Alex Torres earns first career save while wearing new protective headgear
New York Mets reliever Alex Torres was a pioneer of sorts when he became the first pitcher in MLB to wear a form of protective headgear in a regular season game. That significant moment in baseball’s journey to better protect its pitchers happened last June 21, when Torres was still pitching for the San Diego Padres.
What’s most notable here in 2015 is that the model Torres wore then is apparently already as outdated to him personally as the old Padres uniform in his closet, which seems to suggest a continued evolution and improvement with the product.
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At least that’s the feeling we got on Saturday when we first saw Torres trotting to the mound at Citi Field wearing this new, bulked up model that’s designed to absorb contact from baseballs traveling at scary speeds and even flying bats like that of Christian Yelich on Saturday.
Did we mention bulked up?
As you can plainly see, the new model features an extra piece of padding that lines the outside of the cap and rests on the bill. On the previous model, there was a seven-ounce protective band that was built-in and covered his entire skull.
According to MLB.com, both caps were designed by Isoblox. However, the new version, while perhaps less appealing visually, is actually lighter and therefore more comfortable for the pitcher. Comfort always wins out, and in this case the cap gives Torres comfort as a human being first and a professional baseball player second.
“I love this game and this game is my life,” Torres said before Saturday’s game. “I need to take care of myself.”
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On Saturday, Alex Torres took care of his personal business, then he went to work on the field by notching is first career save in the Mets 5-4 victory. He was called upon to face one batter after Carlos Torres coughed up three unearned runs, which trimmed the Mets lead to the slimmest of margins. Alex came through, striking out Christian Yelich to end the game and extend the Mets winning streak to seven.
Unfortunately, there’s still more focus on how Torres looked, rather than the job he did or the job the cap is designed to do. Even in the Mets clubhouse, there was more talk about the look than personal safety. Manager Terry Collins jumped in saying: “I don’t think you’re going to see a lot of guys wearing it,. If Alex feels comfortable wearing it, then more power to him.”
The resistance is understandable, but Torres deserves a little more credit than that for stepping out and being honest about his concerns for his own safety and the safety of others. He’s kind of on an island all to himself, but if his decision encourages just one other player to follow along, he’s done something pretty cool
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
