Ironically, my pitiful and pointless life has literally and seriously been saved twice by helmets: one baseball pitch to the noggin, and one bike accident leading to Supermanning a brick wall.
From a legal perspective, I suspect this matter could be resolved privately through contract with each coach much more easily and satisfactorily. MLB could conceivably cover its @$$ with dozens of creative swindler tactics involving mandatory waivers, assumption of risk clauses, etc. Instead we get a sudden public outcry about the dangers of baseball, and the MLB has to start rulemaking. Thanks mass-media for sensationalizing another isolated incident. God!
"A freak accident ended Mike Coolbaugh's life. "A one-in-bazillion chance," says the coroner of the fatal blow. "A half a hair either way and it wouldn't have killed him.'"Quote: S.L. Smith/si.com. Picture: Otto Greule Jr./Getty ImagesOn a moralistic side note, Mike Coolbaugh, R.I.P. Baseball is fun, baseballs are hard, at least you died doing the thing you loved. All the best to his survivors. I'm sure it was a tough loss for such a seemingly frivolous pursuit as baseball. But worse shit happens everyday to plenty of innocent people and that shouldn't stop us from enjoying our short terrasitic lives.
All the policy makers need are more idiotic, mass-media spoonfed citizens to compete with when trying to get purposeful, worthwhile legislation passed.
Enough ranting.
No, maybe not. I also suspect (without having researched this matter yet) that such a rule was formed in a classic American knee-jerk reactionary response to tragedy.
Tragedy: Kid hit by car at intersection.
Response: After the fact, install lots of flashy signs and lights about kids crossing, toss a traffic-crippling unnecessary stoplight with beeping crosswalks up and place some speed bumps on the street so going fast is more fun.
Result: Kids still run into the street here and elsewhere, cars get backed up in your neighborhood and your street and passing cars deteriorate faster from the speed bumps. LOSE LOSE LOSE.
How many coaches and players have been killed by getting beaned? As a veteran little leaguer (IL State Champs 1992) and high school pitcher, I've been hit by dozens of pitches in inconceivably painful places. During the city championship game in 1994, I was drilled by two line drives from the bat of the same slugger in consecutive innings, while I was pitching (and I finished the game). Don't get me wrong, it hurts, a lot, but it's the danger that makes it a thrill.
Auto racing would be a hell of a lot safer if they would just slow down. Why do those NFLers have to tackle each other so hard, even if they do wear pads? Isn't that dangerous?
The folks over at the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research can tell you just how dangerous it is, especially to our younger athletes who idolize and parrot base coaches everywhere.
P.S. I wear a helmet whenever I'm out of the house. You never know when a fatal head injury could happen.
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