Son plays on a high profile 18 under team. The pitchers usually throw in the 85-90 range. This weekend they played a night game on a field that had poor lighting. Son said he had trouble seeing the ball.
Anyway early in the game he caught one that hit the bone on his palm right below the index finger and his hand started to swell, the swelling and pain became so great he had to pull himself out in the fourth inning.
The question this brings up is how to protect against this happening again or avoiding it. Is it strickly a question of technique? Was he unlucky to catch it where it could do damage? (he has never had this problem in day games) Could it be his mitt? (He is currently using a Rawlings Gold Glove model) Is there a pad available on the market to place in the glove for added protection or would this limit feel for the ball?

Any feedback from similar experiences or solutions is greatly appreciated.

He's a catcher - if this part of his hand doesn't always hurt then he's catching pitchers who can't throw. Overall this part of his hand is going to hurt for a very long time.

Hand injuries are pretty common in catchers - the bruise your talking about, sore thumbs and hurt wrists.

I had an 86 mph fastball run away from my hand once and the ball moved at the last instnat. I couldn't adjust fast enough and it bent my thumb back. That hurt for years.

As for something that might help him is this one thing I used to do in college. Take your hand and slightly pull your hand out of the mitt on fastballs. Now most of your palm is out of the mitt and now the top of the finger should be there where the palm used to be.

Traveler,
Yes, there are padded gloves catchers can wear under the mitt that helps. Palm Guard and Champro are two that manufacture these that are designed for catchers. I also agree with Coach2709 in that leaving a slight air space between the palm and the mitt reduces the "shock" of the ball. So, technique does factor in. Sore thumbs are prevented by using a material commonly referred to as "hard thumb" but is actually a thermoplastic splinting material that becomes malleable in hot water and is then formed to fit around the thumb and is worn (and stays) inside the mitt. I begged some splinting material for my son while he was in high school from our local AA team. It is also very common for catchers to tape their wrists to reduce the over-flexing caused by the impact of the ball.
Fungo

I used Palm Guard back in college and really liked it. I would definately suggest getting one. As for the mold they didn't have that back when I played in high school (early 90's) and college so I don't know how well that works but if Fungo says it's good then you can take it to the bank.

I never taped my wrists because I always had pretty strong forearms and hands so the flex on impact wasn't that big of a deal but the tape will never hurt him.

Baseballboydeuce's suggestion is actually pretty good and is what I was going to suggest. I can pretty much bet that a lot of professional catchers use these ones. That is a very good price as if you went to an orthopedic doctor it would definitely cost a lot more for him to make you one. I know this through experience, because I messed up my hand once before Cooperstown a long way back and had one of these made for my hand. I was eventually moved to 1st because of size, but I used that for about 4 more years afterwards without any thumb injuries. Another thing I can recommend, although it may be cost prohibitive, is to go out there and spend money on a nice Rawlings Pro Preferred. If you are going to do this, get once that is 34" or 34.5". I never ha done of these, but I know a few catchers in the minors and all of them have told me how much easier it is to catch with a 34" glove, especially when you make the transition from high school to college.

I hope this helps.

Anyone familiar with a product that came out last year called evoshield?

I've heard good things about the evoshield thumb protector, they have 2 different kinds, my friend had the hourglass. and for $20, its worth a try.



cutters also makes a great fielding glove with lots of padding, and it does not slide out of the mitt, something that always bothered me. good padding and tackiness to keep your hand in the glove.