This is Why Alex Torres Wears a Funny-Looking Cap

Omar Villegas - 05/14/15 - things that matter
Alex Torres Baseball Cap credit: Mike Stobe / Getty

This is New York Mets pitcher Alex Torres.

Alex Torres

 

Photo Credit: Elsa / Getty

You’re probably asking yourself: “What’s the deal with his cap?”

Torres is the first — and only — MLB player to wear this huge padded cap.

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Photo: Mike Stobe / Getty

It’s designed to protect ballplayers from life-threatening head injuries. Torres, a left-handed relief pitcher, wears the MLB-approved cap to protect him from “comebackers.”

Torres has seen the damage a baseball can do.

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When he played for the Tampa Bay Rays, Torres’ teammate, Alex Cobb, was hit in the head by a line drive.

Cobb’s standard MLB cap did little to protect his head.

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Players from both teams watched Cobb in agony.

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Cobb had to leave the game with a mild concussion.

As Cobb was taken off in a stretcher, guess who replaced him?

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Alex Torres. When asked about Cobb, Torres told the New York Times: “I thought he died.”

When traded to the San Diego Padres, Torres began wearing this hat.

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Photo Credit: Kent Horner / Getty

Torres continued to be deeply affected by incident involving his former teammate, Alex Cobb.

And the Twitter jokes began:

But getting hit in the head with a baseball is no laughing matter.

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In 2012, Brandon McCarthy needed surgery for a skull fracture and brain contusion after he was hit in the head by a comebacker.

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Last year, Cincinnati Reds left-hander Aroldis Chapman suffered facial fractures when a line drive struck him above the left eye during a spring training game.

Chapman shared this post-surgery photo on Instagram.

Mi gente todo esta bien gracias a dios ya salimos de todo tipo de problema estoy aquí esperando q me den de alta

A photo posted by Aroldis Chapman (@_thecubanmissile54) on

But guys don’t get hit that often, right?

Well, it happened again this year.

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Cleveland Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco suffered a bruised jaw after this comebacker during a game in April.

So Torres continues to wear his funny-looking hat.

It’s a different version from last year’s. Although the hat does not protect Torres from facial injuries like the ones Chapman and Carrasco suffered, it is designed to protect players from potentially life-threatening injuries, like getting hit in the temple.

And, of course, the jokes continue.

Keep laughing, Alex Torres isn’t listening.

“I don’t care how I look, I care about the protection,” Torres told ESPN.

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