On May 12 a year ago, Chris Iannetta dug deep into the box. He faced a 1-2 count and, having just seen a couple of curveballs, he guessed another was coming and told himself to stay back on the pitch.
But the veteran Rockies catcher guessed wrong, and didn’t have time to get out of the way of a 93-mile per hour fastball that hit him in the face, knocking him to the dirt, blood pouring from his mouth and nose.
After that, it wasn’t even a question. He would be wearing the C-Flap — a piece of plastic that attaches to the lower part of the helmet and extends to shield the cheek and jaw.