In another concussion related incident Yorvit Torrealba is borrowing a Wilson Traditional Steel mask from colleague Wilin Rosario as opposed to the titanium Nike Mask he wore prior to the concussion. It turns out the Rockies Head Athletic Trainer Keith Dugger pushed for the switch. I find it interesting that a trainer on a team would have that big of an influence on two catchers—Wilin Rosario has worn a steel mask his whole career and Yorvit is just starting to use one now.
And a tape job is necessary to block out the Wilson “W” because of Yorvit’s contract with Nike. That always tickles me.
Speaking of Wilin Rosario, I’ve wanted to get this of my chest for a while now. An open letter to Wilin Rosario:
Dear Wilin,
How’s it going? I’m glad you’re hitting .289 and all, and great to see you’ve hit 21 homers, good for you. But I’m writing because of this:
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I will not stand for this. This doesn’t work. I am sorry, but, this, this is just a hot sticky mess.
I was never a huge fan of white catchers gear, this was meh. The All Star System 7 makes any color scheme seem okay, but the picture above is not okay! A grown man, nay, a Major League Baseball player, should not wear white and purple catchers gear. They just shouldn’t. It isn’t right.
I mean the purple skull cap seems out of place, the white pads on the mask and not to mention the white face mask makes it even worse. The designs Wilson came up with make the set even worse. Oh, and that brings me to my second rant.
Why must you switch to Wilson? What was wrong with this? Was it for money? Did you like the Wilson glove better? Do you really like the Wilson chest protector and the shin guards better? I don’t know.
Let’s put it at this. I can stand white System 7, I can stand black Wilson, but I will not stand for white Wilson gear. For a good example on how to handle the Rockies colors on the road, look toward Jose Molares. It’s not hard to wear the same freaking colors on the road and at home. It’ really not.
Sincerely,
Noah, Catcher’s Corner
On a happier note. J.R. Murphy made his debut, and as a Yankee fan, I love this guy. Joe Girardi and Tony Pena make a hell of a team when it comes to defensive catching (offense is another story).
J.R. Murphy is an Under Armour guy, which is no huge surprise to me because of his time at the IMG Baseball Academy, which is sponsored by Under Armour. Since Under Armour is a neutral company, meaning they don’t make any gloves, catchers use their gear because they can use any glove they want without breaking any contract. Because of this, Murphy can wear the Wilson glove without infringing on any contracts. Nike is another neutral company.
But whats interesting about J.R. is that he wears an Under Armour hockey helmet. Guys like Buster Posey or Yasmani Grandal used an All Star MVP4000 with the Under Armour gear. (You can tell an MVP4000 from an MVP2500 by the second bar that goes across the top of the facemask.) But Murphy stuck with the Under Armour hockey helmet with the UA logo and the MVP2500 face mask. Nobody else in the Bigs has an Under Armour hockey helmet. I wonder if he’ll switch once any new gear that was ordered comes in. We’ll have to wait and see.
