it's his equivalent of Bonds' elbow armor. The leagues should really require valid medical reasons for wearing extraneous stuff on their body How is it equivalent to Bonds' elbow pad? What advantage does Hamilton get by wearing the mask, aside from peace of mind? It spreads the force of a blow to the nose across his face. Again, he sorta needs to wear it for the rest of his career. I think he meant what advantage besides his health does he get. Like Bonds pad lets him stand right on top of the plate.