Safe! Or Maybe Not

by Graham and Callen
Published January 31, 2025

Did you know in 2018 more than a fourth of injuries in the MLB happened because of getting hit by a pitch? When a pitcher throws the ball at the batter, they have to try to dodge it, but sometimes they can’t and they get hit. This can majorly affect a team's season. Getting hit by a ball can cause a variety of injuries. In 2018, the most common injuries to occur by getting hit by a pitch were concussions at 21.8%, head or face at 17.0%, elbow injuries at 15.7%, and broken hands or fingers at 5.0%. 

There have been many horrible injuries by getting hit including: 

• In 1920, Ray Chapman stepped to the plate and got drilled in the head by pitcher Carl Mays, 12 hours later Ray Chapman died in the hospital. This tragic moment never would have happened if they had stronger helmets back then.  

• Kirby Puckett was another superstar athlete. A fastball from Dennis Martinez hit him in the face that caused his jaw to break. He ended up getting vision problems, and because of that it caused his career to end short.

• In 2005, Adam Greenberg stepped to the plate in his MLB debut, the very first pitch he saw hit him straight in the head, and he got a concussion.  

• In 2024 Whit Merrifield of the Atlanta Braves got hit in the head from an out of control pitch from Jeff Criswell

Batting helmets are an essential part of safety in the game of baseball, they are designed to protect a batter’s head from potential injuries, particularly from fast moving pitches. Normally these batting helmets are supposed to protect the top, back, and the sides of the head. Players often worry about another area of vulnerability, the face. Many people have been worried about serious injuries happening in the MLB, so much so that there has been talk about adding face guards to the batting helmet. MLB catchers have face guards so they don’t get hit in the face by a pitch, but the batters get hit more than the catchers. 

Today, players in the MLB like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and Giancarlo Stanton use a type of face guard called C-flap face guards. The C-flap face guards are made of carbon fiber just like the helmets and they attach to the side of the helmet to protect the chin so players don’t get a broken jaw. The C-flap was invented by a person named Robert Crow. Even though this brilliant idea can protect some of your face, it can still either break it and hit your face or it can go above it and hit someone in the upper face. If there were face guards in the MLB, then rarely anybody would get head injuries. 

In the 2011-2015 seasons there were a total 2,920 HBP (hit by pitch) injuries in the MLB. All of those injuries resulted in 24,624 days missed from those injuries, that is equal to 67.46 years! These injuries really can hurt people and sometimes they can end your career.