Twins to install protective netting above dugouts at Target Field

(Getty Images) With Major League Baseball determined to provide a safer ballpark experience for fans, the Minnesota Twins have taken a lead position in providing the necessary protection.

On Wednesday, the Twins announced plans to install new protective netting at Target Field that will actually exceed the recommended measures laid out by the league during the Winter Meetings. Since the lower-level seats in Minnesota are the closest of any major-league ballpark, they’ve decided to hang protective netting that will run the length of both dugouts and extend about seven feet high.

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It’s the most aggressive plan put in place by a major-league team since the league made its fan safety recommendations at last week’s Winter Meetings. Many teams are still considering what works best for their specific venue, but the Twins were quick to acknowledge the elevated dangers of their fans sitting closer to the action.

The netting might prevent fans from catching foul balls they may have otherwise caught, but will ultimately keep fans and even vendors who often walk those sections with their backs to the action much safer.

Ensuring that safety is the first priority for the league, and Twins president Dave St. Peter believe fans will grow to appreciate that, even if the slightly altered view takes some getting used to.

Here’s more from the Associated Press:

”It was a very difficult decision because we understand the importance of the accessibility of players and our game for our fans and we’re sensitive to fans deliberately not wanting to sit behind a net,” St. Peter said. ”It impacts a relatively small amount of fans. That said, those fans are in many cases long-standing season-ticket holders and some of our most passionate, valued accounts.”

For 2016, the dugout box seats that carry the greatest risk for being hit by foul balls at Target Field cost $74 per game in a full season-ticket package.

The Twins said the new netting will be minimally obtrusive for fans behind it, taking advantage of the technology available to create a see-through material that’s still safe. St. Peter encouraged ticket buyers to see what the view will be like before deciding where to sit, or not sit. The Twins have begun communicating with season-ticket holders most affected by the change.

”Ultimately we believe that most of those fans will be accustomed to the net and ultimately will become appreciative of the net over the long haul,” St. Peter said. ”The most expensive and the most sought-after place in our ballpark, the Champions Club, has always looked through a net.”

Of course, ballpark safety has always been a concern for the league, but it was put into a sharper focus this season due to a series of serious fan injuries stemming from baseballs and bats entering the stands. If nothing else, those incidents injected some urgency into discussions that were often left unresolved or brushed aside when the newest hot topic came up.

It has become an increasingly important issue in recent years for a couple reasons. First and foremost, the more modern ballparks, such as Target Field, have been constructed with seats much closer to the field. The closer you are, the more vulnerable you are to not only being hit, but suffering a more serious injury.

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There’s also the point that fans have become more distracted in recent years with the advancement of technology. All it takes is that split second needed to look at a phone to put a fan in danger. The netting should buy those fans some time while eliminating the risk for serious injuries.

More protective netting is a necessary step, even if some fans will argue it takes away from the ballpark experience. To put it simply, you can’t please everyone, but the priority should always be to protect them.

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