Why is everyone cutting the throat guards off theirs masks?

[maineump]

I am noticing many masks that have the metal guards cut off from the bottom of masks. I have even seen pictures of them on here.

My question is why? Isn't the metal that is cut off part of the safety of the mask? I have a Mizuno that is designed that way, but can't see myself cutting protection away if the mask has it on it.

Is there something new or is this sort of a throw-back look?

[gnhbua93]

They want to be "cool as Blaser"

[Platejob29]

It's more of an old school thing. For a  long time I wondered the same thing until I became a "defector". I had my normal old Nike Ti and saw a few guys with their Nikes chopped and thought "how could anyone ever do that?" Fast forward a little bit and I had my Nike out on loan to a friend and was using my Mizuno that came with no chin and fell in love with the feel. Then when I got the Nike back it was only a few hours before I had the chin off of that. It's just a comfortable way to wear a mask. As far as safety it is actually probably a little safer than your standard set up. Without the chin there it takes away a flat point on the mask that can "catch" the ball and  allows a little more built in dispersion. Plus you've got the throat guard there that keeps balls in the dirt off your throat. And for the integrity of the frame concern when you cut the chin off it's really no different than the Japanese style masks that come without a chin. They simply the the extra step and do it for you. Back in the day they used to wear masks with chopped chins and no throat guard. Dan Iassogna has a picture online from the mid 2000s that he's wearing a chopped FM25 with no throat guard on it. 

[JaxRolo]

Don't do it!

[maineump]

It's more of an old school thing. For a  long time I wondered the same thing until I became a "defector". I had my normal old Nike Ti and saw a few guys with their Nikes chopped and thought "how could anyone ever do that?" Fast forward a little bit and I had my Nike out on loan to a friend and was using my Mizuno that came with no chin and fell in love with the feel. Then when I got the Nike back it was only a few hours before I had the chin off of that. It's just a comfortable way to wear a mask. As far as safety it is actually probably a little safer than your standard set up. Without the chin there it takes away a flat point on the mask that can "catch" the ball and  allows a little more built in dispersion. Plus you've got the throat guard there that keeps balls in the dirt off your throat. And for the integrity of the frame concern when you cut the chin off it's really no different than the Japanese style masks that come without a chin. They simply the the extra step and do it for you. Back in the day they used to wear masks with chopped chins and no throat guard. Dan Iassogna has a picture online from the mid 2000s that he's wearing a chopped FM25 with no throat guard on it. 

I was a catcher back in the day - did not have a metal addition on the bottom of the mask and DID have a 'dangling' throat guard. We didn't cut them off - they just didn't have them. I believe it was Steve Yeager who put the first throat guard on a mask - and they have progressed to what they are today.

The metal one that is now on the mask is MUCH SAFER than any throat guard you can add. If the ball hits the flat point in front, then I would rather have it hit there than hitting a throat guard that I added - those come loose, break or just aren't put on there properly.

[MadMax]

When I was a wee-little catcher, I had a "snoopy" helmet (looks like a double ear flap helmet with the front sliced off) and a dangling throat guard... and hated them both. Upon entry to 60-90 baseball, we could wear a two-piece mask, so of course with joy I started wearing a brimless skull cap. Little did I know that it looked like a bedpan upside down on your head, but no matter – at least my ears didn't get tore up when I took my mask off! High School was when we finally got access to the mask with extended chin (we thought throat, but it doesn't really cover that) guards, and we dumped our danglers and thought we were the coolest catchers on the diamonds.

To this day, I (likely) will never wear an HSM, and it's rare when I put a throat guard on a mask.

Removing the chin guard frees up a dangling "ladle" throat guard to swing and move freely, and it doesn't click against the mask when you yourself move. Easton made the chin guard as small as possible on their Speed Elite, while Diamond (those goofballs) made their throat guards to (easily) attach to the bottom of the chin guard on their DFM-iX3-UMP.

