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Coaches grousing over mandatory helmets

By Gerry Fraley, Special to the News

Published March 27, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.

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Dodgers third-base coach Larry Bowa, left, entering his 44th season in baseball, is firmly against being told he must wear a helmet while doing his job. "I understand this is about safety," Bowa said. "But if we get hit in the chest, are we going to have to have chest protectors?" Dodgers manager Joe Torre, right, has persuaded Bowa to reconsider his vow not to wear a helmet - which would lead to an ejection - but the move hasn't lessened Bowa's irritation.

Photo by Keith Srakocic / Associated Press

Dodgers third-base coach Larry Bowa, left, entering his 44th season in baseball, is firmly against being told he must wear a helmet while doing his job. "I understand this is about safety," Bowa said. "But if we get hit in the chest, are we going to have to have chest protectors?" Dodgers manager Joe Torre, right, has persuaded Bowa to reconsider his vow not to wear a helmet - which would lead to an ejection - but the move hasn't lessened Bowa's irritation.

Mike Coolbaugh, the Rockies minor-league coach who was killed when he was hit by a line drive while coaching.

Photo by Otto Greule Jr. / Getty Images

Mike Coolbaugh, the Rockies minor-league coach who was killed when he was hit by a line drive while coaching.

Phillies third-base coach Steve Smith, helmet firmly atop his head, greets player Greg Dobbs during a spring training game. Smith, too, finds the new rule unnecessary, but he understands its intent.

Photo by Nati Harnik / Associated Press

Phillies third-base coach Steve Smith, helmet firmly atop his head, greets player Greg Dobbs during a spring training game. Smith, too, finds the new rule unnecessary, but he understands its intent.

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At the end of each day, Andy Van Slyke is overheated and has a throbbing headache. He wonders about the possibility of a heart attack.

He wonders what general managers were thinking.

In response to the death last summer of Rockies minor-league first- base coach Mike Coolbaugh, general managers issued a directive that requires major league base coaches to wear protective helmets on the field this season.

Coolbaugh was struck in the neck by a line drive and died almost instantly from a brain hemorrhage caused by a compressed artery.

What Atlanta president John Schuerholz described as a "health and safety measure" has received mixed reviews from the principals.

A few coaches view it as just part of the job.

"What's the big deal?" Kansas City third-base coach Luis Silverio said.

Others dread it.

"It's going to be brutal," said Van Slyke, Detroit's first-base coach. "Someone didn't think this through."

Los Angeles Dodgers third-base coach Larry Bowa and Van Slyke described a similar experience.

The helmet squeezes the temples, producing a sharp headache by about the third inning. The helmet also holds the heat, leaving a coach feeling flushed. Van Slyke is going to investigate cooling techniques such as the old-time practice of wearing cabbage leaves underneath the headgear.

"I'm just worried that someone is going to have a heart attack because it gets so hot with that helmet," Van Slyke said. "Someone didn't think this through. I guess some of the new general managers, the Ivy League ones, believe it solves something."

Bowa said he has felt uncomfortable while going through the movement required of his position. The helmet, he said, leaves him disoriented.

"It's like making someone who has written with their right hand all their life start writing with their left hand," Bowa said. "It just doesn't feel right."

Line of fire

Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd brought up the proposal at the GM meetings and spoke on its behalf.

"It was a decision I knew some would like and some wouldn't," O'Dowd said. "We wanted to do what was the right decision, not necessarily one that would be popular with everybody. We knew some coaches would not embrace it. All they have to do is ask Mandy Coolbaugh how she feels.

"A helmet may not have saved (Mike Coolbaugh's) life, but you never know. Baseball is a game of tradition, so there is a resistance. The coaches all wore helmets as hitters, so it's not something totally foreign to them."

Base coaches always have been in the line of fire.

Cincinnati third-base coach Mark Berry was on crutches for a week last season after being hit in the right shin by a sharp grounder.

Florida coach Carlos Tosca missed a month as Arizona's third-base coach in 2006 because of a fractured foot received when he was hit by a line drive.

In the minors, Toronto coach Marty Pevey saw third-base coach Bob Didier get hit in the head by a liner. Didier suffered a concussion and spent two days in a hospital.

It can be hard for the coaches to follow the ball because of the background, their angle and even the fielders.

While coaching first base with Toronto last season, Pevey had problems during a series against the Rockies because first baseman Todd Helton kept sneaking behind runners looking to pick them off.

Self-preservation

Learning to avoid batted or thrown balls is a sixth sense for anyone who has spent a lifetime in the game.

Van Slyke remembers facing intimidating left-hander Randy Johnson in his fifth major league start, when Johnson lacked control.

Van Slyke, a left-handed hitter, never saw an up-and-in pitch but knew how to preserve himself.

"I think I know how to get out of the way," Van Slyke said.

That is at the root of Bowa's disagreement with the policy.

Dodgers manager Joe Torre persuaded him to reconsider a vow not to wear the helmet, which would lead to an ejection, but that has not lessened Bowa's irritation.

He wonders why someone entering his 44th season in the game and 16th as a major league third-base coach was not at least asked his opinion.

Why not, Bowa asked, install a grandfather clause such as the one that led to the phased-in use of batting helmets with earflaps? Why not let coaches make their own decisions and accept the responsibility?

"I understand this is about safety," said Bowa, his emotions rising. "But if we get hit in the chest, are we going to have chest protectors?"

Another storm is brewing.

Last month, the rules committee approved a "comment" to Rule 4.05 that will require coaches to remain anchored in the box until passed by a batted ball.

That goes against the nature of most coaches.

Van Slyke simply shook his head when told of this edict. It is going to be a headache-inducing summer for base coaches.

Staff writer Tracy Ringolsby contributed to this report.

What they're saying

* Glenallen Hill, Rockies first-base coach, who began wearing a helmet last season on his own: "It was something I had been thinking about, and when the tragedy (of Mike Coolbaugh's death) happened, it hit home. How many times does something like that have to happen before you realize the need of change? For me, (wearing the helmet) wasn't an issue at all. I got a lot of support from umpires and other coaches."

* Mike Gallego, Rockies third-base coach: "How can you balk about something that is a safety concern? The only issue I have is to not have a choice on the matter. I'm relatively new (as a coach), but I am not new at reading the ball off the bat. With the helmet, I almost feel more vulnerable because I feel like I am trying to balance the helmet and keep it from falling off instead of reading the ball and reacting."

* Brian Snitker, Atlanta third-base coach: "Do I feel safer? No. I'm more concerned about the broken bats. They seem to track you."

* Bo Porter, Florida third-base coach: "Bottom line, whatever the rule is, I'm going to do what they tell me to do. It comes down to paying attention. Yes, we have less time (to react) on the field, but you could get hit in the head sitting in the stands."

* Marty Pevey, Toronto third-base coach: "It's fine for me to wear a helmet. I'm a nobody. But how about a guy like Larry Bowa, who has 20 years, or whatever, in the big leagues?"

* Chip Hale, Arizona third-base coach: "I have no problem. Obviously, it's a dangerous spot to be in."

* Mark Berry, Cincinnati third-base coach: "I hate it, hate it, hate it. But a rule is a rule, and I have to follow the rules."