Got whacked in a new spot last night!

[HeadHunterLA]

So I am behind the plate last night for a LL Juniors game, two teams that I have seen a number of times and figured I was going to get a decent game.  Well that went out the window when the HT pitcher couldn't find the strike zone and the top of the first took about 40 minutes.  So what happened a couple of innings later shouldn't have surprised me.  I had a catcher whiff on a pitch that bounced straight back off of the backstop and caught me right in the ear!  Hurt like hell and ear was ringing for the rest of the game but seems ok today, never been hit there before in 20+ years!

[scrounge]

So I am behind the plate last night for a LL Juniors game, two teams that I have seen a number of times and figured I was going to get a decent game.  Well that went out the window when the HT pitcher couldn't find the strike zone and the top of the first took about 40 minutes.  So what happened a couple of innings later shouldn't have surprised me.  I had a catcher whiff on a pitch that bounced straight back off of the backstop and caught me right in the ear!  Hurt like hell and ear was ringing for the rest of the game but seems ok today, never been hit there before in 20+ years!

 

This is one of the reasons I wear a helmet on anything with a short backstop. Had the same thing happen last year...but had the helmet.

[semper_fi_72]

HSM!!!!!

Had one bounce off the net and hit the top of my head this year.

Parents laughed but I didn't feel it.

[Mike Prince]

Agree HSM is the only thing that could have saved you here.  I am a mask guy but have been considering a HSM lately, at least for fields like this.

[plateumpire]

HSM!!!!!

Had one bounce off the net and hit the top of my head this year.

Parents laughed but I didn't feel it.

I had one hit the top of my head too. I use an HSM and I hardly felt it.

[Typhoon]

About 20 years ago I used to umpire a softball league that was way out in the sticks. The field was just a cow pasture that they had converted into a "field of dreams". It was a pretty rough place to play. The backstop was a home built affair that was a bit too close to the plate. You literally leaned on the backstop to call a game. I can't tell you how many foul balls hit the backstop and hit me on the head or shoulders. You soon learned that when a foul ball occurred your arms automatically went to cover your head. It became almost a reflex action. The place did have lights such as they were. It was like trying umpire with a dim flashlight. 

 

Tony