Getting hit with a baseball hurts, whether you're a 60-to-75 pound nine or ten year-old kid getting hit by a 47.5 MPH pitch or a Major Leaguer (who probably weighs 3-to-4 times what that ten year-old kid weighs) getting hit by a 95 MPH pitch.

If any of you follow Major League Baseball you know that new rules were implemented a few years ago to protect Major League players by expelling and suspending pitchers who purposely throw at a batter. As a result, a Major League pitcher can now be thrown out of a game - and possibly suspended - if, in the umpire's opinion, he purposely throws at even one batter, regardless of whether the batter is hit or not.

While simply changing the rules may work at the Major League level - where, prior to the new rules, many, if not most of the batters hit by pitches were hit purposely by the pitcher - it won't work for youth baseball since hopefully all of the batters hit by pitches at that level are not hit purposely.

So while Major League Baseball has adapted, youth baseball hasn't, and young batters are hit by pitches much more frequently than Major Leaguers. Why? There are probably several reasons.

One reason is that it's a fact that young children lack the physical coordination of older children and adults, which helps explain both why so many young pitchers hit batters with pitches and why so many young batters are hit by pitches. Add in the fact that - because the pitching rubber in youth baseball is usually located 14'6" closer to home plate than in Major League Baseball - young batters don't have much more time, if any, to react to an errant pitch than Major Leaguers, it's no mystery why so many young batters are hit by pitches.

Approximately 1/3 of the children who start playing organized baseball at the age of eight or nine have quit playing by the time they are eleven years old. Approximately 2/3 of the children who start playing organized baseball at the age of eight or nine have quit playing by the time they are thirteen years old.

Conversely, if you study the roster of a seventh grade football or basketball team, and then look at that same group of kids as seniors in high school, many times the kids who were not the stars, the starters or even on the team as seventh graders have become the stars and starters as seniors.

Why the difference between sports? Many coaches, parents, league officials and former players attribute the low retention rate in youth baseball to the fear of getting hit by the ball while batting and the poor batting skills that result from that fear, especially if a child has been hit previously.

If you don't think that that plays a big part, consider the following segment from a 2003 PBS report by Jeffrey Kaye in which he interviewed John Young, who started Major League Baseball's RBI program, which stands for 'Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities":

JEFFREY KAYE: "RBI's founder is former major league scout John Young, who started the program in south L.A. in 1989. Young says even the toughest inner-city kids can be intimidated by baseball."

JOHN YOUNG: "The toughest thing to do in sports is hit a baseball. So many kids that haven't played are afraid of the ball. We get kids who come into this program, they are kids from tough neighborhoods-- they see a lot of gang violence, you know, tough kids-- but they are afraid of baseball. They are afraid of being hit by a baseball.

Need further convincing? Following is the partial text of an article from the June 26, 2004 edition of Chicago Tribune titled "Prior shows Sox who's in control" (and sub-titled "Cubs ace just wild enough in 5-inning stint"):

"The moment of truth for Mark Prior came in the third inning Friday after he knocked Frank Thomas off the plate with a 1-2 fastball that irritated the White Sox slugger. The Cubs starter followed with a curve on the outside corner that buckled Thomas' knees for a called third strike……From his first pitch, which sent leadoff man Aaron Rowand reeling backward, Prior had Sox batters wondering what was coming next, whether the strategy was intentional or not…..Early in the game I was a little bit wild, and I think it helped me over the course of the game."

Additionally, on a relatively recent broadcast of ESPN's Baseball Tonight, a Major League batter's fear of getting hit with the ball was indirectly addressed when the panel discussed Major League batters' improved performance under the new rules because they don't have to be (quite so) afraid of getting plunked - especially in retaliation for an earlier hit batsman - due to a pitcher's fear of being suspended.

It's interesting that in lacrosse - which has exploded onto the youth sports scene in sections of the country recently - many of the players, particularly at the youth level, wear protective gear on their torso - and seem to not only not mind it, but get a kick out of it. And this is even though no one is purposely throwing the ball, which is less dense than a baseball, in their direction. As a matter of fact, the idea in lacrosse is to keep the ball away from the opposing players.

If you follow Major League Baseball you have probably noticed the increasing number of foreign players in recent years. One of the possible reasons for this shift is that children in the United States simply have more recreational options, including other sports, than children in many other countries, and when children are presented with more recreational options, those options viewed less favorably lose out.

Is baseball viewed less favorably than other recreational options, including other sports? Many kids who quit playing baseball at a relatively young age either continue or go on to play other sports.

Lastly, if you would like your child or the children in your league to have more fun, develop better skills, be more successful, get hurt less often, and, because of the foregoing, play the game longer, then consider the use of a baseball batting safety vest.

