Indians, Twins to extend safety netting

Published 8:06 am Thursday, December 7, 2017

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins are the latest Major League Baseball teams to announce plans to expand safety netting at their ballparks for the 2018 season.

The Indians will extend the current vertical netting behind home plate down the foul lines at Progressive Field to the ends of the dugouts in an effort to better protect fans from hard-hit foul balls and bats flying into the stands. Also, the canopy nets will be stretched slightly farther down the third-base line.

The Twins will raise the height of their existing protective netting above the dugouts from 7 feet to about 9 feet. They’ll also extend the netting beyond the dugouts down both foul lines along the entire Dugout Box seating area, covering one more section along the first-base line and two more sections along the third-base line. Lower-level seats at Target Field are closer to home plate than in any other MLB venue.

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