Link: Child struck by line drive; Cubs’ Almora in tears

I’m sure this will renew calls for even more netting, and maybe it’s not the worst idea.

“A young fan at Wednesday night’s game between the Cubs and Astros was struck by an Albert Almora Jr. foul ball and taken to the hospital, shaking up the Chicago center fielder and renewing calls for additional protective netting at major league ballparks.”

I know purists will argue that fans just need to be careful and pay attention, but have you seen little kids at games? They’re not going to sit there and pay careful attention for 3+ hours of play. Most adults don’t even do that.

That’s 3 hours of not looking at your phone, after all.

And let’s face it, line drives off the bats of MLB hitters are moving at dangerous speeds. Combine that with myriad things that distract us, and people are going to get hurt. I feel badly for Albert Almora, Jr. because no one wants to be the cause of an injury for a little girl, but there’s nothing he could have done. There’s nothing she could have done, nothing her parents could have done. The ball was simply moving too fast. We can’t expect fans to have to reflexes of pro athletes, so maybe extending the net isn’t the worst idea.

I’ve sat behind the net at minor league and college games, it is distracting, but it beats getting smacked with a line drive.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26851025/child-struck-line-drive-cubs-almora-tears