Cup while BU?

[johnnyg08]

any athletic male probably has a nut shot story or two...with any sport or activity it's really a matter of preference. I've never met a basketball player who wears one...yet one might think the risk is very high in that sport. I played middle infield my entire playing career (20 yrs) and never wore one...umpired for about 8 yrs, never wore one...just started the last couple years...I figured that my luck was running out and that I really did want to have children. While many have the 'nut shot' stories, there are probably many who have the 'never been hit' stories much like BretMan's post.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

any athletic male probably has a nut shot story or two...with any sport or activity it's really a matter of preference. I've never met a basketball player who wears one...yet one might think the risk is very high in that sport. I played middle infield my entire playing career (20 yrs) and never wore one...umpired for about 8 yrs, never wore one...just started the last couple years...I figured that my luck was running out and that I really did want to have children. While many have the 'nut shot' stories, there are probably many who have the 'never been hit' stories much like BretMan's post.

I was a sometime catcher, sometime pitcher and often-time third baseman. I never went without a cup. Never. I have also coached and instructed for many years and thrown batting practice to batters from college on down for over two decades. Even with an L-screen, I wear a cup. With some of the younger players (12 or 13 and under), there are workouts and batting practice where I pitch without a screen. I wouldn't consider doing any kind or real coaching or pitching without wearing a cup. So why would I stand a dozen feet away from a pitcher, with my feet spread a yard and a half apart, staring down the barrel of an aluminum bat being wielded by a 200-plus pound batter without wearing a cup? And I played and sparred. I know how to make something miss.

I still wear a cup, because I view the reward of avoiding amputation of my genitals as being worth the risk of a little extra skin irritation.

[BretMan]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

I still wear a cup, because I view the reward of avoiding amputation of my genitals as being worth the risk of a little extra skin irritation.

(Don't take this the wrong way, as I'm not trying to argue or persuade you to change your mind. I think that anyone should be free to wear any piece of protective equipment they see fit. Just take it as a me playing the devil's advocate as we kick around the subject of cups on the bases.)


Does anyone wear a mouth guard, polycarbonate safety goggles, helmet or heart guard while working the bases?

I would find the prospect of losing some teeth, an eye, having a brain injury or having my heart stopped as bad or worse than the one-in-a-million chance of losing one of the boys. It seems like you would have an equal chance of getting hit in any of those unprotected areas.

There's nothing to prevent a base umpire from wearing any of these devices. Are they not worn because they are not the norm? Are we placing our personal vanity or appearance above our personal safety?

Or, are we making the decision that the chance of injury is so infinitesimally small that we forgo the added protection?

[johnnyg08]

it's probably coming...heck base coaches are now wearing helmets after neck trauma tragically killed a man.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by BretMan

(Don't take this the wrong way, as I'm not trying to argue or persuade you to change your mind. I think that anyone should be free to wear any piece of protective equipment they see fit. Just take it as a me playing the devil's advocate as we kick around the subject of cups on the bases.)


Does anyone wear a mouth guard, polycarbonate safety goggles, helmet or heart guard while working the bases?

I would find the prospect of losing some teeth, an eye, having a brain injury or having my heart stopped as bad or worse than the one-in-a-million chance of losing one of the boys. It seems like you would have an equal chance of getting hit in any of those unprotected areas.

There's nothing to prevent a base umpire from wearing any of these devices. Are they not worn because they are not the norm? Are we placing our personal vanity or appearance above our personal safety?

Or, are we making the decision that the chance of injury is so infinitesimally small that we forgo the added protection?

That's cool.

Except, we are less likely to get drilled in the head because, A) our arms/hands naturally go up significantly faster in a protective movement than they go down; and , B) our duck or flinch reflex mechanism is ruled by what our eyes see and it is vastly easier to make an unpredictable bounce or direct shot miss your head than it is to make it miss your groin or midsection.

[DonInKansas]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

Except, we are less likely to get drilled in the head because, A) our arms/hands naturally go up significantly faster in a protective movement than they go down; and , B) our duck or flinch reflex mechanism is ruled by what our eyes see and it is vastly easier to make an unpredictable bounce or direct shot miss your head than it is to make it miss your groin or midsection.

I disagree with this.

A) I move just as quickly to protect my nuts from damage as my face. If there's a difference in reaction time, it would be so small it's pointless to argue it.

B)I've been made to flinch by loud noises I can't see. This point is not valid.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by DonInKansas

I disagree with this.

A) I move just as quickly to protect my nuts from damage as my face. If there's a difference in reaction time, it would be so small it's pointless to argue it.

B)I've been made to flinch by loud noises I can't see. This point is not valid.

Generally it is valid. The biceps can pull your arms to your face more quickly than any other movement, including the downward movement to cover the package. Your head can also dodge a blow faster than you can get your midsection to dodge a similar speed of blow. Another thing that is valid is that your head's duck or flinch movement is triggered by the sight of the ball in a baseball example.

The flinch that you cite that is triggered by sound is yet another way, but not related to the flinch I was referring to.

[DonInKansas]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

The flinch that you cite that is triggered by sound is yet another way, but not related to the flinch I was referring to.

I was unaware there were multiple types of flinching. Please enlighten me on the difference. While you're at it, let me know the difference in reaction times. Is there a study out there somewhere?

[MrUmpire]

Originally Posted by BretMan

(Don't take this the wrong way, as I'm not trying to argue or persuade you to change your mind. I think that anyone should be free to wear any piece of protective equipment they see fit. Just take it as a me playing the devil's advocate as we kick around the subject of cups on the bases.)


Does anyone wear a mouth guard, polycarbonate safety goggles, helmet or heart guard while working the bases?

I would find the prospect of losing some teeth, an eye, having a brain injury or having my heart stopped as bad or worse than the one-in-a-million chance of losing one of the boys. It seems like you would have an equal chance of getting hit in any of those unprotected areas.

Excellent point. While I have not seen statistics based on umpire injuries, for years emergency room and insurance industry stats have shown that on players in the field, the the vast majority of injuries stemming from impact with a baseball occur to the face and head.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Do not see the point to have one on the bases. I have only been hit once and it was a slow roller.

What, were you smoking bong hits with Barack and Phelps before the game?

I've been hit three times:

1st time: Varsity game with Tony Clark hitting a rocket into my right foot so fast I couldn't even blink, much less move. I was in shallow C at the time. He always seemed like he was aiming at me, or I had a ball magnet on me when he batted.

2nd time: Senior LL game when a line drive ricocheted off the side of a very tall, non-regulation height pitcher's mound and caught me while I was moving in toward the mound.

3rd time: Feeding pitching machine in a Pinto game with a very strong hitter (the one that every team seems to have one of) who hit a rocket that hit me in the stomach. That didn't feel good.

3 times in over 3,000 games. That's not too bad. I'm usually quite spry and can avoid getting hit.

[cardinalfan]

SDSteve,

Congrats on the 56 down. Keep up the good work!

[cardinalfan]

I had an umpiring buddy who was at the game when Mike Coolbaugh got hit. He said it could have been any of us.
I'm not going to wear my plate gear on the field, and I don't want to wear a helmet on the bases.
But if a $10 piece of plastic will keep me from going to the ER with swollen testicles... I will give it a try. I'm a fairly old dog, but I'll try to learn a new trick.
And if I try it a few games and decide it isn't worth the hassle, I'll get on here and admit I was wrong.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by cardinalfan

SDSteve,

Congrats on the 56 down. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the support!