In matters of safety, always look to Japan.
This subject was well covered by HBO’s Real Sports a few seasons ago. It’s been a well known and widespread problem with only an anemic response by MLB. Fan protective fencing is mandatory and much better in Japan. Spent many seasons at Dodger Stadium as a season ticket holder and saw hundreds of foul balls whipped over that low backstop fence at blistering speed. In fact, once saw 2 consecutive fouls whipped over that fence and be caught by the same guy in the same seat!
1
“I can’t understand why it took so long for them to even widen it.”
Cost and messaging...Clubs don't want to spend money where there's no financial return and owners don't want to send the message that ball parks were unsafe.
1
I'm not into pro-sports, but the idea of sitting in such stands...whether for hockey or baseball, and a hard item potentially going into the stands at..... what...anywhere from 20-80 miles an hour?... is terrifying. I'd be on the constant alert... ready to duck... ready to cover my head...so much that I'd not be able to enjoy the games.
1
Sitting behind the dugout at Wrigley Field one evening twenty years ago, a foul ball came so quickly toward us (my wife was sitting closer to the plate), I had no time to respond. I was healthy and fit, and had nothing in my hands but powerless to protect her. The sound of the approaching ball was like a bullet cutting the air. A small arm wearing a baseball glove popped up from the row in front of us and stopped the ball with a solid “crack” about four inches from my wife’s side.
That 10 year old boy not only got a souvenir but all the hot dogs he could eat.
8
Texting saved my life at Wrigley Field a few years ago. A foul screamer whiffed my long hair off my neck. Had my head been upright and not bent, it would have hit right on the temple.
I was so stupid not paying attention and I’ll never ever let that happen again.
4
The vast majority of Americans don't have to worry about sitting in the most vulnerable seats along the baselines. Who wants to spend a day's pay for one ticket, one hot dog, and a beer?
1
I would love this story goes viral so some local Dodger fans can volunteer to sit with her dad at future games.
7
I have been to several MLB games over the years. I stay alert and have no interest in catching any hit baseball. I have seen people get hurt major and minor.
But the closest that I ever came myself was when a foul ball came towards my mother-in-law and I. We both ducked. But the ball ricocheted off the wall behind us and struck a glancing blow off of her shoulder blade. A sore bruise was minor compared to what might have been. We were sitting in the last row along third base behind the White Sox dugout in 2017.
3
Broken bats, unlike baseballs, are sharp and pieces fly into the stands - getting hit with one is not rare and the damage can be severe. "A woman suffered life-threatening injuries after she was hit by a broken bat at Friday night's Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics game at Fenway Park, officials told the Associated Press...." USA Today June 5, 2015
1
"... 21 percent closer to the action ..."
Or, 79% as far from the action.
1
Women and children are more likely to be hit by balls because they aren't paying attention to the game. They are watching the mascot, the scoreboard, people around them, etc. The Cleveland Indians use to have a pre-game bit, with various players, and I think it was Omar Vizquel whose part was "Play ball means you too." It is true. Play ball means the fans. And, know the seats. I don't get home for games often, so when I do, we get the good seats, and I know there is a good chance balls will land there. I was in graduate school in Columbus when the girl died after being hit by a hockey puck. I believe she was 14, and she was there with her father and a friend to celebrate her birthday. If I take children to a baseball game, I get cheaper seats where it is highly unlikely a ball will fall because I know I'll be distracted watching them. I don't want to watch a game through netting, which is why I don't sit behind home plate. People have to bear some responsibility. Balls will go into the stands, and at high speeds. Pay attention, or watch at home.
4
The Dodgers don't care about the fans. Just ask Brian Stowe who was severely beaten at a game just for being a Giants fan. 50,000 fan stadium with no police security. I've noted drunk, surly fans at the games there and have never noted a security presence. The fan's safety cuts into the bottom line.
3
@TonyLederer - the Dodgers have plenty of security, now.
1
At least the same level of warning should be given to people buying tickets in a baseball stadium as flight attendants give in person, and ticketing services give online, to people who purchase exit row seats on an airplane.
