Dodgers to extend netting after another fan hit
The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to extend the netting at Dodger Stadium, likely this season, after another fan was hit by a foul ball Sunday.
"We have been talking for some time with different providers and looking at different options," team CEO and president Stan Kasten said Monday, according to a report by The Orange County Register. "Surely we will be expanding netting. I don't know yet the final configuration. Obviously there are some different choices to be made and different products which each come with their own set of challenges."
Kasten said he wasn't sure when the change would happen but that "I think it's likely" it gets done before the end of the season.
In a statement on Monday, the Dodgers said the team began studying during the offseason how the netting in their stadium "could be configured to provide better protection for our fans."
"Once this study is completed, the team will implement the recommended changes and extend the netting at Dodger Stadium. The team will provide more information on the project timeline and scope when available," the statement said.
A young girl was taken to a hospital Sunday for precautionary tests after being struck in the head by a foul ball from Dodgers star Cody Bellinger during the first inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies.
The fan was sitting four rows from the field along the first-base line, just beyond protective netting that extends to the end of the visiting dugout. She was hit by a sharp line drive by Bellinger, who checked on her between innings. She at first stayed in her seat and was given an ice pack, but she left about 15 minutes later for further attention.
The girl, Kaitlyn Salazar, told KABC-TV in Los Angeles on Monday that she sustained a concussion and is experiencing vision problems in her right eye. She told the station she's recovering at home.
A woman died last August after being struck in the head by a foul ball at Dodger Stadium. A 14-year-old also died days after a ball struck him at Dodger Stadium in 1970.
All 30 major league stadiums expanded protective netting to at least the far ends of the dugouts at the start of the 2018 season after several fans were injured by foul balls two years ago.
Fan safety has received further scrutiny after a young girl was struck by a foul ball in Houston during a game on May 29. The Chicago White Sox and Washington Nationals recently announced that they will extend their netting to the foul poles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
