The Washington Nationals announced they will extend the protective netting in front of their field-level seats over the July All-Star break.
In an announcement released Thursday, Nationals principal owner and vice president Mark Lerner said he became emotional last month when he saw that a 4-year-old girl was hit by a line drive foul ball during a Chicago Cubs-Houston Astros game in Houston.
“I can’t imagine what her parents must have felt at that moment,” Lerner wrote in a letter to fans. “And to see the raw emotion and concern from (Cubs player) Albert Almora Jr. was heartbreaking. Further extending the netting at Nationals Park will provide additional protection for our fans.”
In a diagram released with the letter, the Nationals showed that they will extend the netting to mid left field and right field, right where the border between the seats and field begins to run parallel with the foul line toward the foul pole. At present, the recently extended netting goes to the end of each dugout.
The Chicago White Sox announced this week they would extend their protective netting to each foul pole at some point this season, although an exact date was not revealed.
The Nationals said they would use a “knotless” netting that offers “a higher degree of transparency.” The new knotless netting will replace the current netting behind home plate as well.