America's national pastime, as it is called, can sometimes be dangerous. A survey of athletes between the ages of 5 and 14 found that 25 percent of baseball players reported being injured while playing, according to Safe Kids, and three to four children die each year from baseball injuries. Safety equipment helps prevent injury, but some advocates, such as John T. Reed, suggest that stricter rules could further reduce injuries.
Limits of Rules
Rules for safety equipment exist in most leagues, but they fail to address certain guidelines suggested by various safety and health organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. For example, Little League rules do not require children to use mouth guards or eye guards. Each year more than 100,000 and as many as 162,000 children between the ages of 5 and 14 are treated in hospital emergency rooms for baseball, softball and T-ball injuries. Injuries include eye and head trauma, damage to teeth and the mouth, fractures, contusions, abrasions and overuse injuries.
Major League Safety Rules
The rule book of professional baseball offers few rules about required safety equipment. Batters, catchers, base coaches, batboys and ballgirls must wear protective helmets. Otherwise, use of safety equipment is not mandated in the official rule book of Major League Baseball. While the rules do not specifically require safety equipment aside from helmets, in practice, professional players use protective equipment not required by the rules, such as gloves, athletic supporters and catcher's gear.
Youth League Rules
Youth league rules regarding safety equipment are established at the national level by associations such as Little League. Little League established in 2008 that all leagues must use bases that disengage their anchor. Batters, base runners and adult base coaches must wear helmets that meet NOCSAE specifications and standards. All players must wear athletic supporters. Catchers must wear a mask, dangling throat protector and a helmet that meets NOCSAE standards. The local league must provide the teams with seven NOCSAE-approved helmets at the bench or dugout. Players standing next to the coach when he is hitting infield ground balls must wear a mask when there is a bat present. Shoes with molded cleats are allowed, but metal cleats are prohibited. Local leagues usually apply further safety standards. Catchers are usually required to wear a chest protector with a neck collar, throat guard, shin guards, helmet and mask.
Recommended Rule Changes
Youth leagues have not uniformly enacted certain rules that health and safety organizations recommend. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends the mandatory use of mouth guards for any sport that presents the risk for oral or facial injury. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advocates for batting helmets with face guards and softer-than-standard baseballs, suggesting these changes could significantly reduce or lessen the severity of almost 52,000 injuries a year. Prevent Blindness America also advocates for the use of batting helmets with polycarbonate face shields for youth players.
References
- American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; Prevention of Sports-Related Injuries; May 1999
- American Academy of Pediatrics; Risk of Injury From Baseball and Softball; April 2001
- Hudsonville Little League: 2010 Equipment Standards
- John T. Reed: It's Child Endangerment as Usual This Season in Youth Baseball
- Little League: Disengage-Able Base Rule
- Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford: Sports Injury Statistics
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