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Alex Torres May Look Funny In This Baseball Cap, But It Could Save His Life

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This article is more than 9 years old.

He likely will get nicknamed “The Great Gazoo”, a reference to the alien that came to visit Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. But given the injuries that have occurred with line-drives batted back up the middle, only to find the pitcher’s head in the way, to horrific effects, no one should blame him.

Last night, San Diego Padres reliever Alex Torres became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to try a new padded cap designed by manufacturer 4Licensing Corporation called the isoBLOX Protective Cap designed to increase protection from balls traveling at 90 mph if struck in the front, and 85 mph on the sides where damage to the temples can occur.

See video of Torres wearing the cap

Slightly wider than the standard head covering, the cap is fitted with uniquely-formulated protective plates that use a combination of dispersion and absorption techniques to diffuse energy upon impact with a high-velocity object.

The hats were approved for use by MLB and the MLB Players Association in late January of this year before the start of the 2014 season.

While some players balk at the caps due to fashion, or some say, how it affects their delivery, others are getting ready to adopt the caps. Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Alex Cobb plans to endorse its use after having a line-drive by Eric Hosmer of Kansas City Royals hit Cobb in the head in 2013. That incident had Cobb taken off on a stretcher and wind up on MLB’s 7-day DL for concussion.

"I want to be a part of the evolution toward introducing this successfully at the big league level and I think the best way to do it is by starting at youth ages," Cobb said.

isoBlox cap, shown with padding

Follow Maury Brown on Twitter @BizballMaury