What is the most dangerous position on the field?

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my vote definayely goes to 3rd base pitcher would be close second bunt pullback hit hard slap a good slapper you dont know what she is doing so you have to cheat in if girl slap bunts next time up power slap just so many scenarios where these girls can get hurt.we played teams at 10 u and 12 where 3bfrom other team would run up to within 5 to 7 feet of batter feet of batter

I would tend to agree with you that 3rd base is the hot spot but; the stats show otherwise.
Maybe those bulldogs that play 3rd just gut it out or they have the instincts or reflexes to focus on the play to avoid injury.
I know I have special equipment for my DD at 3rd that allows her to attack the batter at close range. Maybe others do as well?

 

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I would tend to agree with you that 3rd base is the hot spot but; the stats show otherwise.
Maybe those bulldogs that play 3rd just gut it out or they have the instincts or reflexes to focus on the play to avoid injury.
I know I have special equipment for my DD at 3rd that allows her to attack the batter at close range. Maybe others do as well?

Are we advocating body armor now? The balls are hard for a reason. If you get in the way of a ball and your glove doesn`t intercept it, you will get hit and it may hurt like heck. This game also has the factor of fear in it. Take fear out of the game and you remove a fundamental part of fastpitch. If a kid can charge the batter with no fear, because of the padding she wears, is that what this game is coming to?

 

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I would tend to agree with you that 3rd base is the hot spot but; the stats show otherwise.
Maybe those bulldogs that play 3rd just gut it out or they have the instincts or reflexes to focus on the play to avoid injury.
I know I have special equipment for my DD at 3rd that allows her to attack the batter at close range. Maybe others do as well?

would like to know stats and not just injuries which one has more severe injuries.and maybe the fact that 3b is alot better fielder(usually)than a pitcher who spends more time on pitching than fielding not all pitcher are not good fielders but would argue on average 3b is better fielder than pitcher i know there are exceptions but maybe a large portion of pitcher injuries are due to fact alot of pitchers dont hone in there skills like a bulldog on the corner would food for thought

 

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Pitcher, catcher, 3rd base, and 3rd base coach all are hot spots. Although it is pretty scary to be the runner on 3rd when you have a big stick that pulls at the plate.

 

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I would have to say that it is probably the pitcher, but if the pitcher is good then probably the 3rd baseman. A good pitcher will very rarely throw the ball directly down the middle of the plate. The only way the ball can be line driven with a lot of power right toward the pitcher is if its thrown down the middle of the plate. The 3rd basemen has to be fearless in fastpitch softball, especially at the higher levels. I would also say the 3rd base coach too but I have also seen the plate ump take a lot of shots as well. Just MHO

 

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At our organizations softball school last winter we had a guest speaker (Athletic Trainer at UC and Instructor of Sports Rehabilitation) that talked about softball related injuries, how to identify/ treat and steps for injury prevention including proper stretching and nutrition.
According to NCAA ISS in softball the three most common positions for injury are:
1. Pitcher
2. Catcher
3. Shortstop
4. Centerfield
Most injuries occurred at practice on natural surface and were a result of collisions with other players or the ground, sliding, throwing or ball impacts.
Most areas of injury included Knee, Ankle, Shoulder, Head and face trauma.
At 16 and above facial and head trauma were just behind knee injuries.

can't believe "you of all people" didnt' say that running a pitching machine for BP wasn't the worst... got any pic's you care to share???;&

 

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maybe the case , but what if third base also has to go through a wind up, release the ball, and the get set to field a sharp hit ball?

 

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3rd base
when the coach has the kid play even with the pitcher.
what they dont understand is if your 3rd base girl is not fast enough to play at a reasonble depth and still make the play they dont belong there to begin with.

 

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3rd base
when the coach has the kid play even with the pitcher.
what they dont understand is if your 3rd base girl is not fast enough to play at a reasonble depth and still make the play they dont belong there to begin with.

i agree completely.but it happens all the time we have some strong hitters that pull ball alot and i always want to say back her up.one time actually my 3 hitter had 11 homeruns at 10u and at 11u has put a couple over high school fence well she was up coach had 3rd base up and i actually went to him and told him i would not bunt her if he would just leave her back looked at me like i was crazy but backed 3rd up a little next pitch whizzed by her ear 150 mph and she was only 2 or 3 steps in front of bag granted this was not a close game or elite team we were playing.it just always scares me. a parent or coach never wants to see anyone get hurt

 

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would like to know stats and not just injuries which one has more severe injuries.and maybe the fact that 3b is alot better fielder(usually)than a pitcher who spends more time on pitching than fielding not all pitcher are not good fielders but would argue on average 3b is better fielder than pitcher i know there are exceptions but maybe a large portion of pitcher injuries are due to fact alot of pitchers dont hone in there skills like a bulldog on the corner would food for thought

Try using this link provided and see if it answers your question,


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941294/

 

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941294/table/i1062-6050-42-2-286-t08/

So in all of college softball these are the injuries to the head/face from a batted ball over a TEN year period.

