Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T21:23:22.509Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Foul Ball Rates and Injuries at Major League Baseball Games: A Retrospective Analysis of Data from Three Stadiums

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2022

Andrew Milsten Open the ORCID record for Andrew Milsten [Opens in a new window] ,
William F. Bradley ,
Michael Hill ,
Weston Sacco  and
Mina Henes
Andrew Milsten*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Worcester, MassachusettsUSA
William F. Bradley
Affiliation:
Pure Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MassachusettsUSA Mirabolic Consulting, Arlington, MassachusettsUSA
Michael Hill
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Worcester, MassachusettsUSA
Weston Sacco
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Worcester, MassachusettsUSA Emergency Medicine, Emory Johns Creek Hospital, Johns Creek, GeorgiaUSA
Mina Henes
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Worcester, MassachusettsUSA Medical Student, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA
*
Correspondence: Andrew Milsten, MD, MS, FACEP Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine University of Massachusetts School of Medicine 55 Lake Avenue, North Worcester, Massachusetts02466USA E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Importance:

This paper provides a large-scale, per Major League Baseball (MLB) game analysis of foul ball (FB) injury data and provides estimates of injury frequency and severity.

Objective:

This study’s goal was to quantify and describe the rate and type of FB injuries at MLB games.

Design:

This was a retrospective review of medical care reports for patients evaluated by on-site health care providers (HCPs) over a non-contiguous 11-year period (2005-2016). Data were obtained using Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

Setting:

Data were received from three US-based MLB stadiums.

Results:

The review reported 0.42-0.55 FB injuries per game that were serious enough to warrant presentation at a first aid center. This translated to a patients per 10,000 fans rate (PPTT) of 0.13-0.23. The transport to hospital rate (TTHR) was 0.02-0.39. Frequently, FB injuries required analgesics but were overwhelmingly minor and occurred less often than non-FB traumatic injuries (5.2% versus 42%-49%). However, FB injured fans were more likely to need higher levels of care and transport to hospital (TH) as compared to people suffering other traumatic injuries at the ballpark. Contusions or head injuries were common. Finally, FB injured fans were often hit in the abdomen, upper extremity, face, or head. It was found that FB injuries appeared to increase with time, and this increase in injuries aligns with the sudden increase in popularity of smartphones in the United States.

Conclusions and Relevance:

These data suggest that in roughly every two or three MLB games, a foul ball causes a serious enough injury that a fan seeks medical attention. This rate is high enough to warrant attention, but is comparable in frequency to other diagnostic categories. Assessing the risk to fans from FBs remains difficult, but with access to uniform data, researchers could answer persistent questions that would lead to actionable changes and help guide public policy towards safer stadiums.

