In late May, Albert Almora of the Chicago Cubs hit a line drive foul into the stands just beyond the netting at Minute Maid Park. The ball struck a small child, who had to be carried out of the stands to receive medical attention. Almora and many others who witnessed the aftermath of the accident were visibly shaken.
Now we have some insight into why. KTRK of Houston reports that the child -- a two year-old girl -- suffered a fractured skull, had subdural bleeding, brain contusions, brain edema and suffered severe seizures in the wake of the incident. The information came from an attorney retained by the family of the victim.
The girl was seated just beyond where netting currently ends at Minute Maid Park. Since the girl was injured, there have been multiple other fans injured by hard-hit foul balls. In response, Major League Baseball said it planned to monitor the issue of fans being injured by foul balls, but has declined to mandate extended netting. Recently, however, the Chicago White Sox became the first team to announce that they would soon extend protective netting all the way to the foul pole down each line. Based on how these things have gone in the past, expect other teams to follow suit, sooner or later.