Pitchers 7 head injuries 0 injuries resulting in a 10 day loss of playing time

1st base 5 head injuries 0 " " " " " " " " "

3rd base 10 head injuries 4 injuries that kept a player out for 10 days or more

middle infield 4 head injuries 0 10 day injuries

SO.......4 injuries that were serious enough to keep a player out 10 days (all at 3rd base) in TEN years of thousands of players playing thousands of games.

Now you see why people do not see the need for a mask?
I understand not all kids are as good as college players, especially the younger ones. If they want to wear a mask, do it, but do not make it madatory. The injuries that are serious are such a small percentage it is hardly notable.

I also understand kids will get hit in the face, it is extremely rare that the injury is serious. In 12 years of following my DD in hundreds of games, and THOUSANDS of fielding opportunities, from her beginning in rec ball to playing in the Big Ten I never once witnessed a batted ball to the face of any player, let alone a serious injury to the face.

 

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Punchout. I'm glad you pointed out college softball. Because if you look at the pitchers at the 10U thru 14U and some of the terrible injuries suffered by these kids it is a different game. I'm sure the Slammers can show how bad an injury can be when Abbey got hit in the eye socket in Bloolmington, Ind. Read this site and look at some of pictures. http://www.gameface.com/testimonials.asp I know they are trying to push a product, but I'm one parent that can point out that my dd , got a slight tear of the retina and it is no laughing matter, that a kid can suffer an eye injury very easy playing sports. Is it worth taking the risk and not seeing out of one eye the rest of your life? She wears a mask even playing short stop.

 

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I have seen at least four major shots in the last 4 years in travel and HS that were pretty darn severe. Split hand, direct to the chest, out 10 days, off the face D-1 State semi Final that I have on tape 2" to the right she'd be severely disfigured or dead.

I'm for the mandatory masks for pitchers and corners

Just a matter of time before there is a dead kid somewhere. I know but still only one dead kid in 15 years not bad odds huh....

 

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Like I said before, there are, by percentage, a lot more injuries to the knees, that are serious enough for surgery.(no guarantee they fix it right) My own DD had a very severe injury in her last game as a senior in college in the NCAA`s. I know the thought of a facial injury is an awful thought and some people can not get past it. I am not saying, especially for the young kids, they "can`t" wear a mask or shouldnt wear a mask. Playing the game is a risk, becaue it IS dangerous. If you feel better having a kid wear the mask, go for it. But as the stats show, the high level kids dont need them.

 

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sitting next to statman after a few walking tacos (notice i mentioned the word "few"). How can you eat just one?

but if i would be a guessing man, no way i'm playing 3rd base!

 

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I have seen at least four major shots in the last 4 years in travel and HS that were pretty darn severe. Split hand, direct to the chest, out 10 days, off the face D-1 State semi Final that I have on tape 2" to the right she'd be severely disfigured or dead.

I'm for the mandatory masks for pitchers and corners

Just a matter of time before there is a dead kid somewhere. I know but still only one dead kid in 15 years not bad odds huh....

More like 30 years.........
More kids die from wreaks on their bicycle while wearing helmets. Where is the outrage?
http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/out/bike_safety.html

It is much safer to play softball than it is to ride a bike, 300,000 kids in the ER from bike riding with 250 deaths per year.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_children_die_each_year_from_bicycle_accidents

 

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Next thing you know they will try to make seatbelts in automobiles mandatory!

 

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There is nothing wrong if a kid wants to wear a face mask. I know of one girl personally that took a shot to the face at 12u, had to have a couple cosmetic surgerys. She wore a face mask after that and now she really doesnt pitch much anymore and she's a junior in HS. It's a terrible thing if that happens. My DD will never wear one, heck, its like pulling teeth to even get her to wear a mouth guard. Being a high school coach I had the oppurtunity to sit with about 5 college coaches at the State Championships last year. We wittnessed a pitcher get hit in the face with a line drive.....it was a scary thing and the conversation came up about face masks. Every one of the college coaches said if they are recruiting a pitcher and they go watch her and she is wearing a face mask, she is pretty much off their list. I don't know if its that way with all college coaches, but it was with these coaches.

 

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Pitcher! Yes the 3rd baseman is also at risk, but they are in a good position to protect her self. We work very hard to make sure our DD is a good defensive pitcher, but no matter what there is only a split second to get into that good position. I'm not into wearing body armor, but I'm shocked at the amount of kids that don't wear masks while pitching or at 3rd. Especially at the older ages, when it's probably more important. A couple weeks ago I watched a kid have there mask broken from a ball that hit the ground, while playing 3rd. USE THE MASK!!!!!!!

 

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Next thing you know they will try to make seatbelts in automobiles mandatory!

Oh the Humanity