It has been said nothing is more American than baseball and apple pie (public safety has never been part of that catch phrase). But there are some very dangerous slices of our “baseball pie” that need to be looked at such as installing nets. Recently, ESPN reported that "a young fan sitting in the lower-level seats at Yankee Stadium was bloodied by a 105 mph line drive that struck her in the face during Wednesday's Minnesota Twins-New York Yankees game."
Before that, the Dallas News reported “the tragic death of Wendy Whitehead on June 12 barely caused a ripple in baseball circles. But it has some fans thinking about their own safety in the stands — and whether more protective netting could prevent serious injuries or worse. Whitehead was attending a game between the San Angelo Colts and the Amarillo Dillas with her husband. They were sitting in the bleachers along the third-base line when a hitter smashed a line-drive foul into the stands. The ball hit Whitehead in the head, and she died the next day.”
We need to learn from what just happened at Yankee Stadium and in Texas now, and take action by installing nets statewide at our ballparks. I’ve learned this firsthand. I have four little boys, and they all play baseball locally. Alarmingly, most the parks they play in have no nets to protect fans and wandering children. So, when a ball goes out of the playing area like a missile, a toddler — who’s more interested in some piece of green gum stuck on the cement than the game itself — is at a huge risk.
Thus, every time the ball goes out of the park, we as caring, watchful parents, friends and fans all cringe hoping nobody gets hurt. We know from experience that simply hearing a bunch of people yell "heads!” means almost nothing to many people at the venue, especially children.
Further, because many parks have four fields or more, a ball can come from out of nowhere, and many fans simply cannot prepare to defend themselves against such. Despite all of this, nets are uncommon. In fact, Copper Hills (Ron Wood Complex) is the only park I know of with safety nets. I have seen those nets intervene countless times in what could have been horrible tragedies like soft angelic hands from heaven.
So I did a quick search on what netting costs: about $1 per square foot for the good stuff, and as cheap as 80 cents for the adequate stuff. So far as I know, the nets didn’t bankrupt the Copper Hills site. When we figure what the medical cost would be for just one traumatic brain injury, the nets are worth it.
When it comes to our beloved sport, we have made some common-sensical progress: Our leagues have put limitations on bats, and the amount of throws our pitchers can make, so their arms don’t turn to jelly. Still, I often have to catch my breath as I watch batters taking reckless warm-up swings from all over the park as people walk nearby them (we must have and enforce batting warm-up circles).
I understand change comes slowly, but since London has finally gotten around to the expensive process of replacing many of the lead pipes that have carried its drinking water, I think we Utahns can get busy on throwing up some nets. There’s no reason to wait until lawyers file suits (those suits will cost far more than nets). After all, the lack of nets, in my opinion, poses a clear risk to way too many vulnerable people. We should act on getting nets installed throughout the state at our ballparks now.
Greg Smith is president of Greg Smith and Associates, a law firm that's been around for about 25 years, and he is the father of four boys, who all play baseball.