04/20/24
April 21, 2015
Fan Hit in Head by Foul Ball Through Home-Plate Netting: A fan behind home plate at PNC Park in Pittsburgh was struck in the back of the head Monday night, necessitating a 23-minute delay as she was treated and stretchered off. She was standing behind the home-plate netting, but close enough to be struck anyway. Tim Kirkjian responded on ESPN that fans who don't watch the ball during a game are in serious danger, especially along the base lines close to home, but how many fans are fast enough to react even if they're paying attention?
Tim Kirkjian responded on ESPN that fans who don't watch the ball during a game are in serious danger
This isn't a case where someone was negligent with their attention. She was shuffling to her seat while passing in front of someone in the front row. Regardless of which direction she was facing when the ball was struck, she was going to be hit in the head.
She (rightly) assumed that the netting provided would protect her from a foul ball, but for some reason the net was very loose. If they put seats that close to the net, and people have to walk to their seats and pass that close to the netting while doing so, it's the Pirate's/stadium's fault for not properly protecting them with a stronger/firmer net.
posted by grum@work at 11:40 AM on April 21, 2015
Tim Kirkjian responded on ESPN that fans who don't watch the ball during a game are in serious danger
Well, on the one hand he is right, and fans who don't pay attention are liable to get brained. But what grum said. This wasn't someone down the third base line turned around chatting with the person behind her or fucking with her cell phone. She was heading to her seat. And whether you think it is right or wrong of her to do so while game play is ongoing, thousands of people do it at the ballpark every night.
posted by tahoemoj at 01:11 PM on April 21, 2015
I agree completely with grum (and, on edit, tahoe). The netting is there to perform precisely the function that it failed to do, because (as rcade implies) most people cannot react that quickly. The fact that she was hit while doing something completely reasonable for a ballgame attendee (as opposed to, say, putting her face right up in the net) shows that the net was either designed poorly or improperly installed or maintained.
posted by bender at 01:13 PM on April 21, 2015
I've sat in the very front row before, and the usher for our section came down and specifically told us to be careful. The nets are going to have some give no matter what, but they could probably be located a little more towards the field.
posted by LionIndex at 01:20 PM on April 21, 2015
I think the conventional wisdom about batted-ball fan safety is wrong: If you pay attention you won't get hurt.
When my sons were little we attended a Jacksonville Suns Double A game and sat in the first row of the second section 103 on this map (further from home plate):
A foul ball from a left-handed batter was hit right at our seats, striking the concrete in front of my young son. Two or three inches higher and the ball would have clobbered him.
I was watching the game, but didn't move until after it had hit the concrete.
A batted ball can travel at a speed exceeding 100 mph. I think a lot of people in close-up, unprotected seats are not capable of reacting in time to avoid the ball.
posted by rcade at 01:24 PM on April 21, 2015
I want to jump 30 years in the future when drone technology, 3D-visualization technology, and miniature motor technology have reached the point where small "catcher" drones will hover over the fans at games. They'll be programmed to react with the speed to intercept the ball as it approaches the crowd, catching it in a small net that hangs below the drone. The drone would then lower itself slowly to the nearest child (indicated by the specially marked ticket with the RFID indicator that the drone can read with the blanket-wifi in the stadium) and give them the ball.
It's either that, or netting down the baselines.
posted by grum@work at 02:49 PM on April 21, 2015
This isn't a case where someone was negligent with their attention.
Gotta disagree with this. Other than the debatable rudeness of squeezing in front of the other fans during an at bat (you can't wait a minute to block their view?) she's tight up against a mesh net with her back turned while someone throws fastballs at it. That's the baseball fan equivalent of texting while crossing a busy street.
posted by deflated at 08:07 PM on April 21, 2015
That's the baseball fan equivalent of texting while crossing a busy street.
Gotta disagree with this. Moving to your seat does not require traffic to stop, nor are you crossing the direct path of the speeding object. The net failed, simple as that.
