Francisco Lindor calls for more netting after foul ball sends 3-year-old to hospital
Another MLB player is calling for expanded netting after another child was hit and injured by a foul ball at a ballpark.
Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians helped his team beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-4, on Sunday, but a line drive foul that he hit in the sixth inning is what was on his mind after the game. That foul ball he hit went into the seats on the first base side of Progressive Field, just beyond the dugout where the netting stops, and injured someone.
The Indians are not releasing any information about the incident, but Cleveland.com reported that a man was seen running toward the concourse holding a child immediately after the ball flew into the stands in the sixth inning. After the game, Lindor told the media that the ball had hit a 3-year-old boy, who had been taken to the hospital. Via Cleveland.com:
“He’s in the hospital right now. I came over immediately and tried to find out where he was. The paramedics were checking him here.
"Once I got out of the game, they let me know that he’s doing OK. He’s doing good. He’s in the hospital getting checked out. He’s talking and answering questions and his eyes look good. That’s a good sign. Hopefully, every test they run on him comes back good.
“You don’t want that to happen to anybody, especially a little kid.”
Lindor, who was visibly upset after he hit that foul ball, called on every team to extend protective netting.
“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was headed to somebody. I hit it hard. I got over on the ball. It stinks.
"I encourage every MLB team to put the nets all the way down (to the foul pole). I know it’s all about the fans’ experience to interact with the players. I completely get that. You want to have that interaction with the players, getting autographs and stuff. But at the end of the day, we want to make sure everybody comes out of the game healthy. We’ve got to do something about it.
“Everybody feels bad. If we can put the nets a little farther down, it would be a a lot better.”
While the Chicago White Sox quickly committed to extending the netting after a little girl was injured by a foul ball at Minute Maid Park in May, the Indians have said that they will not even consider extending the netting at Progressive Field until after the end of the current season. The team has not given a reason for that decision.
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