College baseball coaches will now be required to wear helmets when coaching bases. Baseball’s adoption of the rule comes on the heels of Major League Baseball requiring the same of their base coaches.

In April, the Double- A Zone took up the helmet question, advocating a similar helmet mandate be adopted by the college ranks. Readers of the initial post reacted passionately. Most realized the MLB rule would likely trickle down to other levels, including college.

 “Mandating helmets for MLB coaches will almost certainly help move this trend down the line to high school and college teams,” wrote Max. “Baseball has for decades maintained a hidebound, traditional culture. Nostalgia is an essential part of the game’s allure, probably more so than the other major sports. When did they start playing night games at Wrigley Field? It won’t be immediate, but the only way to change unsafe traditions is at the top.”

Not all readers were as resolute and positive as Max. 

Mark Mentone wrote:

“The issue is likely not one of vanity, or even tradition, but one of comfort. The coach wants to focus on the game and anything that is the least bit uncomfortable can be a distraction. I’m a high-school umpire and I would prefer not to wear a hardhat, at least when working the bases.

“This is the knee-jerk PR move that happens after almost any tragedy. That doesn’t make it a bad thing. But it’s impossible to prevent everything with a .001 percent chance of occurrence from happening. Wearing helmets is a commendable idea, but I guess I don’t understand the disbelief as to why some people would like to see the rule be optional. It’s really not that big a deal.

“Plus the helmets worn in pro ball don’t have earflaps. Will we have to go thru all of this discussion again when some guy wearing the hardhat takes a line drive in the earlobe? Where does it end?”

According to Ty Halpin, associate director of playing rules administration at the NCAA, the MLB rule brought the committee’s attention to the issue, but it was the reflection of many committee members that sealed the recommendation’s passage. Many members remembered close calls where a ball nearly hit them.

“The more we talked about it, the more it made sense,” Halpin said. “Coaches aren’t always paying attention to the pitched ball; they’re often focusing on the runners.”

It remains to be seen if college coaches will take issue with the rule the way many major league coaches, like Larry Bowa have. Bowa, the third-base coach for the Dodgers, initially refused to wear the helmet, telling various media outlets he’d walk to the base wearing shin guards, a chest protector and a facemask to make his point.

Regardless of the outcome, coaches will be better protected and less likely to suffer deadly consequences, and that’s good news for college baseball.