Rawlings Power Forge bat?

July of '97, my 11 YO son was pitching some mop up innings in a tournament game that we had well in hand. A batter scorched a wicked line drive that hit him in the face. Like an animated claymation figure, he dissolved into a heap atop the mound. You could have heard a pin drop as silence fell upon the entire field. Suddenly, we saw a hand emerge groping for a ball that none of us could see. Pushing himself to his knees, he fired a bullet to first base to nip the runner, and then he collapsed again.

As I raced to the mound, all I could think about was that awful sound of the ball's impact. Stunned and laying on the ground, a red circle with seam marks was imprinted between the chin and cheek on my son's face. I have thought about this incident often as I have read various responses to drawing a line, as well as earlier posts about bat differential.

I have also thought about the many times that I have been hit by missiles from my player's bats as I have pitched batting practice to them. We teach the kids to swing down on the ball and hit it back up the middle. Pretty common batting philosophy, and it produces a lot of line drives whistling at and past the pitcher.

Being on the mound is a dangerous place! Until and even after a safety line with bat differential and high-tech materials is drawn, we as managers have an obligation to the young pitchers who we trot out to the mound. We must train them to be prepared to face the danger that awaits. What saved my son was he was in a correct fielding position after he released the pitch, and he managed to deflect the ball by a few millimeters. Part of the value of this conversation is that it reminds us to spend more quality practice time with our pitchers. We must carefully teach them proper mechanics, especially deceleration and setting up after the pitch is released. We also need to help them learn complete concentration on the mound--to be ready and to expect the ball to be hit to them on every pitch, just like the fielders behind them. As much as we might be tempted to spread the opportunities to pitch to as many players as possible, I think all managers ought to create another line and only use those kids as pitchers who have proven they can handle the defensive responsibilities of the position.