mask, like a catcher, and that will never happen. It would interfere with a pitcher's vision and a Kevlar chest protector would likely be too restrictive to allow a pitcher to repeat his motion in order to be effective.

But like I said, I don't have much sympathy for Chapman after he nearly drilled McCutchen in the head with a 100mph fastball not once, but twice, in 2012.

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Originally Posted by X-Terminator

Pitchers are now allowed to wear a padded cap. The league implemented the rule before the start of last season after Brandon McCarthy got drilled in the head with a comebacker in the 2012 playoffs, when he was pitching for the A's. But of course, neither that nor a helmet will protect a pitcher from getting hit directly in the face like Chapman was. The only thing that would protect against that is to wear a face mask, like a catcher, and that will never happen. It would interfere with a pitcher's vision and a Kevlar chest protector would likely be too restrictive to allow a pitcher to repeat his motion in order to be effective.

But like I said, I don't have much sympathy for Chapman after he nearly drilled McCutchen in the head with a 100mph fastball not once, but twice, in 2012.

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If a hockey player can play with a clear face shield why couldn't a pitcher pitch with one? Sure there would be an adjustment period, but if it was mandatory there would be no advantage for anyone. At worst scoring would increase in the short term. But what's so bad about that? In time it would become second nature to pitchers and things would be the same as they ever were, except n one would be getting drilled in the head without protection.


As for Chapman, I doubt that he ever gets over the mental aspect of this injury. Wouldn't surprise me if he's done as an effective pitcher.

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Originally Posted by zulater

If a hockey player can play with a clear face shield why couldn't a pitcher pitch with one? Sure there would be an adjustment period, but if it was mandatory there would be no advantage for anyone. At worst scoring would increase in the short term. But what's so bad about that? In time it would become second nature to pitchers and things would be the same as they ever were, except n one would be getting drilled in the head without protection.


As for Chapman, I doubt that he ever gets over the mental aspect of this injury. Wouldn't surprise me if he's done as an effective pitcher.

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Most sports come with some element of risk. When you remove that risk, it's no longer a real sport, as far as I'm concerned, and is nothing more than an activity. That's why I don't consider golf a sport. Yes, there should be some kind of protection and I wouldn't be against having pitchers wear helmets, but anything beyond that is overkill.

I don't think Chapman will be the same again either. He can still be effective, but maybe now he'll stop headhunting and develop better control of his fastball now that he knows what it feels like to get drilled in the head with one.