In 2012, Oakland Athletic’s pitcher Brandon McCarthy was struck in the head by a baseball off the bat of the Los Angeles Angels’ Erick Aybar. McCarthy likely would have died without emergency brain surgery.

Since then, pitchers have been struck by line drives up the middle at an alarming rate. Just over a week ago, Diamondback’s pitcher Archie Bradley was struck. Surely by now, one ought to be able to find a realistic manner of protection for pitchers, right? That has yet to happen.

One pitcher for the New York Mets, Alex Torres, does in fact choose to wear protective gear on his head. Torres is often teased for the ridiculous-looking padding on his cap. There are options for head protection, but most athletes deem them either too ineffective or not ‘cool’ enough.

“I don’t care how it looks, I care about the protection,” Torres told ESPN. If no action is taken soon, pitchers of all ages will be risking their lives every time they step onto a mound.