So you stand in front of a hard ball travelling at nearly 100mph. So what?

Many years ago, September Road stood beside a home plate and prepared to receive a pitch from a semi-pro American pitcher.

We were armed with a hurley – confident of finally settling (in our favour) a long-running argument about the difficulty of each sport.

Thankfully, the baseball stadium was empty, as the many subsequent swings were generally air-shots.

The test was rather unfair, however, as only baseball was represented by someone with talent.

In Major League Baseball, pitchers can throw fastballs at speeds similar to, say, a penalty in hurling and fast bowling in cricket.

There are major differences, of course.

In baseball, the batsman is not literally standing in the path of the ball – and even if they sometimes do in cricket, the batter is head to toe in protective equipment.

However, the main difference is a more recent one. In baseball, the pitcher and batsman are just over 18 metres apart. In cricket the distance is similar – the pitch is 20 metres long, though obviously the batter stands a metre or two in front of stump.

In hurling, the penalty spot is 20 metres from the goalline – though, in a technique perfected recently by Cork goalkeeper Anthony Nash, the sliotar can be struck from just 13 metres from goal.

September Road has never seen a hurling penalty struck 20 metres from goal.

Penalty takers have always sneaked one or two metres closer to the line.

But, now, players such as Nash and Kilkenny’s TJ Reid are taking up to seven.

It has promoted many questions about safety. Last week Ger Cunningham added his tuppence-worth, the former Cork goalkeeper warning that the GAA is risking serious injury by allowing that style of penalty-taking to continue.

Others have started to copy Nash's tactic, including TJ Reid against Tipperary in the league final.

Reid and Nash are managing to take up to seven metres, but could someone take 10? Get halfway to the goalmouth before shooting?

Maybe the mooted rule-change should allow the three defending players to come off their line, and we could have the first ever blocked down penalty shot.

There’s no doubt that it’s dangerous – surely we don’t need to ask a hospital consultant to give his opinion as to whether getting hit by a hard, solid ball from point-blank range at up to 100 miles an hour in the abdomen (or slightly lower!) is dangerous?

This is not general play – the attacking player can concentrate solely on hitting the sliotar as hard as he can – as close as he can to goal.

Either way, the GAA was set to debate the issue at Congress last February, but the motion was withdrawn.

Hopefully, when they come to debate it again, it won’t have any evidence-based arguments for it to be banned.