As the MLB’s offseason continues, many wonder what changes Commissioner Rob Manfred will make regarding fan safety in stadiums. Several events during the 2015 season involving the protection of fans brought more attention to the already concerning subject. On June 5th at Fenway Park, a shard of Jedd Lawrie’s broken bat flew into the seats and struck a fan. The spectator, 44-year-old Tonya Carpenter, was sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Fortunately, she underwent successful surgery and has since recovered. 

The same cannot be said for George Murray, who died after falling fifty feet from the upper deck on August 29th at Turner Field. These are just two examples of injuries sustained by fans who had simply traveled to the field to enjoy a ballgame. It is estimated that nearly 2,000 people are injured each season while in baseball stadiums, proof that changes regarding safety must be made.

What measures can be taken to fix this problem? The most logical solution would be to install more netting behind the home plate in every ballpark. As of now, the protective netting designed to keep fans sitting behind home plate safe doesn’t even extend to the dugouts. Any fans to the left and right of the netting who are positioned close to the field are in danger of being struck with broken bats and balls that could be hit at over 100 miles per hour. If the netting was extended to the end of the dugouts, fans would be safer and those still vulnerable would, at least, have more time to react to any line drives hit in their direction.  

However, there are difficulties to this solution. Fans may argue that the netting could block their view of the game. Another issue is that every ballpark is designed differently, and some may not physically allow for the installation of more netting. 

When asked if the MLB would make any rule changes regarding fan safety in July, Manfred explained that instituting a certain rule for all ballparks to follow would be a mistake, saying, “The clubs remain free to do what they want to do in their own ballparks.”

In November, Manfred addressed each club and recommended to them that netting be extended for the upcoming season. Hopefully, each team will follow these recommendations and bring fan safety to the forefront of their minds. It is simply not enough for stadiums to instruct those in attendants to “be alert for bats or balls.” Many do not follow these instructions and even those who do can’t be guaranteed safety.  

Bruce Bochy, manager of the San Francisco Giants, is all for improving fan safety, saying, “…these new parks are so close to the field, there are times when I can’t seem to get out of the way here, and this is what I do for a living. We should try to do something to cut back on these injuries to the fans.”

Hopefully, more spectator protection in ballparks will improve safety conditions as well as allow for more fans to feel safe and enjoy the game more. With nearly 2,000 people injured each season, more netting in stadiums could drastically reduce this number by the next season.