Brandon McCarthy sounds off on pitcher headgear after Happ injury

Brandon McCarthy, then with the A's, was struck in the head by a line drive last September. (AP) In the aftermath of J.A. Happ's injury, Cliff Corcoran weighed

Brandon McCarthy, then with the A's, was struck in the head by a line drive last September. (AP)

In the aftermath of J.A. Happ's injury, Cliff Corcoran weighed in with a look at the current state of protective wear. He noted that while Major League Baseball examined a variety of safety devices this past winter, the league wasn't satisfied with the level of protection afforded by four devices they tested.

On Wednesday afternoon, Brandon McCarthy — who due to a September skull fracture is all too familiar with this issue — weighed in on the matter via his Twitter account (@BMcCarthy32), which incidentally is one of the best of any athlete's:

https://twitter.com/BMcCarthy32/statuses/332213524350767104

https://twitter.com/BMcCarthy32/status/332213848130072576

https://twitter.com/BMcCarthy32/status/332215236457267200

Those words echo what McCarthy said on ESPN's Outside the Lines back in March:

"The stuff that's out there already is no good at all," McCarthy said. "It seems like it's still a long way away. I don't even care if it's MLB-approved. I just want something that's functionally approved by me."

…"I purchased a couple of cricket helmets on my own to see if I could make something out of it, if it was something that worked," he said. "I actually feel like even with the face mask and all, I could get used to that quicker than I could with a half-shell [hard] helmet [like first- and third-base coaches and some catchers wear]."

nine devices