D-backs CEO Derrick Hall addresses possible added netting

After a young girl was struck by a foul ball and rushed to the hospital at a Cubs-Astros game Wednesday, the league and teams like the Diamondbacks are re-evaluating netting in their respective ballparks.

Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr. smoked the line drive foul ball into the seats along the third baseline in the top of the fourth inning, leaving Almora Jr. and the Astros infield shaken. Almora Jr. was shown crying and talking with an Astros security guard following the incident and was still upset after the game.

Players like Cubs third baseman and outfielder Kris Bryant have already called for additional netting. Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall offered his condolences and possible solutions Thursday morning.

“Obviously that was a sad situation yesterday,” Hall said on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Doug & Wolf. “We never want to see any fan get hit, especially a little kid.”

Hall mentioned that the Diamondbacks were among the first MLB teams to extend netting to the end of the dugouts before the season.

But Hall was not as aggressive this time around promoting extended netting, calling it a “league decision.”

“I know right now the commissioner’s office is looking hard at it,” he said.

Hall noted that nets exist from foul pole to foul pole in Japan, and attendance has not been affected in those leagues by the increased safety measures whatsoever.

“If we believe that’s what it’s going to take to keep our fans safe, then we’ll probably extend it even more,” he said.

Hall’s view on the matter certainly comes with experience. He has been struck with a ball and bat, and his daughter was once struck in the head by a foul ball as well.

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