Baseball Somerset Patriots to Extend Protective Netting at TD Bank Ballpark by Will Thompson February 20, 2020 The Somerset Patriots have now joined the trend of professional baseball teams expanding the protective netting at their ballparks. The club announced Wednesday morning that they would extend the netting beyond the dugouts and down the foul lines. The new netting will stretch to section 122 on the third base side and to section 121 on the first base side. This is the second time the Patriots have extended the netting at TD Bank Ballpark since 2017. “In listening to our fans, and following the excellent example set by Major League Baseball, we have decided it is the right time to extend the netting at the ballpark,” said Somerset Patriots Chairman Emeritus Steve Kalafer in a statement. “Our goal will always be to provide our fans with the very best experience in our clean and safe ballpark.” The project is being done by Sportsfield Specialties, who also extended the netting for the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, and Baltimore Orioles. “We are very excited for the new netting at the ballpark,” said Somerset Patriots Co-Chairman Josh Kalafer. “As we look forward to our next 20 years, updates to the ballpark and the overall fan experience will be necessary to help us constantly improve, while continuing to provide the highest possible level of customer service to our customers. We believe fans will really love what we have in store.” It is certainly a good move for the Patriots to extend the netting to enhance the safety of fans, and especially young children. One of the most frightening examples of the dangers of hard foul balls entering the stands took place last May at Minute Maid Park in Houston when a screaming line drive off the bat of Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr. hit a 2-year-old girl in the head, causing a skull fracture and seizure. Can any amount of netting protect all fans from injuries caused by foul balls? Of course not. However, expanding protective netting down each foul line is certainly a good way to limit such dangers. Post Views: 806 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Will Thompson Latest posts by Will Thompson (see all) MLB to add new pickoff rule to Minor Leagues after Indy Ball experiment - March 1, 2020 Somerset Patriots to Extend Protective Netting at TD Bank Ballpark - February 20, 2020 Long Island Ducks Top Skeeters For Atlantic League Title - October 7, 2019 Ducks Win an Extra-Inning Thriller, Force a Game Five - October 6, 2019 Related TopicsAtlantic LeagueBaseballSomerset Patriots Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 XFL Co-Owner Dany Garcia Talks Business, Serving Others at espnW Women + Sports Summit by Candace Cordelia | posted on October 23, 2020 Women in Sports Interview Series: It’s a sure bet with Philadelphia native, Erin Kate Dolan (VIDEO) by Denise Gonzalez | posted on March 17, 2020 From Paramus High School to CBS Sports, Spero Dedes is making waves in sports broadcasting by Sunil Sunder Raj | posted on October 27, 2020 The Story of the NHL’s First Armenian, Zach Bogosian and His Biggest Fan by Anthony Paradiso | posted on September 12, 2020 More in Baseball You Know I’m Right, Episode 112: New York Jets’ Insider Brian Costello (Audio/Video) On the 112th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) On the 109th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 108: WFAN’s Sweeny Murti (Audio/Video) On the 108th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 107: New York Post’s Columnist Mike Vaccaro (Audio/Video) On the 107th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... Two-time World Series Champion Jim Leyritz speaks on Yankees’ 2020 Season Somerset Patriots Welcome Back Big Leaguer Jimmy Paredes