Please stop...I have a an 8 year old who, up until I started reading your posts, was going to learn to love baseball. If my wife reads your missives, I may just have to become a soccer dad (which, btw, I was this past Spring).
LOL!
Baseball is a great sport and not that dangerous! I was unlucky, I guess. I also coached for three years...safety is a BIG concern for the kid's leagues (lawsuits and all)
We used steel spikes when I was in elementary school. Didn't use full helmets.
I love baseball. If it hadn't been for that rotator cuff tear, who knows? (we all think we coulda if we hadda)
Advice: Teach your kid to slide properly! Feet first, pop up. I had many injuries from head-first slides.