Accordingly, Mizuno also makes some of the best looking (i.e. radical) throat guards around. All-Star makes one that is in the same style as their "trademark" cage layout. Why they (everyone else) keep making those guards that look like shoehorns for Bob Lanier is beyond me.

[Man_In_Black]

I was going to stay out of this "to-saw-or-not-to-saw" debate, but I thought I'd just relay this incident as some food for thought.

A young fellow umpire I know who'd been umpiring for nearly 8 years got a wild hair last year and removed the throat guard from his mask because of (as he put it) "the cool factor". He hung a Mizuno spider on it and used it regularly for HS Varsity and adult rec ball for a few weeks until one day, while calling an adult game, a 92 mph fastball was fouled back and hit the upper part of the dangler near its attachment point...the attachment on one side of the throat guard failed and the spider was driven into his larynx at an angle. His larynx was fractured and (thank God) the home team's 3rd baseman happened to be a medical doctor who was able to perform an emergency tracheotomy on him almost immediately. He was rushed to the hospital a few minutes later and recovered after a few weeks.

This umpire never called another game after that, and his voice has been permanently affected. I can't help but to think that if the mask had been left intact, he probably would've only had his bell rung and perhaps a sore jaw...but nothing life threatening requiring an ambulance ride to the hospital.

I realize we're all big boys (and girls) here and can decide for ourselves which risks we choose to take as far as equipment goes. I don't wanna preach. I mean, I myself can't get used to wearing a dangler at all, so I rely on the mask's throat protection bars. Sawing those off wouldn't work for me, cos then I'd have no protection at all. But I agree with @maineump when he says that the integrated throat guard is much safer than any dangler. And if you have both, that's an extra degree of protection.

 

 

 

[BaltimoreUmpire]

When you have both do you put the dangler on the bottom of the built in guard or behind it?

[Man_In_Black]

Common practice is to attach it behind. Some hang it on the bottom, some in front (commonly seen on Nike masks since the throat extension isn't angled forward as sharply as on other brands). Most important is that when you are in your normal stance for an incoming pitch, the bottom of your dangler will contact your CP and not your throat if pushed back. An improperly mounted dangler can cause just as much injury as none at all.

[kylejt]

If, and where to mount it is a personal thing. The best way to tell is by getting a picture of yourself, in your stance, from the side.

Take MIB's profile pic from above. See that gap? A lot of it can be closed by placing a protector on the inner rung, closer to his throat. If you dangle one off the lower, outboard rung, you'll still have a big gap.

I agree that the new Mizuno protectors better than the rest. They're a bit wider, very light, and kinda cool looking. Got 'em on all my masks, now.

I put a bit of black cloth tape on the lower rung, to prevent clacking.

I use velcro for attaching them, but make sure you have a lot of overlap. I only had about 3/4" of overlap, and the whole thing tore off, and shot 10' feet away from me during a vicious ball attack. It did it's job, but I learned a lesson.

I'll not saw the lower rung off of any of my masks, for the sake of vanity. I'm not saying we all don't do something like this. Hell, we'd all be better protected if used a raft, right? So it's all a tradeoff. Safety vs. comfort and "coolness" . Just go about it with a little education, and weigh the risks.

Going through the fitting process, I found that a slight adjustment to my stance improved a lot of things. I saw that I was leaning out with my neck, and changed that. I got a bit closer to the catcher, and when I dropped in, tucked my chin toward my chest. I just integrated that into my "lock in" procedure, as the pitcher starts his movement. Works for me.

Edited September 1, 2015 by kylejt

[kylejt]

Oh, and the lower rung, that some saw off, is curved outward for catchers, not umpires, It's designed to not drive into the chest of the catcher, as he looks down, and coils up for a ball in the dirt.

Edited September 1, 2015 by kylejt

[umpstu]

Don't do it!

No kidding.  Especially with a Nike you might have paid $500 for.