2
@common sense advocate Have you ever attended a game? They are given warning. Every game I've ever attended has a pre-game PSA about proper stadium behavior, and a warning about balls. There is also a liability statement on the back of tickets. What more are they to do? It isn't a team's fault if people disregard the warnings. People attend games EXPECTING to have a ball fly their way. People want to catch a homerun ball or even a foul ball. The staff often toss balls into the stands. People come with gloves to catch a ball. I don't know of anyone who doesn't know balls fly into the stands. But, prior to the start of the game, people are warned to pay attention to the game ball. What more do you want them to do? Perhaps, cover the playing field with a plexiglass dome? Or, cover all the spectator seats with a plexiglass shield, creating a doughnut? As some point, people have to assume responsibility for their own actions. If one isn't paying attention and gets hit by a ball, the team isn't at fault.
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The stadium should make catcher headgear available to fans who sit in vulnerable seats, OR the less expensive alternative is - RAISE THE NET.
1
most games are mostly empty seats with the league relying on tv revenue ..it would not cost them much to increase safety
1
This was a tragic accident, and I would be devastated if it happened in my family.
That said, there are few public activities safer than going to the ball game. Nothing is every going to be 120% without risk.
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MLB, with their antiquated anti trust laws couldn't care less about the dangers of their ballparks. Why should they provide safety to their fans, they aren't legally required to because Congress felt the Nation needed distraction during World War Two.
There's something our new class of Congress can do; end MLB's monopoly.
2
A tragedy but personally I don't think the issue is warning labels or nets.
Baseball fans literally bring gloves to the game because everyone knows balls are flying into the crowd dozens of times per game. You could get hit with a home run or a pop up just the same as a line drive if you are not paying attention.
Now for seats where an attentive patron could not even hope to get out of the way or block the ball (like a foul straight back), leave the net. But I recall Dodger stadium has a lot of room behind home plate and the press box is pretty far up there.
There are all sorts of cameras and advanced stats. I bet MLB could even study how often a fan catches a foul ball cleanly in particular sections of the stadium and calculate where the risk becomes unreasonable.
2
very sad story. condolences to the family.
I remember walking up through the tunnel at another stadium 61 years ago just as a foul ball came zooming over my head with a crowd of fans stampeding down the tunnel to get the ball. No way I could have been protected from either being hit, or run down, except sheer luck, which I had. it scared hell out of me (I remember it all these years later.)
Some risk can't be prevented, as in my case; others can. MLB should do all it can to protect fans from reasonable expectation of risk, and if the big spenders don't want to pay big bucks to sit behind netting etc. fine. There's always golf (ha!) table tennis (ha!) or just sitting on the couch (ha!) all of which have risk as well.
2
Nonsensical.
1. The fatty fried food and booze served at ballparks contributes to a million times more deaths than foul balls hit into the stands.
2. If current safety standards mean only two people out of a billion spectators have died, then current safety standards are sufficient. “If even one person dies” is a ridiculous statement. If we banned driving that would also make sure nobody died on the roads.
3. Read the back of the ticket.
4. I’m investing in bubble wrap futures.
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I have noticed that seats right behind home plate, where there has always been netting, are the most expensive and sought-after. The objection that more protection for fans would interfere with their enjoyment of the game is baloney. So are objections that deaths from foul balls is rare. It ain't rare if it happens to someone you love.
9
I'm really sorry for this family ... and take this as a good reminder about the dangers of being a spectator at a ball game. I am even older than this poor lady, go regularly to Giants games and take my old softball mitt in the hopes of catching a foul ball. In future maybe I'll just use it to protect my face when I hear the crack of the bat, and see everyone around me jump up to try to catch a ball.
3
It would’ve been a front-page story of tragedy if the struck-dead victim was a younger person. (In her teens, twenties, thirties or forties.) We do not value the lives and safety of older women. I wouldn’t be surprised if this story becomes the punchline of a joke.
