Indians Announce Plans to Extend Netting at Progressive Field

The Cleveland Indians have joined the movement to extend netting alongside the first and third base stands to prevent injury.

The Indians announced that the netting will now run all the way to short right and short left field, while the height of said netting has been extended from 23 feet to 33 feet.

The movement to protect fans from fly balls has grown rapidly in recent months, and there is no real reason to be against it.

An increasing number of MLB teams have extended their netting to prevent future injuries, as a direct result of some serious maladies caused by foul balls, including both the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, who were among the first to extend netting out past the infield.

Given how serious, permanent, and potentially fatal injuries have been picked up as a result of foul balls going 110 miles per hour making contact with someone's skull, it is simply an indefensible stance to argue against the expansion of netting. The safety of fans should be an organization's No. 1 concern on game day, and this is a major step in the right direction for Cleveland.