Let’s take action! Sign our Petition below for extended netting at all Minor & Major League ballparks
78% of fans agree more safety netting is a good idea
Petition #1
TO EXTEND NETTING AT ALL MINOR & MAJOR LEAGUE STADIUMS
By signing, you accept FoulBallSafetyNow!’s Privacy Policy, and agree to receive occasional emails about our campaign. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Creator: Bob Levey | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2019 Getty Images
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred,
We are baseball fans concerned about the ongoing epidemic of fan injuries from dangerous foul balls. At least 15 people were maimed by foul balls in 2019 at Major League Baseball games, and an untold number of fans have been injured at minor league ballparks where statistics are unknown. NBC News compiled data from first aid contractors working for only four out of the 30 MLB teams, and reported that at least 808 fans had been injured by baseballs from 2012 to 2019. Factoring in the other 26 teams, that would come out to roughly 5,000 fan injuries over the same period. These injuries were predictable and entirely preventable if professional baseball had mandated and undertaken the simple act of extending and elevating protective netting.
We the fans deserve the right to watch baseball games in safety, without the threat of being maimed by dangerous foul balls. Fans of all ages and abilities ought to be able to relax and enjoy watching baseball, and to bring our families to the game confident that everyone will leave as healthy as they arrived.
This entirely preventable epidemic of serious foul ball injuries to fans will continue to haunt Major League Baseball in 2022 as long as basic precautionary measures are not taken at both Major and Minor League ballparks.
Enough is enough. It is MLB’s responsibility to protect all fans from dangerous foul balls once and for all. We demand that MLB now extend protective netting down the foul lines in all professional baseball stadiums, and raise the height of netting where necessary in order to protect all fans of baseball. We demand that every professional ballpark and stadium throughout America be certified as foul-ball safe for all visitors, so we can all enjoy watching America’s pastime in peace. Extend the nets now!
Petition #2
TO REPEAL “THE BASEBALL RULE”
By signing, you accept FoulBallSafetyNow!’s Privacy Policy, and agree to receive occasional emails about our campaign. You can unsubscribe at any time.
To the legislatures and governors of the 50 states of the United States of America:
We call on you to enact legislation to eliminate the Baseball Rule, an outdated legal doctrine that endangers the safety of Americans at major and minor league stadiums across the country.
The Baseball Rule, adopted decades ago by courts and a handful of state legislatures, holds that fans injured by high-speed foul balls cannot receive compensation in court, no matter how badly they are hurt, so long as the home team has taken minimal steps to protect spectators.
The Baseball Rule is a heartless relic that ignores the ongoing epidemic of fan injuries from dangerous foul balls. At least 15 people were maimed by foul balls in 2019 at Major League Baseball games, and an untold number of fans have been injured at minor league parks. Some research suggests that as many as 5,000 fans have been injured by foul balls over a decade. Such injuries are entirely preventable if professional baseball undertakes the simple act of extending and elevating protective netting.
The Baseball Rule lets teams off the hook for their blatant disregard of these dangers. The antiquated rule, which never made sense, is even more reckless today, with foul balls flying at faster speeds, stadiums placing more fans closer to the field, and obstacles to fans being able to select seats protected by nets.
Increasingly, legal experts have criticized the Baseball Rule as incompatible with public safety and common sense, and a growing number of courts across the country in recent years have refused to apply the rule, instead allowing injured fans to seek compensation.
State legislatures should override the Baseball Rule once and for all and charge baseball teams with the obligation to compensate fans for foul ball injuries -- or at least to do so when they have failed to take all reasonable steps to protect fans. With such duties in place, major and minor league teams would have stronger motivation to provide the necessary netting to protect spectators.
Fans deserve the right to watch baseball games in safety, without the threat of being maimed by dangerous foul balls. Fans of all ages ought to be able to relax and enjoy watching baseball, confident that everyone will leave as healthy as they arrived.
Repeal the Baseball Rule.