Silly Question

[McCaffrey Dude]

I am not an overall baseball fan though I follow the Red Sox pretty closely. I just don't follow any other team.
I was watching a youtube ESPN 30 for 30 called 4 nights in October about the Red Sox's comeback from the Yankees after a 3-0 defecit in 2004.
What interested me is watching in games one and 2 where slow Kevin Millar got on base and a pinch runner named David Roberts came in.
The question is: is why do pinch runners or even base runners still wear their helmets while on base?f you need to run you think the hat might make you a little faster. Pitchers don't wear helmets and they get hit all the time by line drives. Maybe a silly question but weird.

 

[ramicackle]

Every once in a while a runner gets hit in the head by the pitcher during a pic-off play while the runner is diving back to the bag - it's nice to have the helmet. Also, when trying to score on a ball hit to left field a runner has a slim chance of getting hit in the back of the head.

 

[sport historian]

In the late 60's it became a rule that you had to wear a helmet anytime you were at bat or on the bases.