[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 114 (Tuesday, July 9, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S4706]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Major League Baseball Park Safety

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, if you are a baseball fan, and many of 
us are, this is a big day--the day of the All-Star game.
  I would like to spend just a few moments reflecting on an important 
issue for the fans of baseball across America.
  Thirty-five million people every year enjoy one of America's great 
summer experiences--seeing a game at a Major League Baseball park. Fans 
join their friends and family to eat hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, and so 
much more. We sing the national anthem together at the start of the 
game and ``Take Me Out to the Ball Game'' at the seventh inning 
stretch, a tradition started by a man named Harry Caray in a place 
called Wrigley Field.
  Some--the more dedicated fans--keep scorecards of home runs, RBIs, 
and earned run averages. Sadly, there is another statistic that has 
been seeing more and more attention lately--injuries to fans.
  A Bloomberg report from 2014 estimated 1,750 fans suffer injuries in 
Major League Baseball parks every season. Some are hit by balls; others 
are injured trying to escape being hit by a ball. This is far too many.
  On May 29, a 2-year-old girl was hit by a foul ball at Houston's 
Minute Maid Park. She suffered bleeding, bruises, and brain contusions 
from the ball's impact. Her skull was fractured. She continues to 
suffer seizures.
  What makes her injuries even more disturbing is that they likely 
could have been prevented had the safety netting behind homeplate been 
extended.
  Cubs outfielder Albert Almora, who hit the ball, was so devastated by 
the little girl's injuries that he could barely speak. One will never 
forget the image of his head bowed, crying, when he saw the damage that 
was done to this innocent little 2-year-old girl by a foul ball that he 
hit.
  What did he say afterward? ``I want to put a net around the whole 
stadium.''
  In the weeks following, we have seen more injuries in the stands. On 
June 10, a woman was struck by a line drive at Guaranteed Rate Field in 
Chicago. Two weeks later, a young woman was hit by a foul ball at 
Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
  A survey by the polling organization FiveThirtyEight found that 
14,000 more foul balls were hit in 2018 than 1998, and there is just no 
way--no way--for fans to entirely protect themselves. Here come these 
baseballs at 105 miles an hour off the bat. Even if you are watching it 
intently, you just can't protect yourself or the people you love who 
are watching the game with you. Bryant Gumbel made that point on his 
cable TV show on this very subject.
  If fans can't do more, baseball teams can. In 2017, after a child was 
hit by a line drive at Yankee Stadium in New York, I wrote a letter to 
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred. I urged the league to 
extend safety netting at all Major League Baseball stadiums past the 
home plate to the far edge of each dugout. To their credit, the league 
did exactly that.
  It is now clear, however, that is not enough. The little girl at 
Minute Maid Park was 10 feet beyond current netting.
  In June, the Chicago White Sox became the first Major League Baseball 
team to announce it is going to extend netting to the foul poles. Let 
me tip my hat to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago White Sox, 
for leading the way with this safety measure. The Washington Nationals, 
the Texas Rangers, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are all planning to do 
the same, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are conducting a study before 
making a protective strategy permanent.
  I commend all these clubs for their leadership and commitment to fan 
safety, but I think we need more. We need a leaguewide standard.
  Last month, my colleague from Illinois, Senator Tammy Duckworth, and 
I wrote to Commissioner Manfred calling on all 30 Major League Baseball 
teams to extend the protective netting to the right- and left-field 
corners.
  Folks who complain that extending the safety netting to the foul 
poles will create an obstructed view ignore the obvious--right now, the 
most expensive seats in baseball are behind the nets, and people don't 
complain. It is something you get used to, and you can get used to the 
safety of it as well. We should be reminded that the most expensive and 
popular seats have been behind netting for decades.
  In 2002, a 13-year-old girl named Brittanie Cecil died after being 
struck in the head by a hockey puck at a National Hockey League game in 
Columbus, OH. The National Hockey League responded quickly, ordering 
protective netting behind the goal. Major League Baseball should show 
equal concern for its fans.
  Ensuring the safety of fans at baseball stadiums is a tradition that 
stretches back to 1879, when the Providence Grays put up a screen 
behind homeplate to shield fans from the area that was called ``the 
slaughter pen'' at that time.
  The increasing number of fans hit by balls makes it clear that new 
safety standards are needed at ballparks.
  Today, we will see Major League Baseball's finest players at the All-
Star game. Baseball fans deserve the best too. I urge Commissioner 
Manfred and all baseball teams to extend safety netting at Major League 
Baseball parks to the foul poles. Let's not wait until next season. 
Increasing fan safety is a win for everyone.