For the Chicago White Sox and many other teams, the scene is becoming all too familiar: A Major League player ropes a foul ball into the stands down either foul line, a gasp of horror goes up from the crowd and medical personnel and security rush to assist a fan. All too often, it’s a child. Sometimes, the injuries are severe.
The White Sox and Nationals on Monday became the first teams in the big leagues to extend protective netting all the way from foul pole to foul pole. (Rain postponed the Nationals’ game, so the White Sox were the first to host a game with extended netting.) Historically, teams placed the netting only behind home plate, and it was recently extended to the dugouts.
The move isn’t without controversy. Some fans don’t like looking through a net or will miss interacting with players and the playing field more easily.
The @whitesox become baseball’s first and only team to extend the netting to the foul poles in left and right field, what do you think? @ChicagoSoxPark pic.twitter.com/4S3UbqR2bf
— Lou Canellis FOX 32 (@LouCanellis) July 22, 2019
History of nets
The Major Leagues historically have had less protective netting than many minor leagues or foreign leagues. In many Asian games, netting was long ago extended to the foul poles.
In the Majors, teams recently extended nets as far as both teams’ dugouts in the past couple of years, to the point where every team had them go that far. But as foul balls continued to hit and injure fans — several this season, including a 2-year-old girl in Houston and a 3-year-old boy over the weekend in Cleveland — teams have taken more drastic measures.
Take it from a man who twice has been hit by foul balls and saw his wife hit by another – all teams need to extend protective netting now. https://t.co/46afRTaHmG $
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 22, 2019
Safety first
The downside to protecting fans, of course, is that nets can lessen the viewing experience for fans behind them.
Watching the game through a net takes some getting used to — though it’s obviously been done for a long time behind home plate. And fans with seats down the lines are also accustomed to interacting with players before and during the game.
The White Sox left small gaps between the net and the top of the dugouts to allow for some interaction, and there is the possibility in the future of nets that can be raised before and after games.
In the meantime, players almost universally agree that safety first is the way to go.
The White Sox debuted their new extensive protective netting at Guaranteed Rate Field Monday night to mixed reviews from fans. https://t.co/cN3j4dq1jA
— Madeline Kenney (@madkenney) July 23, 2019
(h/t Chicago Tribune)
