Youngsters give new batting helmet a thumbs-up
Photo credit: Handout Photo | The new Rawlings S100 helmet has internal padding that the company says offers thicker protection and has a composite insert and an expanded liner made of Polypropylene, a hard, supportive material also used in some industrial and bicycle helmets. (September 2009)
Rawlings, manufacturer of the new S100 batting helmet, is extolling the virtues of its product even as some big-leaguers are panning its appearance.
David Wright, who will wear the S100 when he returns from being hit in the head by a pitch, might take note of the rave reviews from the only organized group in the country to have competed in the new headgear.
Two teams of high school All-Americans wore the S100 in the AFLAC Baseball Classic Aug. 16 at Petco Park in San Diego. All the players are pro prospects. "The guys were joking that it made us look like space aliens, but it was really comfortable,'' shortstop Tony Wolters said yesterday. "It may look funny, but it is made really well and makes you feel safe. It was super-light, the lightest helmet I ever wore. I think it will become the standard in the game.''
Third baseman Jacoby Jones said he was hit in the head four times in high school. "Two of the helmets cracked,'' he said. "The third time, I had to go to the hospital. This feels good and secure to me. I'm definitely going to wear it.''
Said infielder Chavez Clarke, "I feel like the [larger] size of the helmet would also take away the impact the ball would have on hitting your head.''
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons reported almost 27,000 head injuries in amateur baseball in 2008.
Rawlings vice president Art Chou said pro athletes tend to initially favor fashion over function but eventually opt for safety. "Hockey players didn't want to wear helmets,'' he said. "It will take one or two pioneers. If a high profile like David Wright likes it, that will speed up usage.''
Chou also thinks minor-leaguers, who will wear the S100 for the remainder of this season, will be the impetus for the major-leaguers to act in kind. "No one will argue its safety,'' Chou said.
Orders for the S100, which cost about $100, have increased since Wright's injury. "Recent events have shed light on it,'' Chou said. "It has quickened the pace [of sales].''
