Milwaukee Brewers: Keon Broxton Saved By C-Flap

As sports fans, we all like to see our team win and succeed, but when it comes at the cost of one of our own getting injured in the process, our emotions kick in and we realize that there are bigger things than winning. Today this was a realization that all Brewers fans watching had experienced.

During Thursday’s matchup against the Colorado Rockies in Miller Park, Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Keon Broxton  was struck in the head by a 93 MPH fastball in the bottom of the second inning, .

This scary moment had me thinking to myself, “He just ended his career.” Thankfully, Broxton was wearing a protective batting helmet attachment known as a C-flap. This protective guard could have indeed saved his career and his brain.

As a result of this miracle protector, Broxton was just hit in the tip of the nose,  walked away with a bloody nose, and was able to get up and move under his own power. He actually appeared to want to stay in the game. Clearly a crisis was averted by the C-flap.

It is scary situations like these that make fans wonder, “What if he had not been wearing a helmet with a C-flap?” The damage inflicted by an errant fastball could have been astronomically worse.

When speaking with the media after the game, Broxton was quoted saying “The crazy thing about it is, I was thinking of taking it off a couple of days ago, too, and then this happens. I’m never taking that thing off.”

Brewers fans everywhere were thrilled that he decided to keep it on.  When a ballplayer is as young and full of so much talent as Broxton is, the last situation he needs is to have a bright career derailed by a freak accident.

This type of scary situation is not new to Milwaukee Brewers fans, as we have seen players like Jean Segura and Rickie Weeks get hit in the head multiple times during their time in Milwaukee. The only difference is they did not have a C-flap to protect them.

In the end, these experiences seemed to alter not only their careers, but other players careers as well. Teammates who saw young players get hit often changed their approach to a point where they were not comfortable in the batter’s box and it was difficult to succeed.

The most infamous incident actually happened against the Brewers. Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton was hit in the face in 2014 by former Brewer Mike Fiers.  Stanton was one of the first players to wear protective headgear at the plate and has shown that he is still a “capable” hitter because he is reassured that something that scary will never happen to him again thanks to his G- flap.

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In a way, this could potentially influence other players around the league to give the miracle guard a try, as it could end up saving them from a dangerous situation. This was the first time Broxton was struck in the head, and hopefully it will be the last, but he’ll be protected as long as he keeps wearing the C-flap.