SALT LAKE CITY - Fan safety at baseball games has once again become a topic of conversation after a young fan was almost hit in the face with a baseball bat at a spring training came in Florida over the weekend.
The boy was saved by another fan sitting close by who reached out his arm and blocked a bat from hitting him in the head.
The picture comes just months after Major League Baseball sent out a memo to all teams suggesting they extend safety nets to at least 70 feet around the back of home plate.
"We're taking down the old net, and putting up the new protective one," said Kraig Williams, Communications Manager for the Salt Lake Bees. "We had been looking into it over the winter but what happened last weekend certainly pushed us even further that we should do this."
A handful of Major League teams will also extend their safety netting, but far from the majority. Yet, the Bees are not only extending their nets to 70 feet, they're going one step beyond.
"We are going to push them out to the ends of the dug outs," Williams said. "It's probably closer to 90 feet."
Williams said they have received a few calls from concerned season ticket holders who wonder if the nets will now block their view.
"I think they will be pleasantly surprised," Williams added. "They won't hardly know anything is there."
He said the team plans to have the new net up in time for the spring training exhibition game March 22 against the LA Angels.
