Ken Belson writes about the new carbon fiber batting helmets hitters are required to wear at the plate:

Rawlings set out to make the S100 smaller and lighter while maintaining its strength by switching to carbon fiber. Carbon fiber, though, is far more expensive than plastic, which can be injected into a mold and removed within minutes. Carbon fiber helmets must be cut from sheets and shaped into a helmet, a time-consuming process. Though Rawlings has since streamlined its manufacturing process, the S100 Pro Comp helmets are about five times more expensive to produce.

Nevertheless, at the All-Star Game in 2011, Rawlings showed its carbon fiber prototype to league and players union officials, who later agreed to mandate its use in the new labor agreement they signed that off-season. The introduction of the S100 Pro Comp helmet was not prompted by any rash of injuries or the growing scrutiny of football helmets.

Rather, “it was more of an effort to update safety equipment that has been used for a long period of time to offer better protection,” said Dan Halem, M.L.B.’s senior vice president for labor relations. The Nocsae standard, he noted, is based on balls thrown at 68 m.p.h., “but most pitchers in the M.L.B. throw much higher.”

With baseball revenues rising rapidly, it’s the perfect time to invest in more protection for the heads of the players. I’m very impressed with the way diagnosis and treatment of concussions have changed in the sport over the last decade, and this is just another step in the right direction.