Owners will discuss enhancing protective measures for fans at ballparks
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says owners will discuss the possibility of adding more protective netting at ballparks for the safety of fans during next week’s owners’ meetings in Dallas.
Fans who sit close to the field can be in harm’s way with foul balls rocketing off bats into the stands and pieces of broken bats sometimes flying into the seating areas. Numerous fans were injured at ballparks around the major leagues this season, including a woman in Boston who suffered life-threatening injuries June 5 when she was struck in the face by a piece of broken bat at Fenway Park. She was hospitalized for eight days, the Boston Globe reported.
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Manfred said it likely will be difficult to find concensus on a rule that can be applied to every ballpark because of the different dimensions and concerns at ballparks throughout MLB.
“I think if you go out and look at the ballparks it becomes evident that a central, uniform net to the edges of the dugout is not workable given the variations in the designs of the stadiums,” Manfred told the Globe.
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Manfred is probably right about the difficulty in instituting one standard across the game, but having the discussion is a step in the right direction, showing that the commish and the owners at least recognize the need to enhance protection for fans where possible.
Even if having the discussion leads to each franchise enhancing safety measures to whatever degree possible in their ballparks, it will likely lead to fewer fan injuries each season. Short of extending the backstop netting beyond first and third base and interfering with sightlines, baseball probably isn’t going to be able to prevent all of these types of injuries.
The bottom line is there are some small-percentage risks in attending a game and sitting close to the action where you’re exposed to foul balls and broken bats.
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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