8
With all sympathy to the Goldbloom’s, isn’t the disclaimer on the back of every ticket a binding legal agreement? If not, what is its purpose?
4
Japan has done a great job improving baseball fan safety. They've done more than just raise the nets. I recommend folks watch this excerpt from HBO's real sports about what they're doing. For example, the most dangerous seats are called "excite seats" and the stadium gives fans helmets. They also have ushers with whistles in every section that warn fans when a foul ball is coming their way.
https://archive.org/details/youtube-ZyidtI-uNXw
We may not want to do all of this but it's worth thinking about.
6
How sad absurd that MLB won’t simply raise the nets. Fix the problem!
4
Typical american hysteria. A grand total of 3 people have died due to random-flying baseball injuries and we need more, and higher, nets at every park.
She was 79. This isn't a tiny child we're talking about.
And amazing how the daughter knew the ball was "like a bullet" when she wasn't even there.
5
@Mare I don't disagree that this is hysteria, but why would it have made a difference if it had been a tiny child?
1
@Mary Poppins - yes, it shouldn't make a difference, but for some reason, in our society, people cry how unfair it is when a child or teen is killed (and yet it happens plenty.)
My point was she wasn't a spring chicken with her whole life ahead of her. At 79, my guess is she had done plenty o' living.
I've long thought, through many games at Fenway, that letting fans keep foul balls is a way to use the reflexes of the crowd to keep each other safer. If everyone's trying to get a souvenir, even a 104-mph screaming line drive has a hard time getting through the thicket of hands to someone's head or chest.
Perhaps not a hard enough time...
Surely driving to the game has been far more dangerous than watching it.
4
I’m not a fan of the nets. They distort the view.
Attend at your own risk.
4
i wonder how many other fan's injuries over the years have been unreported and ignored by the media, and why? All the news seems to be on players' injuries.
4
Major league baseball is a publicly subsidized politically protected monopoly run by a handful of ultra-weathy owners - so if you have the impression the Dodgers don't care - it's because - they don't.
5
For everyone on the comments (and in the story) calling for better protection of game attendees, how many of you are calling for better gun control in this country?
I realize it's not an either-or, but let's observe the hysteria in this story - a story that cites 3 deaths total - and compare it to the lack of action following the thousands and thousands of senseless, needless, totally avoidable gun-related deaths in this country.
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The only sane response to this article!
3
@Mare The baseball article mentioned only three deaths but MLB does not publicize how many people are struck and possibly injured by foul balls. What does gun control have to do with baseball safety anyway.
1
@Matthew - I didn't say they are related - I'm saying the response is disproportionate, and why aren't we seeing such an ardent outcry re: gun deaths? Waaaaaay more people die from guns than @ baseball parks - even if MLB publicized "all" the errant-ball deaths/injuries.
This is a sad event, but there are greater risks around, e.g., you're still far, far more likely to die driving to the game.
You could reduce the risk to zero (netting around the whole ground?), but it already seems to be essentially zero already.
2
What hogwash!
"The injury was not publicly disclosed at the time because “the Dodgers generally do not make public reports of accidents that take place at Dodger Stadium,” the team said in a statement. “We avoid doing so out of respect for the privacy of the persons involved in the accidents and their families.”
Spare us, Dodger front office. It's all about lawyering and corporate CYA policies.
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@Mark Hugh Miller What else is new! I wonder how many other accidents have been buried over the decades.
1
@Mark Hugh Miller might be able to get some some accurate data by looking at ambulance responses to the field ..where i live you can find them online maybe you can too
1
"Keep your eyes on the ball and duck" -- this has been the rule since the game was first played. One good solution to the issue presented is to ban smartphones from all ballparks. Fans, if that is what they really are, will then concentrate on the game that is being played.
5
@Lemankainen And dont buy hot dogs. Or popcorn. And especially not beer. And dont talk to the person sitting next to you. Definitely ignore your children. Absolutely ignore the fight going on in the next section.
5
@Lemankainen
It seems you are blaming the victim. The ball came too
fast for her to avoid it. The game is so boring to watch that people have to have something else to do!
