2 US Senators Write Rob Manfred, Urge MLB to Expand Protective Netting

Illinois Democratic senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth sent a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday that requested that all 30 teams extend their protective netting around the diamond to keep fans safe, in the wake of a number of foul ball-related injuries.

"Clearly, more needs to be done to put the safety of fans first ... extended netting could help prevent many of these injuries," they wrote, per Madeline Kenney of the Chicago Sun-Times.

"We appreciate the efforts MLB and individual teams have taken so far for the safety of fans," they continued. "However, it is clear the current extended netting is not sufficient to protect fans from serious injury or death. We hope all teams will follow the leadership of the Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers in this matter."

In 2014, a Bloomberg study found that 1,750 fans per season get struck by foul balls. In one of the latest instances, a two-year-old girl was struck by an Albert Almora Jr. foul ball in May and suffered a fractured skull and had a seizure, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The girl suffered "subdural bleeding, bruising and swelling of the brain and spent 'several days' at the hospital," per that report.

In the wake of that injury, the White Sox, Nationals, Rangers and Pittsburgh Pirates all revealed plans to extend the protective netting to the outfield foul poles, while the Dodgers "plan to conduct a study before completing a new protective strategy," per Kenney.

The Detroit Tigers previously extended their netting, per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:

Given the mounting public pressure, it seems likely more teams will follow suit, and it remains a possibility that Major League Baseball will eventually mandate extended protective netting.