Cup while BU?

[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.