Dodgers to Extend Stadium Netting After Cody Bellinger Foul Ball Hits Fan
The Dodgers plan to extend their stadium netting after a Cody Bellinger foul ball hit a young fan on Sunday, according to team CEO Stan Kasten.
"We have been talking for some time with different providers and looking at different options,” Kasten told the Orange County Register on Monday. “Surely we will be expanding netting. I don’t know yet the final configuration. Obviously, there are some different choices to be made and different products which each come with their own set of challenges.”
Bellinger lined a foul ball down the first base line in the bottom of the first on Sunday. The hit fan was taken to a hospital following the incident, per the Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles extended its netting past the far ends of the dugouts before the 2019 season. The organization will now join the Nationals and White Sox as teams to commit to additional netting at their respective stadiums.
“I would assume that would be a smart decision, just to protect those people in the front row that don’t have reaction time,” Bellinger said on Sunday. “I mean, I’m over at first base and I’ve got to be ready, and they’re 10 feet over from me.”
The additional netting will "likely" be completed by the end of the 2019 season, per Kasten.
