Braves first baseman Kelly Johnson lined out to end the top of the sixth inning during Thursday’s game against the Nationals at Nationals Park. He broke his bat after making contact, and a sawed off part of his bat rocketed towards the crowd behind the Nationals’ dugout.
But... there was netting. Nobody got hurt, unlike a fan at Fenway Park last year who was hit by a broken bat shard and suffered serious injuries.
kelly johnson bat shattered and half of the sawed off portion landed halfway up the new netting above the Nats dugout, shielding the fans
— Byron Kerr (@ByronKerr) April 14, 2016
During the offseason, Major League Baseball issued netting recommendations, which suggested stadiums extend netting to the ends of both dugouts. Good thinking.