tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930846219347221289.post-14652377603674752122008-05-01T16:42:00.005-05:002008-05-01T20:11:01.439-05:00If you didn't hear about <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/umpires/bio.jsp?id=2307">Kerwin Danley</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">, MLB umpire who lost consciousness from a 95 MPH fastball</span> he took to the lower jaw area in a game 4/27, <a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hWeJrYd1ovE8GKY15bNrIbvsZWIgD90AE6K83">read the article</a>.<br /><br />He was treated and released from the hospital so he's ok. But after hearing about this the first time, I looked for the <a href="http://ballhype.com/video/ump_kerwin_danley_takes_fastball_to_jaw/">video online</a> to figure what kind of mask he was wearing. I know that's not the typical thought someone has, but I'm also the only one at a game who watches the umpires as much as I do the players.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ump-attire.com/images/a3009x-t.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 78px;" src="http://www.ump-attire.com/images/a3009x-t.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">He was wearing a </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.ump-attire.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&amp;Product_Code=A3009X">Wilson West Vest Dyna-Lite Umpire Mask with two-tone wrap around pads</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">. So, did this mask fail him? Should umpires not wear it at this level?</span> I hear that kind of talk from time to time, where someone says "I took a really hard shot and it really hurt (or I got a bruise or occasionally even a minor concussion), and I'm beginning to think this mask (or other protective gear) is not appropriate for this level."<br /><br />Although such thinking could be accurate in some cases and perhaps even in this one (<a href="http://www.ump-attire.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&amp;Store_Code=UA&amp;Category_Code=HOCKEY-UMPIRE-HELMET">hockey style helmet</a> with more angles?), Mr. Danley's mask had the thicker-than-most-other-masks Wilson padding that wraps partially around the frame that is typical of other West Vest Dyna-Lite masks worn by other MLB umpires. In other words, <span style="font-weight: bold;">he could not have been more protected in a traditional style mask.</span><br /><br />So how did this mask not fail him if it gave him a concussion and sent him to the hospital? My answer, is simple: <span style="font-weight: bold;">The mask protected him from being severely wounded or killed</span> from the 2,400 pounds of force a 95 MPH delivers. Saying otherwise would be like saying a bulletproof vest failed when a police officer suffered a broken rib and bruised lung when he (or she) was shot at point blank range.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">One last note: I had commented about some competitors wrongly claiming that Wilson's mask padding were "anti-concussion" in a past blog post titled "</span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://umpattire.blogspot.com/2007/11/are-competitor-claims-putting-umpires.html">Are Competitor Claims Putting Umpires at Risk?</a><span style="font-style: italic;">". It's worthy of a re-read in light of this story.</span>Jim Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12122397816926172167noreply@blogger.com