A horrible incident happened at a Major League Baseball game this past weekend. In the first inning of Boston’s 4-2 win against Oakland at Fenway Park, Tonya Carpenter was struck in the head by a broken bat. It occurred in the second inning when Brett Lawrie broke his bat on a swing. The broken bat flew into the seat between home plate and the third base dugout. Tonya Carpenter is expected to survive. What can Major League Baseball do to prevent this from ever taking place again?
Some of the best seats in a ballpark are behind the dugout or the plate. Home plate is covered with netting to protect fans from foul balls. Sitting behind home plate gives a fan the best view of the pitch. Some prefer to sit behind the dugout even though there isn’t a net. Fans can catch foul balls or even have an athlete toss a baseball up to them, but sitting in those seats can be dangerous. A foul ball can strike a fan or a baseball bat can come flying into the stands. At Fenway Park, there are signs that face the fans in the front row seats that say, “Be alert foul balls and bats hurt”. The announcer at the game also warns to be aware of these objects.
The problem is Major League Baseball needs to extend the nets. The nets only cover the home plate backstop. They don’t extend to the dugouts. According to the Denver Post, some fans have said they would be more willing to sit near the field if these nets were to cover the dugouts.
Major League Baseball is worried that moving the nets would interfere with a fan’s enjoyment of the sights and sounds of the baseball game. This makes no sense. Locally in Grand Junction, we have the rookie team for the Colorado Rockies, the Grand Junction Rockies, who play at Sam Suplizio Field. The netting is behind both dugouts and extends to third and first base. Fans who attend games at Sam Suplizio Field can still hear and see what’s going on in the field of the play. The net doesn’t obstruct.
Major League baseball should consider using this accident as an opportunity to move the nets. This would shield fans from getting smacked by a foul ball or bat. Major League Baseball though is slow to change. Hopefully what happened at Fenway Park will be an eye-opener to make a modification to protect fans.
How should Major League baseball protect fans from foul balls and flying bats?
Very sad to have any type of accident. The courts have a field day when these type of accidents occur. Certainly the home team has some sort of responsibility and negligence, gross or otherwise, will be cited. On the other hand, fans must take on some of the responsibility. If you don’t want to be hit by an errant bat, sit where that is unlikely to occur. Same with blazing foul balls. HAF