The Minnesota Twins have announced that they will increase the amount of safety netting they have at Target Field.

For years, most stadiums just had netting to protect fans right behind home plate. Back in 2015, Major League Baseball recommended (but did not require) that stadiums install netting that extends at least all the way to the dugout.

Since that time, only a handful of teams actually extended their netting. Teams have been reluctant to add netting as sometimes fans complain that the netting can obstruct their view and be obtrusive.

Back in September, safety issues were renewed when at Yankee Stadium a screaming line drive struck a young girl in the face. She suffered some pretty bad injuries. The Twins were the opposing team. At that time, some teams, including the Yankees, announced that they would extend the netting at their stadiums.

Now, the Twins have decided to extend their netting as well.

Twins President David St. Peter, who is from Bismarck originally, issued this statement yesterday (Dec. 6):

Since opening in 2010, Target Field has earned a reputation as one of the most intimate venues in all of sports, with lower level seats located closer to home plate than any other MLB venue. With that reality in mind, we feel extending the ballpark's netting is in the best interest of our fans. In addition to ensuring fan safety, we are also committed to installing the best available netting product aimed at minimizing obstructed views for our fans

It should be noted that the Twins had already previously extended their netting. In 2016, the team extended their netting to and above the dugouts with the nets extending 7 feet high.

Those nets will now be 9 feet high. But there will also be netting that extends past the dugouts and down the third base line all the way to section 17, and down the first base line to section one.

The Twins home opener is slated for April 5 against the Mariners.

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