3
You may not have meant to imply this - but this comment is blaming the victim
1
No one should go to a ball game thinking this outcome is within the “risks” that one faces in life. My condolences to the family.
Baseball is being swept by analytics - surely MLB teams can calculate the probability and potential risk of flying objects for every seat in a stadium and advise people accordingly. The "generic" disclaimer is pretty lame in 2019.
12
What are you talking about? Every baseball spectator knows foul balls regularly go into the stands. Your argument is illogical.
5
Statistical analysis could show which seats are more likely to receive foul balls and high speed balls. Modern baseball analytics that show speed and position constantly refine the data. Some seating areas no doubt produce more ball related injuries than others. Tickets for particular seats, and buying information could be coded with the risk level. A surcharge for insurance could be added on a pro-rated basis.
None of this would make attending a baseball game risk-free, but clarifying the risks might be an improvement.
5
What happened here is tragic.
So are deaths by lightning strike. And while we could erect lightning rods every 50 feet or so, so that lightning would never strike and kill a person, we haven't. Perhaps it would take some of the joy out of our lives to have lightning rods everywhere.
Netting is not invisible, either at baseball or hockey games. It obstructs the view. Everyone suffers the minor inconvenience for the benefit of the 1 in a million who would otherwise be injured. Children lament the lost opportunity for puck/ball souvenirs.
Millions of people pay to attend baseball games every year, and netting has been placed to mitigate the risk of injury in the most dangerous seats. Many fans find that the netting marginally diminishes their enjoyment of the game, and wish that people simply bought tickets for seats where they were comfortable with the level of risk. Some fans who desire to sit close to the action so loathe the netting that they pay less to sit further away, unobstructed.
I for one, would not like to see baseball fields shrouded in a protective net because one fan in a million sustains a freak injury.
22
Amen. But add up all the games over time; it’s more like 1 in a billion.
1
Given the resources at the disposal of these teams, a simple expansion of netting is not an unreasonable request. At no point in any ball sport should the fans be at such risk.
If the teams are looking at long term cost, a net is much cheaper than the reputation of the team and the sport.
12
My condolences to the family.
The last time I took my 92-year-old mom (the Dodger fan of the family) to a game, two years ago, we sat in the bleachers between third base and home. A fly ball flew up in our direction and struck a woman a few rows below us. She was carried out on a stretcher, but wasn't unconscious. Not surprisingly, everyone around her was looking at their phones and no one had a glove raised.
Are baseball fans willing to sacrifice a chance to catch a ball in exchange for netting all around the field?
3
@Christine Bleachers between third base and home???
1
Back in the '50's I was watching batting practice from the right field bleachers in old Seals Stadium in SF. I wasn't paying attention when a ball cleared the fence and hit me in the chest, knocking me down. After I stopped crying (I was about 10) the batter came out to see if i was OK and some nearby fans made sure I got to keep the ball. No point here, just a memory.
26
Clearly, the teams need to do all they can to protect the fans from injury. Printing disclaimers on tickets is a weasel way of trying to disclaim liability for which they should be liable. All seats must be protected. The various baseball associations should have a rule requiring notification by any team where a spectator injury occurs as a result of play.
11
Perhaps fans who are worried about head injury might bring along a batting helmet, or they could be supplied at the park as part of the admission price.
2
Baseball stadiums should be required to clearly indicate what seats may have a significant injury risk. Generic small print on every ticket is insufficient.
17
It doesn't seem being seated in an elevated section behind home plate, which has a high net, would expose anyone to serious injury. The fact the foul ball wasn't commented on at the time by anyone also indicates this may have been a run of the mill incident. Maybe the woman's age had something to do with the seriousness of her injury.
3
@Jack Rhodes My wife was hit in the head last year at a Rays game, in the elevated section behind home plate. I was sitting right next to her. Thankfully the ball glanced off her scalp and caused only minor bruising, but it came so fast there wasn't a chance of stopping it.
5
Victim blaming is so last century.
