Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant is calling for more protective barriers to be installed to keep fans safe at major league stadiums.
Bryant was in the dugout at Minute Maid Park in Houston Wednesday night when a young girl was hit by a foul ball off the bat of Bryant’s teammate, Albert Almora Jr., during the game between the Astros and the Cubs.
“Any safety measure we can take to make sure fans are safe, we should do it,” Bryant told ESPN after the game.
Thursday morning, there was no official word on the condition of the girl, who was crying as she was carried out of the seating area by a man.
While the amount of protective netting has been in expanded in MLB parks, the girl was seated in an area beyond the netting.
“The young fan that was struck by the foul ball during tonight’s game was taken to the hospital,” the Astros said in a statement after the game. “We are not able to disclose any further details at this time. The Astros send our thoughts and prayers to the entire family.”
Sports Talk 790 in Houston, however, tweeted Wednesday night that the girl was taken the hospital as a precautionary measure and was expected to be fine.
Almora clearly was distraught over the girl’s injury.
“Just seeing Albert the look on his face – it’s so sad,” Bryant said. “I mean. I don’t know what you can do. Let’s just put fences up around the whole field. It’s so sad when you see stuff like that happen. Albert has two young kids himself. He’s certainly taking it really hard. We’re here supporting him, to support the family and whatever they need.”
Major League Baseball addressed the incident in a statement issued Thursday morning.
“The events at last night’s game were extremely upsetting,” MLB said. “We send our best wishes to the child and family involved. Clubs have significantly expanded netting and their inventory of protected seats in recent years. With last night’s event in mind, we will continue our efforts on this important issue.”