MLB yesterday announced a series of recommendations to teams for increased safety netting at each ballpark. The league is encouraging teams to install netting stretching at least to the home plate side of each dugout, as well as areas within 70 feet of home plate, and has hired stadium architecture firm Populous to serve as a consultant to aid with the design and installation of the increased netting. MLB also is recommending that each club increase its fan education efforts with regard to the potential hazards of foul balls and broken bats entering seating areas, as well as improving ticketing processes to disclose more clearly which seats will or won’t be behind netting. The netting recommendations follow a series of fan injuries this season at MLB ballparks from balls and bats, as well as a class action lawsuit filed in California. The measures are not mandatory, but it is expected that ultimately every club will opt into the recommendations in some fashion (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). USA TODAY's Joe Lemire notes the decision "followed a months-long study of foul-ball scatter charts." The timer at each MLB game "plotted the locations of each foul ball to enter the stands and whether any fan was struck or injured." Meanwhile, the Arizona Fall League "used radar technology to more closely monitor the exit velocity and destination of fouls." The increasing number of pitchers that throw mid-to-upper 90s "was a factor, too, as that can increase batted-ball speed a little more" (USA TODAY, 12/10).
TEAMS RESPOND: In N.Y., David Waldstein notes most, if not all, teams "are expected to join in before opening day." Clubs like the Mets, Pirates and Twins "already have netting down the first- and third-base lines." The Mets "have had their netting up since Citi Field opened" in '09. The hope "is to keep the netting as unobtrusive as possible while providing protection." MLB Chief Legal Officer Dan Halem said, "There are options that are more translucent. The goal is to enhance safety while continuing to provide that up-close experience to the game and the players that fans enjoy at baseball games" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/10). The AP's Ronald Blum notes the Red Sox, Dodgers and Phillies "quickly announced that they will follow the recommendation." The Phillies "hope to install thinner material that is less noticeable." The Reds and Astros said that their ballparks "already are in compliance" (AP, 12/10). In Tampa, Marc Topkin reports the Rays "will expand netting to cover all field-level seating." Rays VP/Operations & Facilities Rick Nafe indicated that the team is "currently looking at the logistics of covering the two exposed sections" between the home plate sides of the dugouts "similarly to the 60-foot high product and cabling in place." Nafe: "I don't think we're taking anything away from the fans that are there" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 12/10).
FIXING FENWAY: In Boston, Peter Abraham in a front-page piece notes the Red Sox "immediately announced they would comply and are making plans to extend the netting behind home plate to the dugouts." Team President Sam Kennedy said that they are "evaluating what the size and type of the netting will be." Two incidents at Fenway Park last season "were among those that led MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to order a study on the feasibility of adding more protective barriers." By '17, tickets "will indicate whether the seats are behind the netting or some other form of protection" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/10). Also in Boston, Michael Silverman writes the Red Sox "deserve a standing ovation." Silverman: "I hope the increased netting is as extensive as it is sheer and strong, and that season-ticket holders who have to put up with it won’t put up a fuss. I hope that nobody else gets hurt because it is frankly somewhat of a miracle that fewer people have not died or sustained critical injuries at Fenway, with its small foul territory and close-to-the-action seats" (BOSTON HERALD, 12/10).