The NHL has done a much better job over the years of keeping fans safe-r, especially behind the goals. Baseball could take a lesson or two and start to understand that an extra row of seat revenue isn't worth the safety of the fans. That or just tighten up the nets, move the nets off the wall away from the fans a little more, or install fencing - at least to the height of a person standing.
There are many solutions to this. Blaming the fan seems like the foolish one of them all.
posted by BoKnows at 09:04 PM on April 21, 2015
she's tight up against a mesh net with her back turned while someone throws fastballs at it.
Like BoKnows says, this isn't her fault. The only method for getting to her seat is to walk/shuffle/slide like that in front of people.
I don't know how you get to your seats, but unless you expected her to body surf on that row over their heads, she has to pass in front of the seated patrons (and next to the mesh). Regardless of which direction she was facing, she was going to get hit in the head.
posted by grum@work at 10:03 PM on April 21, 2015
I was at Fenway Park with my son, then younger than 10, sitting in the left field grandstand seats quite close to the wall that parallels the left field foul line. During batting practice my attention was momentarily distracted, and I looked up to see a screaming line drive just a few feet away and heading directly for my son. I could not have reacted quickly enough, but at the last second a glove interspersed itself between the ball and my son's face. It was far too close a call, and I will never do that again.
posted by Howard_T at 12:06 AM on April 22, 2015
Like BoKnows says, this isn't her fault.
I think it could be partially her fault because she took her seat during a pitch. But I've never sat close enough behind home plate to understand how much give there is in the netting, so I don't know how much of her risk was foreseeable. I might've assumed I was totally safe in her situation.
When I've sat close along the lines, I've waited until after a pitch to move to my seat before.
posted by rcade at 08:37 AM on April 22, 2015
Gotta disagree with this. Other than the debatable rudeness of squeezing in front of the other fans during an at bat (you can't wait a minute to block their view?) she's tight up against a mesh net with her back turned while someone throws fastballs at it.
I will grant that walking in front of other people during a pitch is a rude move on her part, but someone walking during a pitch (in front of someone or otherwise) is something that will definitely happen, and this should be taken into account in the design of the safety net.
posted by bender at 10:26 AM on April 22, 2015
I think it could be partially her fault because she took her seat during a pitch.
Yep. Wait a minute to get in there, your neighbours will appreciate the courtesy and you're guaranteed not to be hit by a ball. Common sense.
posted by deflated at 11:06 AM on April 22, 2015
Wait a minute to get in there,
You mean, stand in the aisle and wait for the play to end? What about the people whose view you are blocking by standing in the aisle?
posted by grum@work at 11:47 AM on April 22, 2015
"Now, a question of etiquette— as I pass, do I give you the ass or the crotch?"
posted by yerfatma at 11:53 AM on April 22, 2015
I have been in some seating areas at some ballparks where the ushers do not let you return to your seat before other than in between batters or in between innings. That said, you can't really control the reverse of this (i.e., when people exit their seats), so there will always be risks. Seems like this is really a combination responsibility of patrons to be aware and exercise good judgment (both in terms of safety and communal etiquette) and ballparks to have nets that actually protect against this and to enforce when attendees can return to at least certain seats.
posted by holden at 12:46 PM on April 22, 2015
"Now, a question of etiquette as I pass, do I give you the ass or the crotch?"
I spin, giving them the total package.
posted by rcade at 02:25 PM on April 22, 2015
I have been in some seating areas at some ballparks where the ushers do not let you return to your seat before other than in between batters or in between innings.
They don't let you down the aisle from the concourse until the end of the at-bat. However, it's a long walk to the bottom of some of the aisle (having to pass people and vendors), so it's not unusual to still be walking through the seats when the first pitch is thrown.
posted by grum@work at 02:50 PM on April 22, 2015
This is completely contrasted by the woman who caught a ball in her beer and then, sensing the moment, chugs the beer on camera.
In general, I couldn't imagine attending a game without a glove on - one, to actually snag a ball, but two, even if you're quick to bare-hand, a ball moving 90 MPH or more is a great way to end up with a decorative hand for the next few weeks.