Imagine you are playing third base on your high school softball team. You have a feeling that the batter is going to bunt, so you play a little bit farther in towards home plate than you normally do. The pitcher winds up, but the batter does not bunt. Instead, the batter takes a full swing and the ball comes directly at your face. Next thing you know, you are in the hospital with a broken nose and your teeth smashed. Unfortunately, incidences like this happens to softball players all the time, but they can be prevented. More and more players have begun to wear facemasks for their own safety.
Softball is a very quick game. Compared to baseball fields, softball diamonds are very small. Infielders have very little reaction time, especially the pitcher, first baseman, and third baseman. Along with this, today’s technology is extremely good. Newer and more powerful bats are designed and bought every year. That means that softballs will be hit harder and harder, and will continue to come off the bat faster and faster.
I personally think that wearing a facemask should be mandatory, at least for the corners and pitcher. Many people choose to wear a facemask, but some do not. No one expects or thinks that they will get hit in the face by a line drive, but it does happen. 121,802 head and face injuries are estimated to occur annually. I think that it is ridiculous that this many injuries have occurred and yet there is no rule stating that infielders must wear a facemask. A facemask costs somewhere around $30-$40. A line drive to the face could potentially cost you loads of hospital bills and your original set of teeth.
I would recommend all infielders to wear a facemask while playing softball. It prevents tons of injuries and could possibly even improve your game. If you have a facemask, you are not going to be scared to dig in and field a ball. Since there is no rule about facemasks, I think all parents should make their daughters wear them. Who knows when a line drive could come at you or a grounder could take a bad hop, so why not take the simple action of wearing a facemask to prevent any injuries from occurring.
Softball is a very quick game. Compared to baseball fields, softball diamonds are very small. Infielders have very little reaction time, especially the pitcher, first baseman, and third baseman. Along with this, today’s technology is extremely good. Newer and more powerful bats are designed and bought every year. That means that softballs will be hit harder and harder, and will continue to come off the bat faster and faster.
I personally think that wearing a facemask should be mandatory, at least for the corners and pitcher. Many people choose to wear a facemask, but some do not. No one expects or thinks that they will get hit in the face by a line drive, but it does happen. 121,802 head and face injuries are estimated to occur annually. I think that it is ridiculous that this many injuries have occurred and yet there is no rule stating that infielders must wear a facemask. A facemask costs somewhere around $30-$40. A line drive to the face could potentially cost you loads of hospital bills and your original set of teeth.
I would recommend all infielders to wear a facemask while playing softball. It prevents tons of injuries and could possibly even improve your game. If you have a facemask, you are not going to be scared to dig in and field a ball. Since there is no rule about facemasks, I think all parents should make their daughters wear them. Who knows when a line drive could come at you or a grounder could take a bad hop, so why not take the simple action of wearing a facemask to prevent any injuries from occurring.
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