Re: Baseball's Safety Police

On 27 Mar 2006 10:34:28 -0800, "smacdo"
<not_your_grandfathers_email@xxxxxxxxxxx> quacked:


Bob K wrote:
If you thought Congress inquiring about steroids was a waste of time...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.baseball22mar22,0,7892062.story

What always makes me laugh in situations like this is these guys who
are proposing these laws *grew up* playing baseball with no goggles,
hockey with minimal gear, no car seats, no seatbelts in cars, violence
in cartoons, playing in the streets, no warning labels on albums, and a
whole host of other things that would now seem dangerous or wrong.

Being as they are now the lawmakers, they turned out ok it would seem.
No?

We are raising a generation of wimps.

Really? Wearing a seatbelt makes you a wimp?

The point of ordering something like goggles, rather than leaving it
to choice, is that a player at that age really can't decide to wear
goggles. Now, I have no idea if there are good reasons for the kids
that age to wear goggles playing ball. It probably would have been
unnecessary in the games I played at that age --- we move the pitcher
back from the little league mound. But the little league mound is
clearly too close to the plate when the pitcher is oversized and at
the upper age limit. The kids have much less reaction time than a MLB
hitter facing Pedro (I made that up, but it is roughly right).

So, it is at least possible that goggles are a good idea. I would not
consider making them mandatory without supporting stats. It clearly is
an imposition and an expense. My inclination is that they are probably
not necessary.

However, if we decided on good evidence that goggles are highly
desirable, they have to be mandated. Otherwise, people like you are
going to call people like me a wimp <g>. ("Me" being the sensible
people who would like to wear the goggles if it is the sensible thing
to do, and "you" being a fictional character opposed to goggles for
political reasons.) Being a wimp, I'll be too embarrassed to wear the
goggles unless everyone had to wear them.

Look at how long it took in hockey to get players to wear appropriate
headgear. Even for goalies to wear masks. I think we can agree that
there are not a lot of wimps playing professional hockey.
--McDuck
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Dictionary of smd Insults
    ... Putting on your goggles to Google ... ... If you don't wear your goggles ... ... >> relatively the same age but choosing to exaggerate the age of the one ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Too old to play???
    ... Most of the people I have been playing with are in their 20's. ... spiked hair and is trying to be in his 20's. ... I wouldn't complain about acting his age and his hair if I were you.. ... I wear it most of the time. ...
    (alt.guitar.bass)
  • Re: stick talk
    ... Why do people insist that playing a "rock" gig, ... First and foremost, when I used 5A's on my rock gigs, I was ... Did you wear them out first then ... I almost never break sticks that aren't worn out, but my "rim shot spot" ...
    (rec.music.makers.percussion)
  • Re: stick talk
    ... Why do people insist that playing a "rock" gig, ... First and foremost, when I used 5A's on my rock gigs, I was ... Did you wear them out first then ...
    (rec.music.makers.percussion)
  • Re: stick talk
    ... Why do people insist that playing a "rock" gig, ... Anybody playing harder/rockin' stuff with thinner ... Did you wear them out first then ... nailing the rim shots more often they tend to wear out faster. ...
    (rec.music.makers.percussion)