The girl who was hit by a foul ball on Sunday was hospitalized after the game as a precautionGETTY IMAGES
MLB teams are “facing new calls to improve safety" after another fan was hit by a foul ball over the weekend at Dodger Stadium, according to NBC's Lester Holt. The Dodgers yesterday outlined plans to extend their netting, becoming the third team in recent days to announce such a change, and NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez asked, “The question now: will more teams follow?” (“Nightly News,” NBC, 6/24). NBC’s Craig Melvin referred to the Dodgers' announcement and said fans are seeing the "beginning of a tidal shift” within MLB to extend netting (“Today,” NBC, 6/25). In L.A., Jorge Castillo notes teams have been "reluctant to install more netting out of fear fans would complain that their sight lines are compromised," but calls for increased netting have "amplified following several recent incidents." Dodgers P Rich Hill last week "reached out" to the MLBPA to "support extending netting at all ballparks." Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger, who hit the ball that struck the fan on Sunday, said it would be a "smart decision" for teams to extend protective netting (L.A. TIMES, 6/25). Dodgers President & CEO Stan Kasten said that discussions have been "ongoing since last year when the netting was extended to the far ends of the dugouts and plans will be announced 'in the next couple weeks' to extend the netting even farther." Kasten said that the timing of net installation "has not been determined yet but it seems 'likely' the Dodgers will be able to do the project before the end of the season" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 6/25).
NETTING CALLS CONTINUE: In California, Jim Alexander wrote the Dodgers should "extend the netting at Dodger Stadium ... now." The girl who was hit by Bellinger's foul ball on Sunday was "hospitalized as a precaution." Alexander: "Shouldn't this be enough of a priority, throughout baseball, for every park to install the additional netting and protect everyone within the range of a line drive? ... If customer safety is a priority, as it absolutely should be, then it behooves the Dodgers -- and everyone else in the major leagues -- to follow the lead of the White Sox and Nationals and extend that netting down to each foul pole" (Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE, 6/24). In DC, Deron Snyder writes there is "no excuse for teams that refuse" to extend protective netting at their ballparks. Fans who "complain that more netting will ruin the experience should tell that to the 4-year-old's parents and the deceased 79-year-old's daughter." Snyder: "Tell it to other spectators who have suffered injuries, some serious" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 6/25). ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan said if MLB “really wanted to get it done, you can get it done." MacMullan: "Don’t tell us how hard it is, don’t tell us how difficult it is.” ESPN’s Clinton Yates said some of the fans who do want the extended netting “might be fans that are not in your ballparks as a result, which is something to think about” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 6/24). YAHOO SPORTS' Ben Weinrib wrote fans being hit by foul balls had once "seemed like a rare occurrence," but now is "verging on an epidemic." It is "past time to protect fans more, and future injuries will be on the hands of teams who have decided to do nothing in the face of clear solutions" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/23).
