The 3 Most Dangerous Injuries A Batter Can Face
1. Skull Fracture
Although skull fractures are rare in baseball and softball, they are extremely detrimental and all possible precautions should be taken in order to prevent them. Skull fractures can occur by ball-to-head contact or bat-to-head contact. However, skulls fractures in baseball and softball can be easily avoided. A study done by J Oral Maxillofac Surg found that 62% of ball-induced fractures were due to players failing to wear a helmet.
2. Eye Injury
What most people don't know is that baseball proceeds all other sports as being the leader in sports-related eye injuries in children ages 5 to 14. Luckily, fastpitch softball leagues have addressed this issue by requiring players to wear a batter's guard on their helmet. Some high school fastpitch leagues have even gone as far as requiring all infielders to wear face masks. For baseball leagues however, many precautions have still not been taken. It is rare, but some leagues have begun to require young baseball players to wear batter's guards on their helmet. These baseball standards, however, are few and far between.
3. Concussion
While concussions rarely happen in softball and baseball, they are remarkably dangerous to the health of a players brain. What most players and parents don't know is that there are no helmet testing standards for concussions. The current NOCSAE standards only cover skull fractures and eye injuries.