On Thursday all 30 teams in the MLB decided to extend their nets so foul balls wouldn’t leave the field of play and hit fans watching the game. I feel like this is good and bad on the MLB’s part. Expanding foul ball nets make the fan experience less exciting, but it does ensure the protection of those watching the game.

On July 10, I went to a baseball game at Coors Field in Denver to watch the Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies. My friends and I had seats on the third base line.

Even though my friends and I were by ourselves, if a ball where to come towards us, it would’ve still added to the experience of that game. The net at the time wasn’t expanded so the net wasn’t distorting our view of the game and we had an unrestricted view of the pitcher and the batter throughout the game.

Although it’s safer, the experience isn’t as good because it’s like watching a game through squares because they obstruct the view, which I don’t like at all. The Rockies are one of the 30 teams expanding their nets.

On Sept. 20, a ball hit a 1-year-old girl at Yankee Stadium and she was hospitalized. Some people were defending the player, saying that the kid shouldn’t have been that close or the father should’ve stopped the ball, but I think that the nets should’ve been expanded, because the net was way too close to the field, resulting in injury.

“I like going to baseball games, but I don’t like sitting close because of them [the nets],” sophomore Mitchell Titus said.

Now, if fans want to be close to the game, you’ll have to deal with the annoying net in the way or sit somewhere else to get a clear view. But even if you didn’t sit close, you could still get hit even if you’re in the outfield. Many fans who sit behind the dugout of their favorite teams won’t get to catch a foul ball and communicate with their favorite players. I’ve gotten about two foul balls thrown to me after they cross the foul line and I won’t forget those moments.

I think that it’s a good move for the MLB to make nets, but I feel like it distracts the fans from the game. In the future, I hope that the MLB can create a way to make fans safe, but also not obstruct their view.