At Least 44 Minor League Baseball Teams Continue to Put Fans At High Risk of Dangerous Foul Ball Injuries

Foul Ball Safety Now has learned that at least forty-four minor league ballparks continue to operate in 2022 without safety netting past the end of the dugouts to protect fans from high-speed foul balls traveling into areas where families and young children are present.

The worst example remains the Peoria Chiefs, the High-A Central affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, who continue the dangerous status quo in Dozer Park, despite FBSN’s “Wake Up Dozer, Nets!” plane flyover in Spring 2021. The Chiefs’ general manager Jason Mott promised the media nearly a year ago that the ballpark would install extended netting to protect fans seated above the dugouts, but this has still not been completed. Last year, Mott told the media that extended netting improvements were delayed due to shipping challenges. FBSN heard the same excuse from the box office this week, when the person answering the phone said that the shipment of netting was delayed.

Peoria is not alone in continuing to endanger fans’ lives. The Vancouver Canadians have returned to hosting games at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver, BC. Their box office told FBSN this week that netting covers sections A to R. That would indicate that seating areas including a suite above the first base dugout as well as a picnic area beyond 1st base in the outfield remain exposed to foul balls. On the third base side, there is another suite above the dugout beyond section R that would presumably be exposed, as well as sections S through W and 12 through 15, and a Children’s Play Area and food court situated behind those sections in the outfield along 3rd base that remain unprotected by netting.

“I’ve learned through my audit of minor league facilities this Spring that more than a few of these ballparks have picnic areas down the dangerous foul lines and other attractions designed to draw families with young children to the game, yet these areas are often not protected by netting. That is an irresponsible business practice, and it needs to stop,” said Jordan Skopp, founder of Foul Ball Safety Now.

“The minor leagues are continuing to operate under a dangerous status quo, putting fans in harm’s way,” Skopp continued. “Families need to understand the risk they and their children face if they visit these ballparks.”

Foul ball injuries to fans continue happening throughout professional baseball due to the lack of a standardized, mandated approach to fan safety. Foul Ball Safety Now published its MLB netting report in April, detailing how MLB stadiums continue to increase fan distractions while failing to protect fans including young children who are seated seconds away from impact.

Last year, FBSN discovered at least 42 minor league teams operating without netting past the end of the dugouts. While a few teams have since updated their netting, FBSN discovered additional teams that hadn’t been factored into last year’s analysis, leading to the new tally of 44 minor league teams operating under dangerous conditions.

Foul Ball Safety Now is petitioning Major League Baseball to pay for extended netting throughout their minor league affiliates’ facilities. The group has also called for the creation of an independent safety netting council to assess and fix the ongoing fan safety dangers throughout professional baseball.

For more information, visit FoulBallSafetyNow.com.

About Foul Ball Safety Now

Foul Ball Safety Now! is a campaign started by Jordan Skopp, a Brooklyn realtor, lifelong baseball fan, and author of a forthcoming book about the wildly overlooked scandal in the professional baseball industry – the all-too-frequent incidence of fans being maimed by dangerous foul balls due to the lack of extended protective netting, and related failures to educate fans about their assumed risk at the ballgame. For more information, visit Foul Ball Safety Now https://www.foulballsafetynow.com/