You're right Jeff. They've lost their marbles.

Do they have helmets and such down there at least? Not that I don't support your idea 100%, it's just that I have no idea how bad or extensive the problem is.

Curious: How many non-catchers in baseball history have suffered catastrophic testicle injuries?

I read Beltre's comments where he said it was too uncomfortable to wear. He said the only time he did was when he was 17 and the Dodgers were fining him for not wearing one, but he was so insistent the team backed down and he's never worn one since. For Beltre, it is not a matter of money.

Sounds like the same reason I haven't worn a tie since 1991, I fnd it horribly uncomfortable having something wrapped around my neck. Beltre didn't think he could play baseball being uncomfortable somewhere else.

Cups are very uncomfortable, how many players actually wear them? I played college football and never wore one, no one did.

I doubt it's a money issue. It's a choice issue. Kids are more comfortable not wearing them.

Do you think people don't wear seatbelts because they "can't afford" them?

Note here that Beltre was paying (accepting fines) NOT to wear a cup, and he said he would FORFEIT HIS PAYCHECK not to wear one:

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Beltre said he never wore a cup while playing on fields full of holes and rocks in Santo Domingo... The only time he's ever worn one was in 1996...and that was only because the Dodgers briefly tried fining him for not wearing one.

"I probably would have paid my whole paycheck to not wear it," he said last year.

After a few fines, the Dodgers stopped because they saw no matter the cost, Beltre was not going to wear a cup.
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The idea of wearing a cup, or a necktie, may be more uncomfortable than the reality of wearing one. We can quibble—does an outfielder or pitcher need to wear a cup—but I think Will is right to worry about 12-year-old boys who a) treat baseball as a vocation and b) don't avail themselves to a basic piece of protective equipment. (To what degree it's a question of cost, and what degree culture, I don't know, though the two things are not entirely unrelated.)

I played high school ball and can't recall anyone except the catcher wearing a cup. So I guess we need to expand our humanitarian mission to include American kids.

I think it builds character and teaches you to be a better fielder.

This logic makes no sense.
We've all heard stories about latin players not being able to afford gloves as kids yet they all seem to be using them in the majors.

Difference between regulating wearing a helmet and wearing a cup: it is pretty hard to die from a shot to the balls. I think it's a personal choice, and who are we to stand between players and the laws of Darwin?

Presumably BP could do a logical analysis of this: the correlation between wearing a cup and time spent on the DL. For that matter, the correlation between wearing a cup and fielding percentage. I can't imagine wearing one of those things and being able to field an infield position effectively.

All we need to get started is data on which major leagues wear the things and which don't. Will, you wanna go do some data gathering in locker rooms for us?

I was 6 years old at my first hardball practice and distinctly remember my coach telling us all to make sure we have cups for the next practice. I went home and told my parents that I needed a cup and wondered if there were going to be drinks at the next practice.

If a player isn't going to listen to an organization directive, doesn't that say something about the player's character?

Never mind, talent trumps character or the ability to follow instructions like "Don't swing at that outside slider!"

Darwin has a theory about those less fit becoming less likely to propogate the species. Maybe those stupid enough not to wear cups are simply lowering their chances of passing on their genes.

I'm surprised at all the folks who never wore 'em. Maybe the fielding was better in your towns. But I distinctly remember hearing the sound of a hard grounder hitting an infielder's cup at least once a year. Reason enough for me to wear one.

I played Division II college baseball, and always wore one (I pitched). For me, the confidence and security of knowing I was protected outweighed the discomfort.

I know a few of my teammates who didn't wear one, but I'm quite surprised at the number of people here who didn't wear one.

people in these countries are going without things much more important than cups

Will,

Just a friendly warning.

Anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering, and that is the path to the dark side.

I find this discussion worthless. Players wear all sorts of other stuff (I can't imagine too many not wearing an "athletic supporter", or sliding pads), and my recollection is the cup was initially awkward, and you got used to it. Beltre and others are being juvenile. If I were the Mariners, I'd make it painful in more ways than fines to refuse to wear one. Either that or take Beltre at his word and suspend his salary while he recovers from this needless injury. What a joke.

Hey Will, I am sure readers would be willing to match your donations. Perhaps the BP megolith would be willing to start the movement to protect these youngsters instead of you just throwing up your hands in outrage.

I don't take the "can't afford" argument at face-value. Like all decisions, there's a tradeoff here. These kids have baseballs and bats right? Bats sure aren't cheap. How many cups can you buy for one bat? I have to think you could give up one $80 bat and supply nearly your entire starting lineup with a cup... This goes for US kids' leagues too.

I think there's an educational hurdle that must be cleared before just handing out free cups to people. No point wasting resources if they're just gonna toss the thing aside like Beltre...

Will, I agree, the cup probably is a luxury item in some of these countries (did I just say that?). Anybody that has been to these countries and seen some of the conditions would understand where you are coming from. That being said, this could be a really fun endeavor: This sounds sarcastic, but it's really not (I swear),....give us an address and let all the BP readers who want to send in one cup (preferably new!) and lets see what we can do! You probably shouldn't give us a PO box because the Postmaster wouldn't like it. I'll let the other commenters come up with the slogan for this drive.......wow could this be fun!

As an emergency catcher in little league one year - I think we were about 12 or 13 years old andthis was about 30 years ago - I didn't own a cup, but we couldn't catch or play infield without one (I was an outfielder). When the starting catcher came out of the game once, we all stood in a circle near the dugout while he passed his cup along to the next catcher. A couple innings later, we had to go stand in a circle again - this time I was the lucky recipient of the Community Cup! Caught two innings, threw out a basestealer and went back to the outfield in the next game where I was MUCH happier. Good times, good times...

That actually brings up another memory: I was a junior in High School playing centerfield when single to center hit a rock as I was about to field it, bounced up and RACKED me (that's what we called it)... I fell like I'd been shot! My coach came out to CF, sat me up on my butt and - I kid you not - in front of everyone, put his hands under my arms and picked up about a foot off the ground and DROPPED me! Like he was resetting a dislocation! He said "How's that? Is that better?" I said "sure!" got up, limped around for a few innnings and stayed in the game. There's NO WAY that made me feel any better, but I couldn't tell Coach that!

When I was a kid, the only players that wore cups were the catchers. Once my kid got to player-pitch little league I started telling all of the kids to pick one up. It makes sense to wear them, and if they get used to them at a young age it doesn't seem to matter. At the same time, the number of instances I've heard of catastrophic injuries to the nether-regions is pretty low...

I know what this is really about: what does it say about you if you can wear a cup comfortably?

When I was in high school a lot of my friends played in a pick-up street hockey league. On my first night there, the organizer, who was one of the kids' father, asked me, "do you have a cup?" When I said I didn't, he pulled out a brand new cup and told me I couldn't play unless I wore it.

20 minutes later, my best friend unleashed a slap shot that hit me in the groin and literally lifted me off the ground on impact....I walked away scared but completely unhurt. I always remembered my cup after that.