Freddy Galvis

Freddy Galvis calls for more netting after hitting young fan with foul ball

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:04 p.m. ET

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Kerouac Smith

After a foul ball off the bat of Freddy Galvis hit a young girl in the face Saturday night, the Phillies shortstop was mortified thinking of the damage he could have done.

And he let his team hear it for not having more netting to protect the fans.

“What year is this? 2016? It’s 2016 and fans keep getting hit by foul balls when you’re supposed to have a net to protect the fans. The fans give you the money, so you should protect them, right? We’re worried about speeding up the game. Why don’t you put up a net and protect all the fans?” Galvis said, per Philly.com.

The Phillies, following MLB's recommendations, added some netting before this season, extending it to the start of the dugout, but Galvis apparently doesn't think the team went far enough. The girl was sitting behind the visitor's dugout.

“What if I broke all her teeth. What if I broke her nose. If I hit her in one eye and she loses that. What are they going to do? They’re going to forget in three days. It’s going to be a big deal for two, three days. Everybody in TV, media, whatever. But after three days what’s going to happen? They’re going to forget. But that family won’t forget that. Do you think the little baby will forget that?"

The team, through executive VP and COO Mike Stiles, responded with a statement on Sunday:

“The Phillies expanded our netting this season to the sides of the dugout near home plate, as was suggested by Major League Baseball. We decided earlier this season to consider the possibility of further expansion next season. In making that determination at the conclusion of the 2016 season, we will take into account a number of factors including the opinion of our uniformed personnel and, most importantly, the wishes and safety of our fans.”

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Freddy Galvis

Philadelphia Phillies

Major League Baseball