First pitcher to wear a protective cap in a Major League Baseball game

Alex Torres (Venezuela) became the first Major League pitcher to wear a protective cap whilst pitching. He came into the game in the eighth inning for the San Diego Padres against the Los Angeles Dodgers on 21 June 2014 sporting the new padded headgear Major League Baseball had approved for pitchers to wear. At the start of the 2014 season, Major League Baseball introduced a form of protective cap for pitchers that they had approved for use in Major League games. This came after several high profile incidences of pitchers being hit in the head by line drives, most notably involving Brandon McCarthy (USA) during the 2012 season and Aroldis Chapman (Cuba) during 2014 Spring Training. The cap Torres used features padding on the front and side and as such is much larger than a regular baseball cap. Torres used it whilst playing catch during team practice to get comfortable with it before deciding to use it in a game.