Quote:
Originally posted by His High Holiness
Jim;
A while ago, you gave a valuable physics lesson on why umpires should wear their mask loose. This was so that the mask would spin off of the head and dissapate the shock away from the neck. Of course, a few know it alls (who knew nothing) had to argue with an expert and insist that the mask should be warn tight.
From personal experience I know what happens when the mask does not spin. I once took a direct shot that did not involve any spinning action. Although the mask was loose, the hit was dead center so the neck took the full impact. I remember thinking at the time that Jim Porter knew exactly what he was talking about.
Anyway, last night a similar thing happened to my partner and it got me thinking about hockey masks which are becoming more popular. There is no way that a hockey mask could spin on your head. Doesn't that mean that a hockey mask would be inferior protection for certain kinds of hits? Or is there something about a kockey style mask that better absorbs the impact?
Thanks in advance for your answer.
Peter
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Peter,
I appreciate your support for my advice on how to wear a mask. It's something many umpires learn the hard way, unfortunately.
I took a shot this season in an amateur league game. My mask bounced off my face, swept to the side, and stayed there covering the side of my head. Sure, I felt a bit of a buzz. But still, I cannot imagine how I would've felt had my harness been tighter. That extra give is so important in absorbing the impact.
Your question has already been answered, but I do have some stuff to add. I would've been here sooner, but I was working a Legion tournament today with teams from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Our annual Air Show was in practice runs all day, so we had constant fly-bys from formations of jets right over the field. Exciting stuff.
The hockey style mask offers at least one benefit in that the weight distribution falls across the entire head. That lifts the pressure from the back of the neck one experiences with ordinary masks. Most people do not have chronic neck problems. But those who do, the hockey-style mask offers them relief.
The design for the All-Star Headgear is alleged to be, "high impact resistant." As has been stated, the streamlined design offers little surface area for a full impact. Most shots are glancing blows.
But as you have wisely surmised, shots to the front of the hockey-style mask offers no shock absorbtion. The hockey-style mask doesn't bounce off the face like a traditional mask.
So, it's basically a toss up. With the hockey-style mask, what you lose in weight off the back of the neck, you gain in a wider area vulnerable to a neck-jolting hit. What you gain in protection to the back of the head, you lose in protection from direct shots.
I'm still using my West Vest mask, if that's any indication of my feelings on the matter.