Looks like MLB will extend netting after all

[tower912]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/cubs-mlb-sued-foul-ball-leaves-man-blinded-one-eye-210025386.html

Combine this with the little girl getting hit....... yeah, the netting is going to get extended.   

[naginiF]

Sad that it's come to this.  Any inconvenience, no matter how small, to the die hard baseball fan that makes sure not only his attention is rapt on every pitch is unacceptable.  It's an affront to tradition and unacceptable.  That little girl's family should have made sure she was either paying attention or left at home and if a 60 year old man can't afford seats that takes into consideration his declining reflexes it's his own fault.

#outChicoingChicos

[tower912]

Well played. 

[GooooMarquette]

Well played.

+1

[🏀]

Sad that it's come to this.  Any inconvenience, no matter how small, to the die hard baseball fan that makes sure not only his attention is rapt on every pitch is unacceptable.  It's an affront to tradition and unacceptable.  That little girl's family should have made sure she was either paying attention or left at home and if a 60 year old man can't afford seats that takes into consideration his declining reflexes it's his own fault.

#outChicoingChicos

So good.

[buckchuckler]

Not against the netting at all but this quote

“I had no idea that you were subjected to such missiles and the rate of speed that a ball can come into the stands.”

Must have been the first time he ever saw a baseball game. 

[B. McBannerson]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/cubs-mlb-sued-foul-ball-leaves-man-blinded-one-eye-210025386.html

Combine this with the little girl getting hit....... yeah, the netting is going to get extended.

No brainer. Smart move.  Players are stronger, seats closer to the home plate.  Have to protect the fans.

[ATL MU Warrior]

No brainer. Smart move.  Players are stronger, seats closer to the home plate.  Have to protect the fans.

nice try.

[CTWarrior]

Frankly, I agree you shouldn't be bringing a 3 year old to an MLB game.  A child that young has no interest in a baseball game.  I also agree that extending the netting is an inevitable consequence to avoid lawsuits, etc.  I hate the idea of watching games through a net, but you can't have your customers getting seriously hurt.

[wadesworld]

Frankly, I agree you shouldn't be bringing a 3 year old to an MLB game.  A child that young has no interest in a baseball game.  I also agree that extending the netting is an inevitable consequence to avoid lawsuits, etc.  I hate the idea of watching games through a net, but you can't have your customers getting seriously hurt.

A child as young as 3 years old doesn't have an interest in much.

[cheebs09]

I'm all for the nets. Even if you are paying attention, some of those foul balls are missiles. I've sat behind a net and forget about it midway through the first inning. I'd take a little visual impairment for not being on the edge of my seat ready to react to a foul ball constantly.

[jesmu84]

Bunch of snowflakes.

Premier league doesn't have nets. Have you seen some of those hits to fans?

England>US

[jesmu84]

No brainer. Smart move.  Players are stronger, seats closer to the home plate.  Have to protect the fans.

Quite the 180 from the last time this topic came up from you, chicos

[StillAWarrior]

I'm all for the nets. Even if you are paying attention, some of those foul balls are missiles. I've sat behind a net and forget about it midway through the first inning. I'd take a little visual impairment for not being on the edge of my seat ready to react to a foul ball constantly.

Agreed.  I honestly don't even notice the net.

[wadesworld]

I'm all for the nets. Even if you are paying attention, some of those foul balls are missiles. I've sat behind a net and forget about it midway through the first inning. I'd take a little visual impairment for not being on the edge of my seat ready to react to a foul ball constantly.

+1.  And even if you could shield yourself from those missiles that occasionally come into the crowd, there are so many people around and some reach in front, etc. that there are ricochets and you can lose sight of the ball, etc.

Agreed.  I honestly don't even notice the net.

+1.

Quite the 180 from the last time this topic came up from you, chicos

That's because this 4or5 is hoopaloop, not chicos.

[MU82]

I've sat behind a net and forget about it midway through the first inning.

This.

20 years from now (probably much sooner) fans will forget there was a time when there weren't nets.

I remember people saying they would never step foot in Wrigley again if they ever put up lights. Hell, about 15 years ago, Andy MacPhail vowed there would never be a replay scoreboard there. The board is there; MacPhail is long gone.

Things change. "Traditions" often are stupid. MLB being lily-white was once a "tradition."

The nets are so common sense, it's amazing it has taken this long.

[mu03eng]

Frankly, I agree you shouldn't be bringing a 3 year old to an MLB game.  A child that young has no interest in a baseball game.  I also agree that extending the netting is an inevitable consequence to avoid lawsuits, etc.  I hate the idea of watching games through a net, but you can't have your customers getting seriously hurt.

