Life-long baseball fan and stadium safety advocate Jordan Skopp just sent letters to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey urging them to do the right thing by fans and inspect their states’ baseball spring training facilities for appropriate safety netting before allowing fans back into these ballparks this spring.
For years, Skopp has been pressing Major League Baseball and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to install safety netting at their parks. Skopp has been very public in his disappointment in the league’s laissez faire response that includes missing and issuing a safety netting mandate at all minor and major league ballparks and stadiums.
The safety concern is very real. Since 2008, at least 39 children, most who suffered head injuries, and an uncounted number of adults, have been maimed by foul balls at Major and Minor League ballparks.
“If the MLB won’t regulate itself, perhaps it’s time for state leaders to step in and take a stand on ensuring stadiums are safe for their visitors and constituents,” says Jordan Skopp, who sent letters to the Governors of the two states that host spring training for MLB baseball teams. “I’ve called on these Governors to inspect the parks, firsthand, to see how dangerous sitting in the stands can be and what simple measures can be taken to protect fans from deadly foul balls.”
To further raise public awareness about this safety issue, Skopp is hosting a press conference this Wednesday, February 17 (see details below). At that press conference, Skopp plans to discuss why he sent the letters to the governors, what steps fans should take if they plan to attend any spring training games, and he’ll talk with several spectators whose lives were forever changed by a single foul ball injury, including:
- Erwin Goldbloom, the widower of Linda Goldbloom who was killed by a foul ball incident at Dodger Stadium in 2018
- Jana Brody, daughter of Erwin and Linda Goldbloom, who will talk about the tragic loss of her mother to a fatal foul ball injury.
- Alexis Hoskey, who was just 4-years-old when she was hit by a ball while attending a Kansas City Royals game in 2011. She experienced major head trauma.
- Alexis Pavlinec, a 10 year old who suffered a concussion and 2 facial fractures when she was struck by a foul ball at a Lakewood, NJ Jersey Shore BlueCrabs Minor League game in 2014 while waiting for refreshments at a concession stand.
- Stephanie Wapenski, who was hit in the head at Fenway Park while attending a Boston Red Sox game in 2015. She received 40 stitches.
- And others to be announced at the press conference.
While no one has a tally on the total number of fans injured by foul balls, a 2019 NBC News report found 808 injuries primarily occurred in 4 of the MLB’s 30 MLB stadiums between 2012 and 2019. Extrapolating that data out to the remaining MLB ballparks, it conservatively suggests the average number of fans injured during that period could be a staggering 5,000. And those incident numbers don’t account for Minor League play that, in total, has nearly 4 times the number of games on their rosters as the Majors.
Skopp is the founder of Foul Ball Safety Now which hosts a public petition addressed to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
Press Conference Details:
Jordan Skopp’s Foul Ball Safety NOW Press Conference
Date/Time:
Wednesday – February 17, 2021 at 8:00 pm ET (US Eastern time)
Zoom Video Link:
Meeting ID: 938 8211 0417
By Phone:
Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 938 8211 0417
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aglLLodQj
About Jordan Skopp
Jordan Skopp is a baseball fan, stadium safety advocate, and author of an upcoming book detailing foul ball injuries at professional parks and what can be done to ensure fan safety. Skopp is the founder of foulballsafetynow.com.
