After getting hit two nights in a row in the same shoulder by 85+ MPH fastballs the catchers missed, I picked myself off the ground and decided my old protector just wasn't cutting it. The plates were too far apart and the padding was too thin. So I shelled out the money and got this vest. The second game I worked with the West Vest Gold, I got hit in the same place again and hardly felt it! I heard the hit more than I felt it. Everyone was concerned because I'd gotten hit directly by a pitched ball, but I just shrugged it off and put the ball back in play. I've been hit several time since and