Major League Baseball

Manfred will review fan safety; woman struck by bat upgraded to fair

Published Jun. 8, 2015 10:11 p.m. ET

foxsports

On a day the condition of the woman hit by a broken bat at Fenway Park over the weekend was upgraded to fair, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred vowed to re-evaluate fan safety at stadiums.

Speaking before the amateur draft at MLB Network studios Monday night, Manfred said the sport must "react strongly" to Friday night's accident in Boston. Tonya Carpenter, 44, suffered what police initially said were life-threatening injuries when she was hit in the head by a broken bat during a game between the Red Sox and Oakland Athletics.

Her family issued a statement Monday saying Carpenter is responsive, and her condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has been upgraded from serious to fair.

Carpenter, 44, of Paxton, Mass., suffered what police initially said were life-threatening injuries during Friday night's game between the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics. She was struck in the head in the second inning when the bat of Oakland's Brett Lawrie broke and sailed into the seats along the third-base line when he hit a ground ball.

Carpenter was sitting in one of the first few rows between home plate and the third-base dugout, an area where fans are not protected by netting.

The incident has set off a wave of discussion about safety at the ballpark. It's a delicate balance for fans throughout the major leagues: weighing the danger of being hit by a wayward bat or ball against the enhanced experience of being so close to the action, few closer than at cozy Fenway.

"When you have an issue like this, an incident like this, you have to go back and re-evaluate where you are on all of your safety issues and, trust me, we will do that. Just like we are on a variety of issues right now at the beginning of my tenure," Manfred said.

Manfred, in his first year as commissioner, was asked if MLB will consider requiring clubs to extend the protective netting beyond the area directly behind home plate.

"There's a variety of issues that we're going to take a fresh look at," he said. "You have to react strongly to an incident like this, but I think the best word for it is that we're going to re-evaluate where we are on the topic."

Concerned about a rash of flying broken bats and the danger they posed, Major League Baseball studied the issue in 2008 and implemented a series of changes to bat regulations for the following season.

Multi-piece bat failures are down about 50 percent since the beginning of the 2009 season, MLB said. Nonetheless, over the past three days bats have flown into the stands in at least three cities.

"I think it's important not to lose sight of the fact that we have taken important steps in this area," Manfred said. "Bat safety is much improved from where it was a few years ago. We've spent a lot of time, effort and money to make sure that our bats are safer and we have less of these incidents."

Any potential adjustments could involve input from the players association as well.

"Some of the changes would affect play on the field. The MLBPA might be involved in those discussions," Manfred said. "And then obviously us and the clubs. I mean, this is an important local issue, and as with all topics we want to make sure we know where our clubs are on a topic."

However, FOX Sports MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal wrote Sunday about how players have advocated in the past to expand the protective netting that shields the area behind home plate -- a measure that could help reduce the risk.

Yet there will always be some risk, and as our Rob Neyer wrote Saturday, it's tough to know where to draw the line. Many fans consider the risk of injury minimal.

"I'd absolutely sit down here. Why not?" said 38-year-old Doug Jones, who was in the front row along the third-base line in Boston on Sunday. "But you need to pay attention."

The Red Sox released a statement Monday, keeping the focus on Carpenter and her recovery.

"The well-being of Tonya and her loved ones are forefront in our minds," the statement said. "Major League Baseball will re-examine fan safety at ballparks, and we will fully participate in that process."

In Cincinnati, no one was hurt Saturday when a bat landed in the stands. Everyone was OK Sunday when a bat sailed into the seats at the Tigers-White Sox game in Chicago.

And in the first inning of the Red Sox's 7-4 win over the Athletics on Sunday, Boston's Hanley Ramirez lost control of his bat. It hit the net in front of Oakland's dugout.

Some fans with seats near the field prefer to sit directly behind home plate where they're protected by a backstop. Parents sometimes arrange seating with their children between them. Others said they don't consider safety when buying tickets.

At most major-league parks, the netting that protects fans from foul balls covers the backstop behind the catcher, but stops before each dugout. Some fans said they would sit closer to the field if the netting were extended.

The National Hockey League ordered safety netting installed at each end of NHL arenas after 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil was killed by a deflected puck at a Columbus Blue Jackets game in 2002. She died two days later, and her parents eventually settled with the team for $1.2 million, the league and the arena management.

When it comes to MLB games, that netting might decrease a fan's enjoyment of the sights and sounds -- the lush green grass, the smack of the ball into the catcher's glove -- on a perfect afternoon for baseball like Sunday, sunny and warm with a slight breeze at historic Fenway.

"I do understand the objection of having something in front of you," said 42-year-old Chad LeBlanc, who attended Sunday's game with his 12-year-old son Logan.

Another fan, Jeremy Welford, said he was more conscious of the risk after Friday's injury.

"If you're with a youngster, it's too dangerous," he said with his 9-year-old daughter Megan beside him. "I sit behind the nets all the time, and it doesn't bother me."

The backs of tickets tell fans to remain alert.

At Fenway, about a dozen signs facing fans in the front row of box seats warn red and white capital letters: "BE ALERT FOUL BALLS AND BATS HURT."

Also facing them along that low wall are about twice as many televisions they can watch while a batter is swinging.

At Miami's game at Colorado on Sunday, Mike and Erin Hart, both adult league softball players, sat just above the third-base dugout, one of the best spots at Coors Field to catch foul balls. Their two children were with them.

"We figured we'd put them in the middle, because then we could protect them a little bit better," Erin said. "We brought our gloves. I figured if we're not fast enough, we can dive on top of them if need be."

No matter how vigilant, fans do turn away from the action to snap a selfie, fill in a scorecard or hail a hot dog vendor.

At Kansas City's game against Texas, Royals fan Candace Hickman said: "I wish the Royals would expand the netting to at least the end of the dugouts to protect the fans better from foul balls. Even if you are watching closely, those line drives can reach the seats in a split second."

In Chicago, Ray Finfer sat with his three sons when Adam LaRoche's bat went into the stands Sunday.

"I saw the bat coming and my thought is hopefully you're watching the game." he said. "If you're not going to do that, it's not a great seat for you."

In Toronto, Karen Luscombe sat behind the third-base dugout with her son.

"I worry about it, for sure," she said, but "the best view is where we want to sit."

In Cincinnati, Laura Steinmetz Hawke usually sits in the upper deck for the price and the view, not for safety reasons.

"There is inherent risk in living life, and we cannot make every experience 100 percent safe," she said.

And at Fenway, Francesca Cirillo sat with her husband and 18-month-old daughter Aria about 10 rows behind the spot where the fan was injured Friday night.

"I feel horrible for her," she said but called what happened "a freak accident" and wasn't uncomfortable sitting so close to the field.

"We brought our daughter," she said. "We had the opportunity to leave her at home, but we decided to bring her because this is the first time I'm able to bring her to Fenway."