Rob Manfred, Bud Selig to Be Deposed in Fan's Lawsuit Stemming from 2017 Injury

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem and ex-Commissioner Bud Selig will be deposed as part of a fan's negligence lawsuit against MLB in response to the fan being injured by a foul ball during an August 2017 game at Chicago's Wrigley Field.

ESPN's William Weinbaum reported the news on Thursday, noting that "Cook County Circuit Court Judge Melissa Durkin denied a motion by MLB in opposition to the depositions sought by" by the fan, 62-year-old Jay Loos.

Loos was sitting on the first-base side of Wrigley Field on Aug. 29, 2017, when he was struck by a foul ball during the Cubs' home game with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Loos was blinded in his left eye and suffered facial fractures, per Weinbaum.

According to an Associated Press article from October 2017, Loos said he had undergone three surgeries and suffered five shattered bones in his face.

Per Steve Schmadeke of the Chicago Tribune, Loos sued MLB and the Cubs as part of a negligence lawsuit in the fall of 2017.

Per Weinbaum, "the negligence suit against Major League Baseball alleges that MLB failed to take proper action to protect fans after conducting a 2015 review of safety in the stands regarding foul balls and thrown and broken bats."

A Cook County judge dropped the Cubs from the lawsuit in 2018, but MLB remained a defendant.

The 2020 season will feature netting extending beyond the dugouts in all 30 MLB parks, with some netting going as far as left- and right-field foul poles, per Weinbaum.