Sunglasses

[Tarheels]

What is the ruling for wearing sunglasses for the players in a game? I was not at the game but a umpire made all the players take off there sunglasses.

This is at the 11-12 year olds and one of the players who was pitching at the time has very sensative eye and the doctor recommends that he wears sunglasses when he is outdoors.

What would be the ruling?

Thanks

[brandda]

I had this exact situation come up recently. A pitcher had the sun in his eyes so put on some sunglasses and the other team's coach complained that it was not allowed.

The rule states that the pitcher cannot wear any metal or jewelry. Its intent is to make sure that he does not have anything flashing on him so as to distract the batter.

In this case, they were dark plastic sunglasses so I allowed them. However, had he come out with metal framed sunglasses or sunglasses with reflective lenses I would have disallowed them.

It boils down to how you define the term "jewelry".

[Rich Ives]

Brandda: Would you make a player remove prescription glasses?

[brandda]

Rich - Ugh. Tough call. If they were metal I would have to consider it. The casebook says that I would have to make a decision about whether or not they served as a distraction to me. The assumption being that if they did not distract me, then they would not distract the batter. If they were glinting, however, I might have to disallow them.

Hard to say without actually being there, but I would do everything I could to find a way to allow them.

[ENelson]

In today's world of prevention of dangerous situations we need to use some common sense.

Sunglasses ar protecting the players from the suns UV Rays as well as glare. If you declare that the player is not able to use this protection and an injury occurs then who is going to be responsible?

As a matter of fact I am happy that they are letting umpires wear sunglasses during games. I had a cornea transplant 2 years ago and wear hard contacts. I live with my Oakleys during the day. Yes I do wear them on the plate, durin most games. Division 1 college has issues still. But in youth and high school I wear them and do not get dust and dirt in my sensitive eyes.

Again, what is the problem with prevention as well as avoiding glare and other situations?

[brandda]

UV and glare are not the issue. The issue is whether or not the pitcher is wearing something which serves as a distraction to the batter thus giving the pitcher an unfair advantage. This is just like the multi colored glove rule and the batting glove rule.

I see nothing in the rules which would prevent the use of sunglasses per se. My only issue would be if the sunglasses themselves were highly reflective and causing a distraction problem as a result.

[Rich Ives]

brandda

Which organization are you in and what case book are you using? (From my perspective, I cannot find the word "glasses" or "sunglasses" anywhere in the LL case book)

You would actually require a player to remove his glasses and play with impaired vision? Do you want to rethink that perhaps?

Don't know about other organizations, but let me quote the LL safety code.

"Parents of players wearing glasses should be encouraged to provide 'Safety Glasses.'"

Note the lack of a requirement.

This line is separate form the line about ". . . metallic items" so I believe glasses are not intended to be included in that rule. And it isn't about "flashing items" - it is about injury prevention.

[brandda]

Rich

I think we are talking about two different situations here.

There is no rule concerning glasses or sunglasses. That's where this whole thread started. Again, I am referring to the LL jewelery or metallic items rule, and would only invoke that if it were an impairment to the batter such as reflective sunglasses which were throwing off a glare. In that situation the danger created to the batter by the pitcher wearing those sunglasses is greater than the danger lessened to the pitcher by having the glare reduced to him.

As I said, I would look for any possible way to allow prescription glasses and chances are I would find one. I cannot imagine not allowing a kid to wear prescription glasses, but it is conceivable based on the rule. In the event that I could not, the kid could wear them, he just could not pitch. In no way though would a pair of shiny, metal glasses be considered safety glasses, so I am not sure how those two things are related.

[Rich Ives]

The point is that LL recognizes that a player may be wearing "regular" glasses and recommends that the parents get safety glasses, but does NOT require them - thus allowing regular glasses.

If you ordered one of my pitchers off the mound for wearing glasses, you would get a protest submitted. Depending on my mood I might just pull the team off the field too.

[brandda]

Point taken, and as I said, I cannot imagine actually doing this in practice. I am really talking about the shiny sunglasses here.

[brandda]

I can't find anything in the rules that says that he or any other member of the defenisve team cannot wear them. If I had to rule on it, I would say yes.

[bob jenkins]

Originally posted by Tim C
Can a pitcher wear a batting helmet while pitching?

Tee

Sure.

Not covered in OBR (so it's umpire judgment as to whether it's distracting).

FED and NCAA say it must be "non-glare" / "non glossy", whatever that means.

[Jim Porter]

Originally posted by Tim C
Can a pitcher wear a batting helmet while pitching?

Tee

I seem to remember looking at a picture of Dave Hensley's son wearing a pitcher's helmet. I might've dreamt it, though.

[Chris Winn]

There was a kid on a local travel team a few years ago that somehow injured his head to the extent that some sort of spike was driven into his skull. He missed the rest of that season, but when he came back the next year, he did so with a specific order from his doctor that he wear a batting helmet at all times, a la John Olerud. He mostly played second base, but if he had gone to the mound, I would have allowed the helmet.

[ENelson]

The ADA (American Disability Act) has created an awareness that we all need to consider. The old judgement that protection and other things that would be considered a distraction can not be used. Sure the rule is there and it leaves a large amount of flexibility to judgement. But are you going to fight for the rule in court?

We as umpires need to remember that if a player is obtaining the ability to perform, using different forms of mechanisms, due to a disability you must allow it.

Now will some people try to take advantage. Yes. How do you manage this? A hard stance usually causes a negative response. Thake a level moderate stance. Can another player be put in jeopardy from this paraphanalia? Does the player get an unfair advantage using the aparatus? Handle the situation carefully. Be tolerant. And reason your response. A quote of the rule book that states the umpires judgement, is not going to get you a positive response.

Sunglasses, as far as I am concerned should never be a reasonable distration to anyone. Even with a reflection. The ball comes from the arm. Many people try to use rules to intimidate and influnce the game. Use your judgement. And be confident and do the right thing. Be the entity that allows the game to be played at a balanced level.