MLB needs to extend netting to protect fans
Back in the early 2000s, I took my middle child to a Diamondbacks game and watched from our usual seats, about 30 rows up from third base, on the aisle.
My son was around 10 years old, still into baseball, and I assume pretty cute since a lady leaving the game in the late innings asked if we would like to sit in her seats just behind the Diamondbacks dugout.
He loved it. I regretted it immediately.
There was nothing but reflexes and luck to prevent a lined foul ball from doing serious damage. It was the most never-racking two or three innings I’ve sat through.
I never did it again, and I've cringed every time I've seen others in unprotected seats talking to the person next to them, or texting someone.
Baseball's changed a bit since then. The nets were extended down the length of the dugouts, but as Wednesday night's game in Houston demonstrated, there need to be protection all
the way down each baseline.
A young girl sitting down the thirdbase line was struck by a line drive off the bat of Cubs center fielder Albert Almora Jr. Crying, she was immediately picked up and carried out by a friend or family member. She reportedly avoided serious injury, which will be of some solace to Almora, who immediately fell to his knees and appeared to be crying as he finished his at bat.
After the inning, Almora spoke to a security guard, broke down again, and left the game, crying into his glove.
The girl being rushed up the steps. Almora sobbing. It was a parent’s nightmare and a player’s.
And there is something that can be done about it. Major League Baseball needs to take additional steps and make it mandatory that netting extend down each baseline.
Never mind the few complaints about how netting disturbs the view of a game. Or the argument that parents should be smarter than to let their kids sit so close to the action. Or that people sitting in unprotected areas should put the cell phone away and pay attention to each pitch.
Or any of the other victim blaming excuses for not making ballparks safer.
Those arguments don’t mean much when you see the damage a batted or thrown baseball can do. The sound of a baseball traveling at high speed hitting a person is something you never forget.
I watched a high school teammate’s nose explode when hit by a baseball. I saw a lump grow on the head of a man who had the misfortune of stopping an overthrown ball to first-base during a minor league game.
In 2017, a handful of baseball fans suffered injuries after being hit by foul balls. That led to Major League Baseball requiring netting down the length of the dugouts by the start of last season.
Someone at the league released a statement Wednesday night that extended “best wishes to the child and family,” and noted that the MLB has “expanded netting and their inventory of protected seats” in recent years and promised to “continue our efforts on this important issue."
They need to fast-track the “issue” and not dawdle. Professional sports leagues are capable of acting quickly when it means more money in their pockets; they need to act even faster when their fans’ safety is at risk.
Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall couldn’t be reached for comment on Thursday. But he appeared on the team’s flagship station, Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Thursday morning and said the team is open to extending the netting.
Over the years, the Diamondbacks have extended netting behind the dugouts twice. The first time, some fans pushed back, Hall said. The second time, there were no complaints.
“We’ve had zero — I’m not exaggerating — zero complaints since we’ve done that,” he said. “It’s going to be a league decision, a league discussion and I know right now probably the Commissioner’s office is looking hard at it.”
While those at the commissioner’s office look at it, let’s hope they remember images from Wednesday night in Houston. A baseball hitting a young girl. Her tears. A player’s tears. Somber faces in interviews. Players throughout the league saying that changes need to be made quickly.
Early reports are the girl is going to be fine. But if something isn’t done, the next incident could be disastrous. Best wishes are fine.
Action is better.