Injury Scout - Jerry Layne Exits in NY After Hit to Head

[Lindsay]

HP Umpire Jerry Layne left Wednesday's #RedSox-#Mets game in New York after a foul ball off the mask, a day after Kerwin Danley took a similar shot to the head in California. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Mets batter Francisco Lindor fouled a 94-mph 1-0 fastball from Red Sox pitcher Nick Pavetta...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

View the full article

[conbo61]

First and foremost I hope Jerry and Kerwin recover fully from these hits.

Does it seem that Layne was too far over the plate?  Seems like the hit might not have been as severe if he were more in the slot?

[Aging_Arbiter]

I haven't seen Jerry's incident yet.  Kerwin looked like he had that helmet with the Shocks, you know, the one with the big ugly yellow W on it?  .....and sure looked to me like he got knocked out.

These are the guys that are supposed to be "the best".  Have the best equipment. Etc.

ok, so I'll be the Jerry McGuire.  Isn't it time that more safety gets focused on the umpires?  Granted, technology has advanced tremendously over the years.  But.........is it enough? Masks with shocks or springs, skull caps, mask pads, etc. yeah, that's great.   Is there anything else that can be done?  

Stormtrooper uniforms aside, does anyone have any thoughts on this?   I'm just thinking out loud here, but if someone could come up with a novel approach, new idea, revolutionary break through (call it what you will), it could be the next advancement in umpire protection/safety!

[Jimurray]

Tight mask transmitted full force and maybe full force through the hard brim of the helmet. But someone at that level wants the umpire's mask to stay on when hit.

[SH0102]

Unfortunately, there are only two components to force...mass and acceleration.  Mass of the ball isn’t changing and acceleration is increasing over time, not decreasing.

But my father just retired from engineering and is seriously a savant at making anything.

You may have just given me his next project, and if successful, a path to riches

[MadMax]

14 hours ago, Aging_Arbiter said:

does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Here it comes! You all know what I’m about to launch into a rant about! 
 

Ahem. HOW MUCH LONGER are we, the umpire community and especially Major League Baseball Umpires, going to continue to tolerate and excuse Wilson’s inability, failure, ineptitude, and abject refusal to improve their protective products???!!! 

I emphatically hope and pray that Jerry Layne is alright, and has all his faculties about him... but I’m willing to wager significant money that if he was wearing a Force3 Defender, or an All-Star FM5K (with the reinforced pads), or even Team Wendy pads, he’s leaving that impact in a far better condition than with that Wilson Dynalite with doeskin pads!! Heck, even if Force3 was to make pads in a “generic” attachment method, to attach to any conventional mask, the improvement in protection would be drastic!! But what prerogative or incentive does Force3 have in doing so, when every f#€king mask in MLB must be bereft of all logos other than the big yellow W??!! What incentive is there for Team Wendy to ramp up production and continue to make mask pads for umpires when nobody, save the few here on U-E, knows who they are, what they are about, or how their products work and are so vastly superior to Wilson’s??!! 

Stop it, MLB! Stop making excuses for them!!