Pitcher had mirrored sunglasses above bill of visor

Softball Dad

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In the championship game of 18+ tournament a starting pitcher had mirrored sunglasses above her visor bill. Two different batters in different innings politely and discretely informed the umpire that the sun was reflecting off the mirrored sunglasses the opposing coach talked to the umpires between innings but the umpire refused to rule. It was clear that the mirrored sunglasses were not being worn and were placed above the visor to distract the batters.
Before someone comments about excuses or sour grapes you should know sunglasses team lost. Most of the women playing 18+ are college players and know the rules. This was a safety issue and luckily none of the several inside fastballs hurt anyone who couldn’t see it coming. When the team realized the mirrored sunglasses were being questioned several other fielders started placing sunglasses above their visor bill.
 

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In the championship game of 18+ tournament a starting pitcher had mirrored sunglasses above her visor bill. Two different batters in different innings politely and discretely informed the umpire that the sun was reflecting off the mirrored sunglasses the opposing coach talked to the umpires between innings but the umpire refused to rule. It was clear that the mirrored sunglasses were not being worn and were placed above the visor to distract the batters.
Before someone comments about excuses or sour grapes you should know sunglasses team lost. Most of the women playing 18+ are college players and know the rules. This was a safety issue and luckily none of the several inside fastballs hurt anyone who couldn’t see it coming. When the team realized the mirrored sunglasses were being questioned several other fielders started placing sunglasses above their visor bill.


On one hand, The equipment in question did not meet any USA-NCAA-or NFHS 2014 safety rule standard since they had a mirror or shiny finish and was not properly worn.
So "if" this was a sanctioned qualifying event for future play you may have a case and it should have been addressed. Like catchers gear and batting helmets fall under since they were worn on the head with a mirror or shiny finish.

Link to rule update: https://www.nfhs.org/media/1015670/1982-2015-nfhs-risk-minimization-rules.pdf

On the other hand, We are talking about adult fastpitch game/ tournament (that Ohio struggles with).
This event may have been an "open format" or park rules where matching uniforms optional, helmets with no facemask allowed, jewelry worn etc. The kind of games where you just play. I do think if it was an issue for a hitter they were adults. Generally, you just ask the umpire for time and ask the pitcher if she can remove the glasses or turn them around.
 
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BretMan2

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Sunglasses don’t fall under “equipment”, so the fact that they’re reflective doesn’t matter. It also doesn’t matter if they’re worn on the hat, since no rule covers how they are worn. The mere fact that they were reflective and being worn on the hat isn’t a rule violation in itself.

Having said that...if they truly were reflecting sun into the batter’s eyes, an umpire would have the power to ask that they be removed. Why this umpire didn’t, I can only guess. Maybe he didn’t personally judge them to be distracting. Personally, I would err on the side of caution, especially after having different batter’s complain about it.
 

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For me it comes down to this. Why would a pitcher wear mirrored sunglasses on top of the visor bill? To purposely distract the batter, there is no other reason for them to be there on a pitcher. Rule 6-2-2 should be clarified to not limit distracting items to arm and thighs. Under some people’s view a pitcher could play with a hat with goggly eyes on springs.
 

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