San Diego Padres reliever became the first pitcher to wear a protective baseball cap during an MLB game on Saturday, June 21, 2014.
Alex Torres and his protective cap made MLB history last night - http://t.co/DMYfknTTWV pic.twitter.com/4RCFrjFKxI
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) June 22, 2014
image via Twitter from SportingNews.
A traditional baseball cap molds around the head and weighs roughly three or four ounces. The protective caps not only adds to the thickness of a typical hat but also adds around seven ounces according to BleacherReport.
A close call in spring training apparently scared Torres leading him to acquire one of these caps. While line drives are rarely going to hit a pitcher in the head, Torres expected one thing from wearing the cap – peace of mind.