one theory I've always had is the helmet provides a false sense of security. Football players use it like a weapon, which is dumb. But the baseball helmet is barely a thing, it really doesn't do much but provide minimal protection from a pitched ball, and players aren't going to go crazy thinking they are protected from it. The softball helmet is like a baseball/football helmet hybrid and it may give some players a false sense of security to play with reckless abandon with regards to their head. Combine that with shorter base paths and shorter infield plays and more opportunity for quick contact and that's why it's exponentially more dangerous. Wasn't thinking of the facemask and stuff. Yea, those softball helmets are overkill. I'm not sure about them being overkill. The pitched softball comes in to the batter at a equivalent rate to 100 mph baseballs from 60', and it's bigger and coming in from a low to high trajectory.