Omir Santos tried on his new batting gloves, said to slow the impact of a harmful fastball down to the mere annoyance of a junkball, and voiced excitement.

�I think it�s going to help,� the New York Mets catcher said. �It sounds like it�s going to work.�
The latest high-tech protective product in a sport that�s slow to accept innovation, the batting gloves are manufactured by the startup company XProTeX, which hired former All-Star Reggie Smith to go around spring training trying to persuade big leaguers to switch.
Bob Watson, Major League Baseball�s vice president of on-field operations, said his department already has given its approval, which is necessary for all on-field gear.
�We looked at the data. No, I didn�t put it on and take a fastball,� said Watson, a former All-Star himself. �Now, is this going to stop all major injuries? That I can�t tell you, but according to the data, it should cut down on broken bones and severe injuries coming from pitched balls.�
XProTeX was formed by X Bats president Jack Kasarjian, whose company is known for supplying maple bats to major leaguers and � at about $100 each � to youth ballplayers. After consulting the former president of the motocross equipment company SixSixOne, Kasarjian developed an impact-absorbing material called Advanced Impact Composite.
The model that was taken to spring training is the 14th generation.
�Essentially it will reduce the impact by over 60 percent, so a 100 mph fastball will be reduced to that of a 39 mph fastball, which is the difference between in a cast and being a little bit sore,� he said. �It�s really an area where players are very vulnerable. Their hands are their most important tool in baseball. If your hands are injured, you can�t hold the ball, catch a ball, hold a bat, hit a ball.�
Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon examined the gloves this week and thought back to Sept. 7, when Rays slugger Carlos Pena was hit by a CC Sabathia pitch, breaking two fingers and ending his season. Pena had an AL-leading 39 homers at the time along with 100 RBIs.
�Carlos would have hit 45 home runs last year if that glove actually works,� Maddon said. �Most of the time, changes like that move at a glacier pace. Guys don�t want to be the first one to try it. Somebody�s going to try it and going to get hit and they�re not going to break their hand or wrist, and all of a sudden everybody�s going to want it. Or conversely, if somebody�s not wearing it, and they do get hit and get broken, he�s going to want it.�
Protection does come at a price.
A quick check online shows batting glove prices for previous models run from about $5-$50.
XProTex�s top-of-the line Raykr retails for $80. It is made specifically for right-handed or left-handed batters, and has AIC protection on the outside of the hand and wrist, and the inner wrist. A step down is the $50 Hammr, which has less protection, and then there is the $35 Dinger, a symmetric model that protects the wrist only. There also are pads for catcher�s mitts and baserunners (to prevent their fingers from being hyperextended).
Smith says players have responded positively when he shows them the equipment.
�It�s exceeded our expectations,� he said. �It�s the difference of being injured or being a little sore so they get to stay on the field.�
But even if the gloves fit, that doesn�t necessarily mean players wear them.
Kasarjian says the large equipment corporations are obstacles.
�The agents have been steering players toward these bigger companies because the companies are offering the players who are up and coming in the agents� stables deals in return for delivering the major leaguers,� he said. �We�re kind of bucking the culture, but we�re getting people�s attention really quickly. Everybody is now seeing one or two players on their team and they�re asking for them.�
Rawlings S100 helmet, touted as being able to withstand pitches up to 100 mph, is mandatory in the minor leaguers starting this year. The Mets� David Wright tried it for two games when he returned from the disabled list after getting beaned by a 94 mph Matt Cain fastball, then decided it was too bulky and went back to his regular helmet.