- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Protective hat wouldn’t have helped Taillon
- Updated: July 20, 2016
5:54 PM ET
A day after a line shot off the bat at 105 mph struck the Pirates’ Jameson Taillon in the head, the team’s head athletic trainer said the point of impact was the logo on the back of Taillon’s cap.
“I’ve been in baseball 18 years — 10 in the majors, and it’s the first time I’ve seen a pitcher get hit in that particular place,” Todd Tomczyk told “Outside the Lines” Wednesday.Pirates rookie Jameson Taillon stayed in the game Tuesday night after being struck in the back of the head by a line drive. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
After Milwaukee’s Hernan Perez hit the second inning line drive that struck Taillon in the back of the head, the rookie right-hander stayed in the game, allowing only one run over six innings.
“He’s doing well today and we’re monitoring him,” Tomczyk said. There were four barriers, Tomczyk said, that helped prevent a brain injury to Taillon: “the cap itself, the logo, his hair and his skull.”
Every time a pitcher gets hit in the head by a line drive, the protection question arises. According to Tomczyk, the protective headwear Major League Baseball and the players association introduced in February would not have provided additional protection where Taillon was struck.
Tomczyk said that in spring training all Pirates pitchers were offered and encouraged to try the MLB/MLBPA “hybrid of a cap and helmet” — …
continue reading in source espn.go.com
