Incidents of fans getting hit and injured by baseballs at MLB games has been increasing each year, but MLB has refused to mandate that its ballparks install protective netting throughout the stadium.
While all 30 teams expanded their protective netting before the 2018 season, there have still been calls for further safety measures in ballparks. And balls traveling faster than cars are still finding body parts on human beings.
Everyone, from old men to young toddlers have been getting hit by baseballs flying off the bats of world-class athletes. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has maintained that the choice to put any kind of extended netting in the stadium is a club to club decision.
Common sense would tell you that it should be mandatory, but baseball is one of the sports least willing to change tradition, even if it means better safety for the fans and doesn’t detract from the experience of going to the game. Baseball is also a sport that listens to the demands of its fans and many don’t want the extra netting, which will undoubtedly obstruct their view at times.
A recent ESPN poll, however, shows that 78 percent of the fans are in favor of teams instituting more safety netting around the ballparks for protection.
Brooks Boyer, Senior VP of sales and marketing for The Sox said when it comes down to it, it’s just common sense.
“It’s always safety first when it comes to baseball. When you look at the state of the game at this point and time, you’ve got grown men who are the best athletes in the world at doing what they’re doing. You’ve got balls coming off the bat at a much quicker (speed) and we have all these stats that show us what exit velocity looks like and when you have the technology we have today when people are checking scores or any social media, not everybody is paying attention all the time.
When we extended our netting a few years back to the end of the dugouts, we thought we had taken the speed out of the game at that point for people who would have a clear view at the game, but the balls are still coming at a quick rate and we’ve seen (people get hurt) too many times.”
That means a fan seated 60 feet from home plate has four-tenths of a second to react — if they are paying close attention to the action.
“Fans today frequently sit more than 20 percent closer to home plate than was the case throughout most of the 20th century,” said study author Nathaniel Grow, an associate professor of business law and ethics at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
“Many foul ball-related injuries could easily be avoided through the installation of additional safety netting at little cost to the team,” the study authors concluded.
“When we saw everything that was happening around major league baseball,” the White Sox rep added, we thought it was necessary to make sure that Guaranteed Rate Field was the safest experience for our fans”
“When you combine that with an increase in the speed with which baseballs are being hit into the stands, fans have less time to avoid errant balls or bats heading in their direction,” Grow elaborated.
In addition to all of those valid reasons, people just don’t pay attention anymore at games. Technology has taken control of everyone and if people are risking their lives driving while texting at record rates, don’t expect them to be protecting themselves during a baseball game anymore. It’s time for baseball to save the fans from themselves more than anything.
About Sky Line Net Installations:
Sky Line Net Installations Inc. is a 100% independently owned Canadian Company. Specializing in design, engineering, supply and installation of sports and industrial barrier netting systems since 1980, we are considered the leaders in innovative design and performance throughout Canada. Our expertise allows us to match the best pole and line support materials along with the best foundation designs to the finest netting materials for our customer’s requirements anywhere in Canada.
In 2002 we became affiliated with Coastal Netting Systems in California. Coastal is recognized for their excellence in engineering and manufacturing of the finest steel poles for the netting industry in North America. We have hundreds of successful pole and netting systems in place in all types of environments. With decades of design engineering and field experience we stand behind our products and performance with the best warranties available.
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