Wouldn't tough transparent panels be less bothersome?
Vastly more expensive - and they'd get scuffed by every foul ball that hit them. Maybe the "gorilla glasss" used on cellphones would hold up, but the price would be stratospheric.
After more than a century, it's about time for MLB, and the various team owners to finally pay at tension to the very fans that support this glorious game. My first game was at the old Polo Grounds in 1946 with my father, and Johnny Mize hit a home run in the first inning, and I was A Giant's ever since. And G-d bless Willy Mays.
I was in the upper deck at Yankee Stadium when a Jeter foul ball landed in the seat right in front of me. A man with a glove tried to catch it, but failed. I was paying full attention, but the ball was on us before you can do anything. The game is too fast. I haven't been to a game since, partly due to the danger. Nets are necessary, at least along the lines.
Finally, common sense on this issue.
I'm actually amazed — and I know I shouldn't be — that some seem utterly clueless as to why ~1750 injuries each year are an obvious issue and the more severe injuries are a call to action. Is catching foul balls really more important than preventing serious injuries? Not paying attention could be something as simple as looking in another direction. I reading some of these posts as more testosterone than thoughtfulness.
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This netting is direly needed! I've long referred to the hard line-drive smashes into the stands as 'skullcrushers'.
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MLB doesn't need netting down the foul lines. People in the stands who were hit, invariably were not paying attention. staring at their phones, chatting with neighbours, coming and going during play, taking selfies, etc. Watch the ball, and duck if necessary !
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Can you say that categorically? Citing what sources? What about small children? A recent NYT story described a game played in a rainstorm, during which a guy was struck because umbrellas obstructed his view. Have you ever been to a ball game where you watched every single pitch? Finally, what is so awful about placing netting up when it's already done behind the plate and around hockey rinks? This one is a no-brainer. Except, apparently, for those with no brains.
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Such a cavalier response. Some of the players are in safer positions on the field.
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Not a great idea to watch baseball from behind umbrellas. Sitting on the 1st baseline, you should watch every pitch to a right-handed batter. ditto left-handers if you're on the 3rd base line. Netting is distracting and unnecessary on the baselines, and has nothing to do with hockey. A serious comment gets an insult ?
MLB should require the netting all the way to the foul poles, not just recommend it. It is only a matter of time before a fatality or permenent disability happens otherwise and that isn't worth the view or the thrill of grabbing a foul ball.
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Foul balls popped high into the stands will clear the barrier - and very few fans catch line drives rocketing straight at them.
It is too late for our dear friend Ann, whose face was smashed by a foul ball at Camden Yards. She did receive flowers from the man who hit the ball, but she never saw them, as her eyelids were sewn shut. She looks remarkable after eight surgeries to reconstruct her face. Kudos to the remarkable surgery team.
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Stop texting and watch the game!!!!
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MLB Must Act Now To Protect Fans https://dcmontreal.wordpress.com/2015/06/08/mlb-must-act-now-to-protect-...
As long as you can still catch foul balls, one of the main reasons that kids and kids at heart go to the park to see the games.
BRAIN INJURY It's a very interesting twist that when professional sports teams realize they may be sued for large sums by head injuries sustained by viewers in the stadium struck by fast flying objects propelled by players, the take safety measures speedily, without objection. But when it comes to retired pros who have sustained chronic, disabling symptoms of repeated traumatic brain injury, the team owners had to be dragged into court and the discovery of the links between such injuries and dementia were disputed or withheld. Even more dangerous is the denial that children who sustain repeated forceful blows to their heads are sustaining brain injury that will probably lead to lifelong problems and ultimately dementia are being treated with reckless disregard for the duty of adults to act to prevent children from being injured. We've managed to get car seat safety laws that have saved the lives of many infants and young children and protected many brains. But when it comes to need to modify athletics from preschool onward, adults charged with being proactive in safeguarding the children enter into a state of denial. With role reversal, they claim that the children have a right to decide what they want to do with their lives and for enjoyment. The duty of adults to protect children from harm overrules the pleasure of the child. So the answer to the kids' objections of, Why do you always spoil our fun? is, Because that's the job of adults. Safety before fun!
My wife and I are season ticket holders with the Carolina Hurricanes and sit in the area behind one of the goals. There has been netting in the NHL, as mentioned in the article, for a number of years. After ten minutes you don't even see the netting. The sense of security it gives you is worth it. If you've ever seen a slap shot deflect into the crowd you know what I mean.
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Why does safety have to follow injuries? We know in advance that dangers exist, so we should plan for them. There is no excuse for fan injuries, certainly not baseball tradition.
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Why6 was this action not taken sooner? Did someone have to have their face disfigured for this to happen. I do not get to baseball games anymore because of a disability, but at the last game I did attend, a bat flew into the stands and came very close to hitting an attendee.
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"In Japanese stadiums, precautions also include whistles blowing when balls are headed to the seats"
I love going to the ballpark and I'm all for safety, but this always makes me chuckle when at the stadium in Japan.
A foul ball traveling roughly 100mph lines over the net and into the stands and a few seconds later the whistles blow and an announcement says, "foul ball, please be careful." (Even if the foul ball is a lazy pop-fly into the stands, the warning always comes after it lands.)
Obviously the whistles and announcement cannot be made beforehand, but making them afterwards serves no purpose.
I love going to the ballpark and I'm all for safety, but this always makes me chuckle when at the stadium in Japan.
A foul ball traveling roughly 100mph lines over the net and into the stands and a few seconds later the whistles blow and an announcement says, "foul ball, please be careful." (Even if the foul ball is a lazy pop-fly into the stands, the warning always comes after it lands.)
Obviously the whistles and announcement cannot be made beforehand, but making them afterwards serves no purpose.
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Whistles and announcements afterwords do Make a difference. They create an impression on the brain and cumulatively and over time these impressions can change a person mindset to be automatically be more aware of the dangers of foul balls and flying bats even before the ball is put in play.
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Put up the netting. I can't afford the ticket prices in the vulnerable sections anyway.
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