2
I don't understand why the baseball teams aren't legally liable. Don't they have an obligation to prevent further accidents now that they know how dangerous it can be to watch their baseball games?
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@Jack Edwards
"Assumption of the risk" is a legal doctrine that applies to many sports, such as skiing, auto racing and yes, baseball. In many cases, this doctrine is in legislation.
4
@Jsailor
So the question remains what influenced law makers to offer legal protection for the benefit of major league baseball teams? Anyone care to make a guess?
4
@Mark Shyres
You’re referring of course to special treatment afforded the largest fully but implicitly sanctioned, collusive monopoly in US history?
Not to mention the NFL, NBA, NHL etc.
5
Before anyone thinks that this was a tragic accident, it should be pointed out that accidents are unexpected and this was a risk that anyone with normal awareness of their surroundings could easily perceive. I am not dismissing the Dodgers from blame by asserting that people in the stands know that flying baseballs might hit them. The physics of the trajectories of flying objects have been extremely predictable for three hundred years. The force which which this woman was struck by this foul ball was totally predictable. The fans and the Dodgers and the various governmental agencies did nothing to prevent a preventable injury.
21
Aerodynamics is younger than 300 years. All fouls backwards between the dugouts have topspin, which results in downforce taking the ball below a ballistic trajectory. Nets need to be higher to adequately protect seating areas.
8
The equation describing the flight for a ball propelled by a bat is the classic parabolic trajectory used to describe the flight of cannon balls used by artillery for three hundred years.
1
Two questions - Are there additional victims from hit baseballs that the public has not been made aware of? And would the public have heard about Linda Goldbloom if she had been 9 instead of 79?
41
My heart goes out to Linda's husband. He has lost the love of his life and the love of the game.
41
In 1973 I was 12 years old and sitting near third base when a foul ball was driven into my right eye. I have been legally blind in that eye ever sense. When this took place my family attempted to bring legal action. Eventually, the Dodgers unwillingness to negotiate led to an abandonment of the suit. If they had considered methods of better protecting fans back then, Mrs. Goldbloom could be alive today.While they took no steps to improve safety when I was harmed .... I did get a signed baseball.
63
Ms. Brody, I am sorry for your loss. I hope your father will find a way back to the ballpark--in a more protected seat.
I agree that the teams need to do more to protect fans and that not publicizing accidents is self-serving and as is often said these days, "lacking transparency."
Every time I go to a game, I see casual fans eagerly taking
selfies with their backs turned away from the action on the
field--often with their children and near railings to get the
best background. I know how quickly and hard a foul ball
can travel and it makes me nervous when I am focused on
the game--makes me doubly nervous that so many are
oblivious to the possibility of danger.
All the parks feature big video boards. Perhaps an occasional public service announcement about staying
alert would be one step above the fine print on the ticket.
15
IIRC, back in the day just such a reminder was read by the PA announcer at least once a game.
3
@Donna, but they do EVERYTHING to distract fans these days - those video boards, mascots, employees selling beer and food, etc.
1
Yankee Stadium makes and announcement with a general comment about the risk and instructs fans to contact an usher to be relocated if they are uncomfortable about the seat they’ve taken.
2
"Her daughter, who compared the ball to a bullet, said higher nets could have prevented the death."
Paying attention to the game could also have prevented her death.
7
@Greg Wouldn't it just be easier to extend the nets than to expect senior fans to have laser focus on the game at all times?
52
and further assuming that she had the reflexes of a professional athlete at age 79.
77
@Greg She was paying attention to the game, she watched as the batter stepped in and swung the bat. She loved baseball. The Dodger organization should release the video of the play so that the total time, from the ball's point of contact with the bat to the point of impact, can be calculated. How fast the ball was traveling can be determined. And then, a realistic reaction time for a fan of ANY age or gender could be offered. Most men have a glove in one hand and a large beer in the other, in milliseconds, would they know which hand to throw in front of their face to save them from a speeding hard ball? Or would they simply throw up both hands and hope for the best? Extend the nets.
20