We’ve been tracking MLB teams installing extended netting for the 2018 season, and now MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says all 30 teams will have new protective netting on Opening Day.
“Providing baseball fans with a variety of seating options when they come to the ballpark, including seats behind protective netting, is important,” Manfred said in a press statement. “Major League clubs are constantly evaluating the coverage and design of their ballpark netting and I am pleased that they are providing fans an increased inventory of protected seats.”
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. Manfred confirms what we’ve been told by several team officials: extended netting for all.
The latest teams to announce extended netting: Seattle and Arizona. The Mariners will install protective netting at the ballpark to the outside ends of both dugouts and reach a height of 11 feet above field level. The netting will be attached to the front (field) edge of the dugout roofs. At Chase Field, extended netting will run to the far end of the dugouts.
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