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Safety Tips 

To help your child avoid injuries while playing baseball or softball, follow these safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and other sports and health organizations. (Note: These tips apply to adult ball players, too.)

• Before your child starts a training program or plays competitive baseball or softball, take him or her to the doctor for a physical exam. The doctor can help assess any special injury risks your child may have.
• Make sure your child wears all the required safety gear every time he or she plays and practices. Insist that your child wear a helmet when batting, waiting to bat, or running the bases. Helmets should have eye protectors, either safety goggles or face guards. Shoes with molded cleats are recommended (most youth leagues prohibit the use of steel spikes). If your child is a catcher, he or she will need additional safety gear: catcher's mitt, face mask, throat guard, long-model chest protector, and shin guards.
• If your child is a pitcher, make sure pitching time is limited. Little League mandates time limits and requires rest periods for young pitchers.
• Insist that your child warm up and stretch before playing.
• Teach your child not to play through pain. If your child gets injured, see your doctor. Follow all the doctor's orders for recovery, and get the doctor's OK before your child returns to play.
• Make sure first aid is available at all games and practices.
• Talk to and watch your child's coach. Coaches should enforce all the rules of the game, encourage safe play, and understand the special injury risks that young players face. Make sure your child's coach teaches players how to avoid injury when sliding (prohibits headfirst sliding in young players), pitching, or dodging a ball pitched directly at them.
• Above all, keep baseball and softball fun. Putting too much focus on winning can make your child push too hard and risk injury.

 Encourage your league to use breakaway bases. These bases, which detach when someone slides into them, can prevent many ankle and knee injuries in both children and adults. Leagues with players 10 years old and under should alter the rules of the game to include the use of adult pitchers or batting tees. Remember, you don't have to be on a baseball diamond to get hurt. Make sure your child wears safety gear and follows safety rules during informal baseball and softball games, too.

Who Is Affected?

In the United States, more than 33 million people participate in organized baseball and softball leagues. Nearly 6 million of these players are 5 to 14 years old. Even though these sports are not considered contact sports, they are associated with a large number of injuries. Hospital emergency departments treat more than 95,000 baseball-related injuries and 30,000 softball-related injuries among players under age 15 each year. The number of injuries among adults is also high, with as many as 8 percent of players sustaining injuries each year.

The majority of injuries in baseball and softball are minor, consisting mostly of abrasions (scrapes), sprains, strains, and fractures. Many of these injuries are to the ankle and knee. Eye injuries are also common in baseball. In fact, baseball is the leading cause of sports-related eye injuries in children. Catastrophic injuries in baseball and softball are rare. They occur most often when players are struck in the head or chest with a ball or a bat. On average, 3 children under age 15 die each year from baseball-related injuries.

Baseball can lead to injuries caused by overusing a certain body part. Pitchers commonly suffer overuse injuries in their elbows or shoulders. As many as 45 percent of pitchers under age 12 have chronic elbow pain, and among high school pitchers, the percentage rises to 58 percent. To prevent these injuries, Little League Baseball, Inc., has set a limit of six innings of pitching per week and requires pitchers to rest between appearances. Teaching proper pitching mechanics can also prevent serious overuse injuries.

Helmets and safety equipment for catchers have brought about reductions in injuries. Little League Rule 1.7 says, A Catcher's helmet must meet NOCSAE specifications and standards. Other safety gear has been added more recently, including eye protectors and face masks on helmets. Chest protectors and softer balls are also being studied for their protective effect.

Making changes to the playing field and the rules of the game can also prevent injuries. Sliding into the base causes more than 70 percent of recreational softball injuries and nearly one-third of baseball injuries. Using bases that break away upon impact can prevent 1.7 million injuries per year. Adding screens or fencing to the dugout and eliminating the on-deck circle protects players from wild pitches, foul balls, and flying bats.

Safety Resources

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Through the public information link on the AAOS home page (www.aaos.org), you can access fact sheets on injury prevention for many popular sports, including baseball. AAOS's phone number is 1-800-346-2267.

American Academy of Pediatrics

Review AAP's policy statement, Risk of Injuries from Baseball and Softball in Children 5 to 14 Years of Age -  (http://www.aap.org/default.htm). AAP's phone number is 847-228-5097.

American Red Cross

If you coach a youth sports team, get advice from the American Red Cross on conditioning young athletes. ARC's phone number is  703-248-4222.

Brain Injury Association

BIA's fact sheet about sports and concussion safety (http://www.biausa.org/Prevfacts.htm) provides data on brain injuries for several sports, including baseball. Call BIA at 1-800-444-6443.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

CPSC's phone number is 1-800-638-2772.

Little League Baseball, Inc.

Link to the Little League home page (www.littleleague.org) to access facts on health and safety.

National SAFE KIDS Campaign

Visit the SAFE KIDS home page (www.safekids.org) to access fact sheets on sports and recreation injuries, or call 202-662-0600.

References 

The data and safety tips in this fact sheet were obtained from the following sources:

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Baseball. Available at http://www.aaos.org/wordhtml/pat_educ/baseball.htm. Accessed July 8, 1999.

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Seminar (Sullivan J, Grana W, editors). The Pediatric Athlete. Park Ridge, IL: The Academy, 1990:141,149-151,259.

American Academy of Pediatrics. Risk of injury from baseball and softball in children 5 to 14 years of age. Pediatrics 1994;93(4):690-692.

American Academy of Pediatrics. Sports Medicine: Health care for young athletes. Elk Grove Village, IL: The Academy, 1991:148-150.

American Red Cross. Red Cross gears up to help prevent sports injuries this spring: coaches advised on proper conditioning of young athletes. News release, May 7, 1998. 

Caine D, Caine C, Lindner K, editors. Epidemiology of Sports Injuries. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1996:63-85.

CDC. Sliding-associated injuries in college and professional baseball - 1990-1991. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1993;42(12):223,229-230.

Institute for Preventative Sports Medicine. Softball injuries: Phase I of a study on the costs, causes and prevention of recreational softball injuries. Available at http://users.aol.com/wwwipsm/pubs/softball_I.html. Accessed July 7, 1999.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Baseball safety. CPSC publication #329. Washington, DC: The Commission.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Reducing youth baseball injuries with protective equipment. Consumer Product Safety Review 1996;1(1):1-4.