Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
New nets for Nats
Increase in netting aimed at protecting fans
SPRINGDALE — Northwest Arkansas Naturals manager Vance Wilson recalled many instances throughout his career where bats and balls have flown into the stands and hit fans.
But one incident stands out. It involved New York Mets teammate Jeromy Burnitz, whose bat flew into the stands and struck a young fan in the face in 2002. The fan needed reconstructive surgery, and it took 80 stitches to close the wound.
“Burnitz lost his bat, and you just heard this blood-curdling scream,” Wilson said. “It was a 14-year-old girl, and it just laid her face open. She was having a birthday party and picked her special day to come watch us play. It was awful. Unfortunately, I’ve seen a lot of it.”
The Naturals and the city of Springdale got together prior to the start of this season and extended the netting to the end of each dugout. The netting previously stopped at the beginning of each dugout.
Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball, sent out a directive prior to the 2016 season asking all stadiums to provide “protective netting or barrier of their choosing for any seat within 70 feet of home plate.” All ballparks in the Texas League were within compliance of the suggestion, but Arvest Ballpark was one of several to go beyond the guidelines from MLB.
Naturals general manager Justin Cole said he had conversations with other Texas League teams, Naturals ownership and Springdale city officials about what to do to increase fan safety.
“It became if we can do this and it’s not going to detract from anybody’s experience, why would we not?” Cole said.
The project eventually involved replacing the existing netting behind home plate,
along with extending it to the ends of each dugout at a cost of $21,575.90, according to Wyman Morgan, director of financial and administrative services for the city of Springdale.
“It had been through two ice storms that had aged our net faster than normal,” Cole said. “And now it’s just one solid net behind home plate instead of a bunch of vertical cables.”
Cole acknowledged a few complaints from fans about seeing through the netting. But longtime Naturals season ticket-holder Stacy Wright admitted he’s changed his mind about the netting at least when it comes to his 3-year-old grandson.
“As a fan, I don’t like it,” said Wright, who’s had seats on the front row behind the Naturals’ dugout since Arvest Ballpark opened. “I’m old-school, but now I have a 3-year-old grandson. Before I had to watch him like a hawk; now he can run all over.”
Wilson, who often flipped foul balls to fans from his third-base coaching box,
said the additional netting is much-needed.
“It’s long overdue,” Wilson said. “There are other ways hopefully to get a ball. The Kids’ Days are the ones you worry about the most where you’ve got about 600 kids and about five are paying attention. There are so many different things that can happen. The net changes the safety aspect for the better.”
The Naturals have three
School Kids’ Days scheduled, along with another involving summer camps. Paid attendance for the last School Kids’ Day at Arvest Ballpark two weeks ago was more than 8,000.
Naturals catcher Allen de San Miguel lost the handle on his bat that day. But instead of flying into the stands, the bat bounced off the netting, and a couple of players dodged the object.
Shannon Compton brought a group of seventhand eighth-graders from Elmwood Middle School in Rogers to Arvest Ballpark as part of Career Day. Even though they are a little older than the elementary school youngsters, going to the ballpark is still a new experience for some, Compton said. The netting makes teachers and administrators rest a little easier.
“A lot of these kids, it’s their first time to the ballpark, and they don’t know a ball might fly at them,” Compton said. “The netting is a great idea.”
Ed Ray, a Naturals season ticket-holder since 2009, always has been behind the netting behind home plate and likes it that way.
“I told Justin early on they should put the netting all the way down the lines,” Ray said. “Major League Baseball has done the right thing. It doesn’t hamper the enjoyment of the game.
“Those seats behind each dugout are a nitro zone. Now you don’t have to worry about catching one in the forehead.”