Prior to the 2018 season, the Baltimore Orioles will extend the protective netting at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. In addition, the club will also install extended netting at its spring training home, Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.
This news from the Orioles is not a surprise, as it was indicated in September that the team was planning to extend protective netting at Camden Yards. However, the club has now made it official by announcing some of the details about extended netting plans for both Camden Yards and Ed Smith Stadium.
The club is still working on specific dimensions, but according to a statement issued by the Orioles on Wednesday, the netting at Oriole Park at Camden Yards is expected to extend from section 16 through section 58. Extended netting at Ed Smith Stadium, meanwhile, will also run beyond the dugouts.
The Orioles released the following statement today: pic.twitter.com/vJ0irQnwHK
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) January 24, 2018
Over the last several months–particularly in the period since a young girl was severely struck by a foul at Yankee Stadium in September–there has been a steady rise in the number of teams that are extending the netting at their ballparks. Besides the Orioles, numerous other teams will extend netting at their regular-season homes, including the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers.
Ed Smith Stadium is now the latest spring training venue to be announced for extended netting in 2018. Netting for spring training games has also been extended at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, Steinbrenner Field, Hammond Stadium and LECOM Park.
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