The Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball team has announced that extended netting will be in place when it returns to Dodger Stadium today (Monday).
The team had previously replaced the netting behind home plate and above both dugouts with a 33-foot net – eight feet longer than before. The 33-foot netting has now been extended by an additional 124 feet down the baselines, from both dugouts to the elbow bend in front of the baseline seats.
The move has been made with the safety of fans in mind and the Dodgers join a host of other MLB teams that have already implemented similar measures.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that a Californian woman died in August 2018 as a consequence of being hit by a batted ball while attending a game at Dodger Stadium. Linda Goldbloom, a mother of three and grandmother of seven, died on August 29 last year, four days after watching a game between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
The accident was said to have happened in the top of the ninth inning when a Padres batter fouled back a pitch. The ball flew into the loge level of Dodger Stadium, just over an area protected by netting, striking Goldbloom on the head.
The Dodgers committed to extending the netting in June after a young girl was hit in the head by a liner from home team slugger Cody Bellinger. The girl received treatment at the game before being taken to hospital for precautionary tests.
On the latest extension of netting at Dodger Stadium, Dodgers president and chief executive Stan Kasten said: “The decisions to both raise and extend the nets at Dodger Stadium were made after extensive data analysis and consultation with both players and fans. We think these extensions to the netting greatly enhance fan safety while also keeping Dodger Stadium the welcoming and comfortable place it has always been.”
The old netting has been donated to the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and will be used to help refurbish Jackie Robinson Stadium in the City Compton.
Image: Discover Los Angeles
