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" Charlie O&amp;#039;Brien saw the light after he saw the stars.  The star catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays doesn&amp;#039;t remember the specific game, but he does recall seeing stars after getting smashed in his mask by two consecutive foul-tip balls in Atlanta. O&amp;#039;Brien says it was like getting punched in the face. &amp;quot;There are times when you get hit with a 90-mph-plus ball and you lose sight of what you&amp;#039;re doing\u2013even where you are\u2013for a while.&amp;quot;  The problem is that newer, lighter masks don&amp;#039;t absorb shocks like the older, heavier ones. So now, more of the impact is transmitted to the head. And catcher abuse isn&amp;#039;t limited to foul balls. The trend of batters coming around with 1-arm follow-through swings often results in a beaner for the player squatting behind the plate.  The idea for a new catcher&amp;#039;s mask (a helmet, actually) struck O&amp;#039;Brien while he was watching hockey. A goalie would get smacked in the head with a frozen puck, which is harder and denser than a baseball (a ball actually compresses under impact, a puck does not), and he&amp;#039;d just shake it off. Why couldn&amp;#039;t the same kind of protection benefit catchers? O&amp;#039;Brien&amp;#039;s vision was a mask that transmitted minimal shock, deflected bats and balls and used a stainless-steel cage positioned closer to the face so the bars would not obstruct the catcher&amp;#039;s vision.   O&amp;#039;Brien worked with Van Velden Mask Inc., of Ontario, Canada, the All-Star Division of Ampac Enterprises and Major League Baseball to develop his idea. The new design, called the All-Star MVP and recently approved by Major League Baseball, takes only its shell construction\u2013a 7-layer sandwich of fiberglass, Kevlar and other materials\u2013from the hockey mask. Also, the MVP&amp;#039;s shell and wire cage are integrated, obsoleting the traditional field cap/mask combination. And the MVP stays put, centered in front of the catcher&amp;#039;s face, while a traditional mask tends to slide to the side of the face as a result of hand and head motions used, for example, in throwing out a base runner.  The back of the MVP helmet is hinged using a top strap so catchers can easily flip it up and off for better vision when chasing fly balls. But the flip could soon be a thing of the past, because the new mask gives 40% greater vertical and 50% greater peripheral visibility compared to a conventional mask. So there&amp;#039;s really no need to remove it. O&amp;#039;Brien adds that when you flip a mask off, &amp;quot;You usually end up stepping on it anyway.&amp;quot;   The shape of the helmet provides as much protection as its construction does\u2013maybe even more. The more angular surface deflects balls much better than a conventional mask, which is relatively flat. O&amp;#039;Brien says that you can get hit square in the forehead by a ball and barely feel it. In light of the beating O&amp;#039;Brien has taken in his 30 years of catching, this helmet makes playing the game a lot more fun. Face protection comes from the 3/16-in. solid-core stainless-steel wire that&amp;#039;s first spot welded, then TIG welded and then powder-coated. Conventional wire masks now used are made of a hollow-core wire that can bend. A foul tip can punch into the cage to the point where, if you wear glasses, they can break and cut your eye. It has happened. Many catchers go through six to eight masks a year because the wires get twisted. But the solid-core wire does not bend.  The cage is screwed right into the shell, making the entire helmet a single shock-absorbing mass. Now, a catcher wears a double layer-a cap with a padded mask on top of it-but the reduced bulk of just the helmet padding will allow the cage to sit closer to his face.   In baseball, form follows function-to a point. The sport is very traditional. Although a catcher&amp;#039;s mask using a cage flush with the helmet at the sides would have been smoother (less for a foul tip to catch), Major League Baseball did not want a Darth Vader look. Traditional masks flare almost straight out at the sides. The MVP cage is a compromise, flaring out at about 45 degrees. The shell cutaway at the bottom that shows a lot of the chin pad is also a concession to tradition. But tradition sometimes makes concessions to business. So don&amp;#039;t be surprised if the helmet is modified at some point to incorporate a minicam-for a catcher&amp;#039;s perspective of the action. And hold the stars, please. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/sports/a236/1283166/>