San Diego Padres relief pitcher Alex Torres turned baseball into a hardhat profession in June 2014 when he became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to wear the isoBlox protective padded cap.
Now he has company at Southwestern College.
Pitchers have 0.42 seconds to react to a baseball hit at 98 miles per hour at a distance of 55 feet away from the batter’s bat to the pitcher’s glove. They are in constant danger of being struck by a line drive, which can lead to a serious head injury.
Southwestern College is embracing the new headwear, albeit reluctantly.
Sophomore pitcher Kyle Bedsole said the padded cap was something he would not consider wearing unless it became mandatory.
“Torres had previous head trauma,” Bedsole said. “Some bad things do happen to athletes. I really do not see myself wearing that unless I had previous head trauma like he had.”
Head coach Jay Martel said baseball players have benefited from the growth of safer equipment in sports.
“Everything is for the betterment of the game,” he said. “Base coaches have to wear skull hats now. Gear for catchers has also come a long way. There are helmets for different speeds and Little League helmets. Baseball bats are safer and technology has made this happen.”
Baseball bats have been modified to keep players from harm and college baseball has adopted this adjustment. Aluminum bats were placed aside to bring lighter wood bats, according to Martel.
“We only use wood bats like the professionals,” he said. “Metal bats had a wall where you could really whip the ball. Wood bats clearly help for safety, but there are still guys that can hit pretty hard with them. The idea was to make line drives slower to protect athletes.”
Head football coach Ed Carberry said equipment has changed markedly since he played high school football.
“We had 130 players and only about 110 helmets,” Carberry said. “Twenty guys exchanged helmets, the equipment kept rotating. Safety was not as big of an emphasis as it is today.”
Helmets have expiration dates, according to Carberry.
“Helmets are tested to pass recommendations at a certain level,” he said. “They have a date to be used by, just like your average gallon of milk. A helmet can only be used for about seven years.”
Football players are three times more likely to die from brain diseases than non-players, according to the American Journal of Neurology. Football impacts that lead to concussions are worse than a head-on collision between a Honda Civic and a Chevrolet cargo van at 60 mph.
Innovative helmets designed to reduce concussions made their debut in January 2011 during the Bowl Championship Series game when University of Oregon running back LaMichael James wore the first Riddel 360 Helmet. This inspired the need for more protective and experimental gear in different sports.
Head basketball coach John Cosentino said that his team tries to recycle their gear, but still emphasizes safety.
“Ten years ago everybody had the same gear, today it does not work that way,” he said. “Gear material has gotten lighter with dri-fit technology and we try to make it safer with arm sleeves for the players. There is not much you can do with the basketball uniform since the change from baggy pants to the modern shorts we wear today.”
Head softball coach Yasmin Mossadeghi said the biggest innovation for the Jaguars´s gear is found in softball.
“Here we have sublimated uniforms,” she said. “This is something I requested for my sport just this year. They last longer, they do not have any sewing and it makes the uniforms lighter. It is definitely cost worthy because there is no way a sublimated jersey can get ruined. It is one of a kind.”
Sublimated uniforms are 100 percent polyester and cost $65 per jersey. SWC athletic uniforms and equipment are rotated every three years, according to Athletic Director Jim Spillers. Safety is the primary consideration that drives changes in sports equipment, he said.
“New safety technology is coming,” said Spillers, a 30-year veteran of intercollegiate sports. “We will be seeing it first with the younger athletes and then if the pros like what they see, it works its way up.”
More than 1.35 million youths have serious sports injuries each year, according to 2013 data from the U.S. Safety Injury Surveillance System. Most common are concussions, fractures and strains in sports such as football, baseball, basketball and soccer, the top four sports played by 46.5 million young athletes ages 7 to 15.
Spillers said change is more likely to occur at the lower levels because the athletes are not so set in their ways.
“We care about the safety of the youth,” he said. “Once athletes reach the professional level they become more accountable for themselves. They are adults and they should know the risk, but at our college level we still must accept responsibility to take care of our athletes.”
Although safe equipment is available, many athletes have resisted change. Players demand comfort and worry about their appearance, said Spillers and Carberry.
Spillers said the evolution of equipment helps athletes perform better.
“This present generation really cares about how they look and place value in that and I believe that with all my heart,” he said. “They have a tendency to play how they feel. If players feel good and they feel like they look good, they have the tendency to play well.”
Carberry said athletes feel confident while wearing today’s technologically enhanced gear.
“Everybody will adjust,” he said. “Just by having that Nike swoosh on that shoe, players can feel invincible.”
Since the London 2012 Olympic games tracksuits for competing sprinters were made of recycled water bottles, according to Slate website.
Adidas, Nike and Under Armour have invested in cutting edge technology according to The Wall Street Journal, but safety and fashion in sports apparel still has a long way to go.
Bedsole said he thinks sports equipment will continue to evolve.
“The game is not perfect, nothing we have in life is perfect,” he said. “Technology in sports equipment can keep improving in almost every aspect.”