Galvis wants to see Phils, MLB protect fans
It wasn’t the first time he shot a ball into a crowd, Freddy Galvis acknowledged. He’s a major league baseball hitter. Probably did so a thousand times at so many different levels of the game and various fields around North America.
None of those times hit Galvis so hard as the ball he hit behind the visitors’ dugout Saturday night, however, one that struck a young girl in the face.
It shouldn’t have happened, Galvis said Sunday.
It probably wouldn’t happen if the Phillies and every team took advantage of the opening Major League Baseball has given them to protect the fans.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating to see some fans getting hit by a foul ball, and like I say before I think in the major leagues they should do a better job taking care of all the fans,” Galvis said, the memory of hitting the young fan still fresh in his mind. “I do a couple of interviews before and I saw they should put a net, you know? Just extend it. Too many little kids in the stands.”
The Phillies can do that because their club extended protective netting behind the plate to at least partially cover the dugout opening. But MLB, in regulations announced last December, allows any club to extend the netting at least to the ends of both dugouts and anywhere within 70 feet of home plate.
The Phils fall short of the maximum recommendations.
In fact, only a few teams in the majors went all out like that with their netting, which is indicative that teams feel fans would react negatively to paying high prices for close seats that would force them to peer through netting the whole game.
Galvis doesn’t want to hear it. Just like he didn’t want to see another fan get hit Sunday, but that’s what happened on a foul by a Cardinals player that struck a woman, he said.
Galvis promptly expressed his displeasure on the field after seeing that happen in a game that would end in a 9-0 Cardinals win.
“Because we’re (in the dugout) we have a net,” Galvis said. “So why don’t the fans have a net?”
In a statement released Sunday, vice president and
chief operating officer Mike Stiles said: “The Phillies expanded our netting this season to the sides of the dugout near home plate, as was suggested by Major League Baseball. We decided earlier this season to consider the possibility of further expansion next season. In making that determination at the conclusion of the 2016 season, we will take into account a number of factors including the opinion of our uniformed personnel and, most importantly, the wishes and safety of our fans.”
Probably should ask the shortstop how he feels about it, too.
“I see it today, some lady get hit right in the mouth, something like that,” Galvis said. “I think it’s really bad, you know? Nobody wants to see that . ... You worry about it, especially if you have a family. I have a baby two years old and yesterday I hit one little girl around 10 years old. So I don’t want that to happen to my baby if I go to watch a game.
“Yeah, (I’ve seen it) on different levels. Everybody’s
getting tired of it . ... I see them doing different stuff, like speeding up the game; doing different stuff in Major League Baseball. So why don’t you put the nets all the way to the outfield, you know, to prevent that? It’s been (talked about) since I get here, 2012 or something like that, and they never do it. You have to take care of the people who give you the money. The fans give you the money. Why are you waiting?”
*** NOTES >> Vince Velasquez gave up two homers in his six-inning stint to take the loss. That’s eight home runs allowed over his last three games. Newly promoted reliever Frank Herrmann also gave up two home runs — in a stint that lasted twothirds of an inning. Herrmann now has a 15.00 ERA over three appearances . ... Also on home runs, the Phillies didn’t hit one for the first time in 15 games. ... After an offday Monday Jake Thompson (1-2, 8.79) tries ot get back on track by taking on the White Sox in Chicago Tuesday.