A helmet some won’t leave home without
Scooter Gennett was with the Brewers on that fateful night in 2014 when Giancarlo Stanton was hit in the face by a Mike Fiers pitch, causing multiple fractures and lacerations as well as dental damage to the Marlins star.
The sickening sight of baseball’s foremost slugger writhing in agony on the ground made an impact on most who saw it up close, and the injuries eventually led Stanton to wear a face mask on his helmet before switching to an attachment that is now increasingly popular among major leaguers.
Yet Gennett is not among those who use it, and neither do the other Reds hitters.
“That was a tough thing to witness, and I’m sure very tough for him to go through, so I see the importance in it,” said Gennett, now the Reds second
baseman. “But it’s just a comfort-type thing. I think it takes some time to get used to because it’s probably in your vision a little bit.”
His comment illustrates the quandary hitters face as they ponder whether to don helmets with the added facial protection, known as C-Flaps, or stick with the traditional model.
With pitchers throwing harder than ever and the potential for catastrophic injury lurking on every pitch, it makes sense for players to embrace new protective measures.
In the words of Astros utilityman Marwin Gonzalez, who started using the C-Flap last season, “There have been many cases of guys getting hit in the face, like Stanton and some others, and I don’t think you have to wait for that to happen to use it.”
But as demonstrated by pitchers’ reluctance to wear headgear that would shield their skull from line drives through the box — only reliever Alex Torres actually pitched with the oversized protection on his cap — issues of style, image and function go into the decision as well. Exposure to razzing and the game’s macho culture add to the pressure to stay with the status quo.
One major plus in favor of the C-Flaps — which are bolted in by official helmet manufacturer Rawlings to protect the jaw area — is they’re relatively discreet, as opposed to the pitchers’ headgear, which evoked comparisons to the Great Gazoo character from the Flintstones animated series.
In addition, early adopters of the C-Flaps have included big names including Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Carlos Correa, Miguel Cabrera and Stanton, who have a combined six MVP and three rookie of the year awards among them.
Their decision to opt for the extra protection carries some sway.
“I’m sure that opens up the door for everyone to do it,” said Athletics utilityman Chad Pinder, who tried a helmet with a C-Flap for a week. “I’m not going to lie. There were people who were busting my chops about wearing it, but you’re like, ‘I’d rather not get hit in the face.’ But I’d also rather be comfortable in the box. That’s the most important thing — comfort.”
And Pinder couldn’t find it with the attachment, which proved a distraction. While some players feel like they focus better when using the C-Flap, Pinder had the opposite experience. He kept seeing it out of the corner of his eye, even when running the bases, so he went back to the standard helmet.
None of his teammates use the C-Flap either, but longtime Athletics equipment manager Steve Vucinich expects that to change. Sometimes all it takes is for one player to request a helmet with the attachment and teammates might get curious and give it a shot.
Vucinich remembers players’ reluctance to don helmets with earflaps when they first became widely available in the 1970s, saying it took about five years for the majority to accept them. Baseball finally made them mandatory in 1983, grandfathering players who had continued to wear the flapless helmets.
The Brewers now require minor leaguers at certain levels to use the C-Flap, and other organizations might follow suit.
“It’s become more and more popular, so you’re going to see, who knows, maybe 25% of all big-leaguers wearing them by next year,” Vucinich said, “It always looked so against-the-norm that it looked almost freakish, and that probably (dissuaded) a lot of players who probably should have been wearing them.”
Mike Thompson, executive vice president of marketing at Rawlings, told the Associated Press that demand for helmets with C-Flaps has quadrupled to about four a team this season.
Giants assistant hitting coach Rick Schu sees a psychological advantage to the extra protection, pointing out several pitchers nowadays throw moving fastballs that can cut toward the hitter.
“It kind of makes you able to stay in there and handle the velocity,” Schu said of the C-Flap, adding he expects them to become standard issue soon. “And with the plus velocity, it’s hard to get out of the way anymore.”
But the emboldening feeling only goes so far. The prospect of taking a 95mph pitch to the chops provides enough deterrent for most hitters to refrain from diving in, C-Flap or not, Correa said.
He made the switch from the regular helmet last season after seeing thenDiamondbacks catcher Chris Iannetta get hit in the face by a fastball in May, breaking his nose and damaging several teeth.
“I don’t ever want to get hit there even with the protection,” Correa said, “but in case of a wayward pitch, I’m a little more protected.”