On Friday, MLB announced that a new form of head protection was approved for use beginning immediately. The major change, per ESPN’s Outside the Lines, is adding detachable padding that can be worn outside the cap, as opposed to the padding being included on the inside.
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Last year’s isoBLOX cap, manufactured by Pinwrest, garnered too many complaints from pitchers about lack of depth perception and comfort. MLB is hoping that this year’s new design, which maintains a more natural feel due to the padding being on the outside of the cap, might be more suitable to pitchers’ preferences.
“Our first priority is making sure of safety,” said MLB vice president and deputy general counsel for labor relations Patrick Houlihan, per ESPN. “And hopefully this product that is worn over a normal cap will be more user-friendly and versatile for pitchers to try on and determine if it’s for them.”