I take my son to Brewer and Marquette games(almost two) and he definitely watches but I also intentionally sit in the bleachers because a) I'm pretty cheap 2) I don't want him taking a ball to the noggin III) And it's much easier to get out to the concourse when he inevitably gets bored.

Bottom line, there should be nets from an MLB standpoint and there shouldn't be 3 year olds sitting in those seats, even with netting.

[GB Warrior]

Frankly, I agree you shouldn't be bringing a 3 year old to an MLB game.  A child that young has no interest in a baseball game.  I also agree that extending the netting is an inevitable consequence to avoid lawsuits, etc.  I hate the idea of watching games through a net, but you can't have your customers getting seriously hurt.

That's a bit ridiculous. Of course they don't know what's going on, but it's also about establishing tradition. Plus Dad enjoys the game and time with his kids too.

I would never sit down in an area where there was a risk of flying bats or line drives though.

I'm in complete favor of netting in any location where science tells us the landing velocity poses a significant risk of injury. It's just a good legal practice if nothing else - don't leave it up to a court if you did enough or force a bigger settlement.

[CTWarrior]

That's a bit ridiculous. Of course they don't know what's going on, but it's also about establishing tradition. Plus Dad enjoys the game and time with his kids too.

I love baseball and I have an adult son who loves baseball.  I didn't even consider bringing him to a game until he was 6, and he was a precocious kid.  (He must have been 14.3% smarter than me since my father wouldn't take me until I was 7).  He lives a few states away now but we still take annual trips together to baseball games.  Waiting until he was 6 certainly had zero effect on establishing a tradition.  Forgetting the safety issue, you want to watch and enjoy the game and tending to a bored kid certainly affects your ability to do that.

[copious1218]

I'm in complete favor of netting in any location where science tells us the landing velocity poses a significant risk of injury. It's just a good legal practice if nothing else - don't leave it up to a court if you did enough or force a bigger settlement.

This.  I was one of the ones arguing against extending the nets all the way to the foul poles, but I'm all for extending the nets certainly to the end of the dugouts and potentially further if a study dictates. 

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I kinda changed my tune on it. I always used to hate the idea.

My sister and her boyfriend were at a Cubs game recently and she was sitting in the bleachers. Baez threw a ball from the edge of the infield all the way to the bleachers and my sisters boyfriend caught it on the fly.

Afterwards he told me "I really tried the play it cool but that sh*t hurt." And that was from a ball thrown 200 feet from an infielder.

[MerrittsMustache]

I kinda changed my tune on it. I always used to hate the idea.

My sister and her boyfriend were at a Cubs game recently and she was sitting in the bleachers. Baez threw a ball from the edge of the infield all the way to the bleachers and my sisters boyfriend caught it on the fly.

Afterwards he told me "I really tried the play it cool but that sh*t hurt." And that was from a ball thrown 200 feet from an infielder.

Hopefully he's toughening up for next season.

[jesmu84]

[tower912]

Show the video of the little girl getting hit.

[Benny B]

That's a bit ridiculous. Of course they don't know what's going on, but it's also about establishing tradition. Plus Dad enjoys the game and time with his kids too.

This.  Among the earliest of memories I have is being at a baseball game with my father, the first of several fond memories of being at a baseball game with my dad.  Frankly, I was happy just to be with my dad, and I think me being there made those games much more enjoyable.

By CT's logic, one should never take kids anywhere until the age of 35... because up until that point, they won't understand what's going on or won't appreciate it.

[CTWarrior]

This.  Among the earliest of memories I have is being at a baseball game with my father, the first of several fond memories of being at a baseball game with my dad.  Frankly, I was happy just to be with my dad, and I think me being there made those games much more enjoyable.

By CT's logic, one should never take kids anywhere until the age of 35... because up until that point, they won't understand what's going on or won't appreciate it.

How on Earth would you infer that?  I said age of 6 for a baseball game.  Your 3 year old would enjoy being with you doing a million other things just as much or more than he would at a baseball game.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Easy solution: bigger goals.

[🏀]

Easy solution: bigger goals.

Would maybe make soccer watchable.

[wadesworld]

Would maybe make soccer watchable.

Psych.

[🏀]

Psych.

Really feel like the '18 World Cup is what brings Americans to soccer.

[B. McBannerson]

nice try.

I would also get rid of the kickoff return, except for onside kicks.   

[GooooMarquette]

How on Earth would you infer that?  I said age of 6 for a baseball game.  Your 3 year old would enjoy being with you doing a million other things just as much or more than he would at a baseball game.

It varies incredibly from child to child, even within a family.  I've known 3 year olds who can sit attentively for longer than many high school kids.  The bottom line - and I know this is a radical thought - is that parents need to know their kids.

YMMV.