Pitchers will have some extra gear in their locker when spring training begins.
In a collaboration with the MLB Players Association, Major League Baseball will debut new protective headwear to be tried by 20 pitchers during spring training games, according to ESPN.
The customized hat will weigh between 10 and 12 ounces and be about 0.7 inches thick, with a carbon fiber shell.
The addition will fit like a sun visor, according to Boombang, the company that designed and produced the headwear, and will feature expanded forehead and temple coverage with single earflaps, similar to batting helmets.
“A hybrid of a cap and a helmet,” MLB vice president Patrick Houlihan described.
The twenty guinea pigs will include some who have been hit before, some who are “opinion leaders” and some who have expressed interest.
“It felt great and looks good, similar to a helmet with the top cut off,” Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb, who was hit in the head by a line drive in 2013 and suffered a mild concussion and vertigo, told ESPN.
“If I put it on and it’s close to wearing a baseball hat and I’ve got nothing to complain about, I think I’d be open to it.”
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The new hats “easily passed” laboratory impact testing at 85 mph, according to Houlihan, and can “almost certainly” protect pitchers at higher speeds.
For context, the Eduardo Nunez line drive that hit Yankees pitcher Bryan Mitchell in the face in August was clocked at 103 mph.
Marlins pitcher Dan Jennings was hit in the head in 2014 by a Jordy Mercer line drive that was clocked at 101 mph.
Former Mets relief pitcher Alex Torres became one of the first MLB pitchers to try out new headgear when he debuted a protective halo that attached over his regular hat.
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The safety gear won’t be mandatory for pitchers, but the experiment will be a first test on finding a comfortable solution to protect players.
“I’m super excited that MLB is getting in front of this with the players’ association…and when they started to have first- and third-base coaches wear helmets — and we (pitchers) are closer to the plate and in a more awkward position — it was just a matter of time before MLB introduced something for us,” said Houston Astros pitcher Collin McHugh, who also wore a protective pad inside his hat in 2015.
Houlihan said he considers the first test of protective headgear to be a success automatically, regardless of how prevelant its use is in 2016.
“(It offers) a viable, legitimate product that is the best available at this time.”