PRO VESTŪ safety vests are comprised of closed-cell PVC foam padding encased in a lightweight shell that has an air-permeable, moisture-wicking nylon fabric on the outside and a moisture-wicking nylon mesh for the inner lining. The foam padding is perforated with air holes to provide for better air circulation to help keep the underlying torso cool and dry.

Since the shell is made from nylon, it's durable enough to stand up to the normal, expected use of a PRO VESTŪ safety vest for quite awhile, especially since headfirst slides are prohibited while wearing the vest. Similar to other garments comprised of lightweight fabric, however, the vest shell can tear in certain situations. How long is quite awhile? It's hard to speculate due to all of the variables, so suffice it to say that like other sports garments - baseball pants for example - the vest will wear out over time and with use. The harder the use, the faster the vest will wear out.

It's your decision whether to wear your PRO VESTŪ safety vest on the basepaths or remove it when possible. Most potential consumers/parents/coaches have indicated that the vest would be worn on the basepaths. Our product research uncovered many situations where baserunners had been hit by the baseball. The variety of ways the baserunner can be hit - overthrown relay throws, off target catchers' throws down to third base to catch a base stealer, line drives hitting a baserunner taking a lead off of third base, off target throws into a base to either force out or tag a runner - suggest that it might be wise to wear the vest on the basepaths. Remember, however, that headfirst slides are prohibited while wearing the vest and that repeated sliding into bases will shorten the useful life of your vest due to the wear and tearing that result.

There is no guarantee or warranty that any PRO VESTŪ rib protector or vest will protect the wearer from injury of any kind. This particularly relates to the rare phenomenon known as Commotio Cordis, defined as sudden death resulting from an impact to the chest in which there is no structural damage to the vital organs. As with other sports protective equipment that does not guarantee or warranty protection from injury, we leave it to the consumer to decide if wearing some padding is better than wearing no padding at all.

We recommend checking with your coach, doctor, league officials, athletic trainer or other appropriate party for guidance before purchasing a PRO VESTŪ rib protector or safety vest to determine if the impact forces experienced in a particular sport are greater than the protection provided by a PRO VESTŪ rib protector or safety vest. Please be aware that PRO VESTŪ rib protectors and safety vests have not been tested to determine their effectiveness in protecting the wearer from injury in any sport. Please reference the question Have PRO VESTŪ vests been tested to determine their effectiveness? for further information.

Certain sports, due to the impact forces to the torso experienced, may need more protection than is provided by a PRO VESTŪ rib protector or safety vest. As such, check with your coach, doctor, league officials, athletic trainer or other appropriate party for guidance before purchasing a PRO VESTŪ rib protector or safety vest to determine if the impact forces experienced in a particular sport are greater than the protection provided by a PRO VESTŪ rib protector or safety vest. That being said, PRO VESTŪ rib protectors and safety vests may be suitable for softball, soccer, paintball, flag football, field hockey, martial arts, non-contact football scrimmages and, especially if used in combination with our optional lacrosse shoulder pad, ice hockey, roller hockey, skateboarding and inline skating. Please be aware that PRO VESTŪ rib protectors and safety vests have not been tested to determine their effectiveness in protecting the wearer from injury in any sport. Please reference the question Have PRO VESTŪ vests been tested to determine their effectiveness? for further information.

Like any other garment, your PRO VESTŪ safety vest will wear out over time and with use. The center-chest pad(s) should be removed from the vest periodically and checked for signs of wear, tears, weakness, disintegration, compression, brittleness and stiffness. The internal padding should be checked periodically for signs of wear, tears, weakness, disintegration, compression, brittleness and stiffness. A faded vest may signal that the internal foam padding and/or center-chest pad is worn, torn, weak, compressed, brittle or stiff, or has disintegrated. The vest shell and center-chest pad pocket should also be checked for wear and tears. Dispose of the vest if the internal foam padding is worn, torn, weak, compressed, stiff, brittle or missing, or has disintegrated, or the vest shell or center-chest pad pocket is worn or torn. Replace any center-chest pad that is worn, torn, weak, compressed, brittle, or has disintegrated.

If they can't get out of the way of the ball, baseball batters are taught to turn their head and chest away from, and their back toward an errant pitch in order to "take the pitch in the back," and thus protect their face and front. Due to the recent rule change in lacrosse prohibiting players from blocking shots with their bodies, we expect that lacrosse players will now react similar to baseball batters, and turn their head and chest away from, and their back toward, a lacrosse ball if they cannot get out of the way, instead of trying to block the shot with their chest.