Keywords

foul ball injuriesMajor League Baseball (MLB)mass-gathering medicinepublic healthsports medicine
Type
Research Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 277 - 283
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Fried, G. Don’t sit there…or there…or there: an analysis of ball park protection and foul ball injury risks. Int J Sport Manag. 2012;13(4):423–443.Google Scholar
Ward, BG. Fan Safety at Sports Facilities. Sport Management Undergraduate; Rochester, New York USA: St. John Fisher College. 2012.Google Scholar
Cloutier, C. How often are baseball spectators injured during game play? Boston Globe. 2015. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/06/09/how-often-are-baseball-spectators-injured/bVBG1iYz8u0dy1DLGx0cmI/story.html. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
Glovin, D. Baseball Caught Looking as Fouls Injure 1,750 Fans a Year. Bloomberg News. 2014. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-09-09/baseball-caught-looking-as-fouls-injure-1-750-fans-a-year. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
Tak, M, Nguyen, V, Enoch, J, Lehren, AW. Foul balls hurt hundreds of fans at MLB ballparks. See where your team stands on netting. NBC News. 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/we-re-going-need-bigger-net-foul-balls-hurt-hundreds-n1060291. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
Oh, JH, Kim, YK, Jo, BC, Sung, GY. The epidemiology of spectator injury and illness in the Korean Professional Baseball League: 2 consecutive seasons (2011-2012) at the Jamsil Stadium. Korean J Sports Med. 2015;33(1):6–12.10.5763/kjsm.2015.33.1.6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milsten, AM, Seaman, KG, Liu, P, Bissell, RA, Maguire, BJ. Variables influencing medical usage rates, injury patterns, and levels of care for mass gatherings. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2003;18(4):334–46.10.1017/S1049023X00001291CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MLB Attendance. Baseball Reference 2019. https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2019-misc.shtml. Accessed January 4, 2019.Google Scholar
MLB. Team Information and Seating Charts. 2019. https://www.mlb.com. Accessed October 5, 2019.Google Scholar
Clem A. Clem’s Baseball, Our National Pastime & “It’s Green Cathedrals.” 2017. http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/index.html. Accessed October 5, 2019.Google Scholar
Ranse, J, Hutton, A, Turris, SA, Lund, A. Enhancing the minimum data set for mass-gathering research and evaluation: an integrative literature review. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(3):280–289.10.1017/S1049023X14000429CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradley, W. GitHub Repository. 2021. https://github.com/Mirabolic/foul_ball_analysis. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
Fried, G, Ammon, R Jr Baseball Spectators’ Assumption of Risk: Is It “Fair” or “Foul”? Marquette Sports Law Review. 2002;13(1):39–62.Google Scholar
Ma, OJ, Pirrallo, RG, Rubin, JM. Survey of medical services at major league baseball stadiums. Prehosp Disaster Med. 1995;10(4):268–271.10.1017/S1049023X00042151CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Milsten, AM, Maguire, BJ, Bissell, RA, Seaman, KG. Mass-gathering medical care: a review of the literature. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2002;17(3):151–162.10.1017/S1049023X00000388CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, D. Root at Your Own Risk? Fans Are Left Largely Unprotected. New York Times. 2008. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/sports/baseball/20anderson.html. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
Hagen, P. MLB recommends netting between dugouts. MLB News. 2015. https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-issues-recommendations-on-netting/c-159233076. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
Dwyer, D. A piece of a bat got over Fenway’s extended netting. 2016. https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2016/04/21/piece-bat-got-fenways-extended-netting. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
King, S. Protective netting at Fenway? Thanks, but no thanks. Boston Globe. 2016. https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/04/10/protective-netting-fenway-thanks-but-thanks/HS3Yat4rLgRGYMk83a26zN/story.html. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
McNear, C. The New Era of Baseball’s Protective Nets. SBnation. 2016. https://www.sbnation.com/a/mlb-preview-2016/nets. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
Boer, K. Safeco Field joins stadiums expanding netting behind home plate. 2017. https://q13fox.com/2017/09/22/safeco-field-joins-stadiums-expanding-netting-behind-home-plate/. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
W., Matthews All 30 MLB. Teams Will Have Extended Netting Next Season. New York Times. 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/sports/baseball/baseball-netting.html. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
Ransom, J. ‘Baseball Rule’ protects ballparks from lawsuits. Boston Globe. 2015. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/06/07/woman-injured-fenway-friday-remains-serious-condition/vtiDNIz51ruBsxTpd0BJwM/story.html. Accessed December 2021.Google Scholar
Jane Costa v. The Boston Red Sox Baseball Club. 2004, Appeals Court of Massachusetts, Norfolk. No. 02-P-1433.Google Scholar
Shirley Neinstain, Plaintiff and Appellant v. Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc, Defendant and Respondent. 185 Cal. App.3d 176 (1986) 229 Cal. Rptr. 612. 1986, Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Two.Google Scholar
Teresa Reed-Jennings and Cliff Jennings, wife and husband and their marital community, Appellants, v. The Baseball Club of Seattle, L.P., a Washington corporation, d/b/a The Seattle Mariners, Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District, a municipal corporation; Defendants John Doe I-X, Respondents., in Judge James Verellen. 2015, Court of Appeals of Washington, Division One.Google Scholar
Kastenburg, JE. A three-dimensional model of stadium owner liability in spectator injury cases. Marquette Sports Law Review. 1996;7(15):187–209.Google Scholar
Center PR. Mobile Fact Sheet. Internet and Technology 2019. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/. Accessed March 10, 2021.Google Scholar
Sanders, AB, Criss, E, Steckl, P, Meislin, HW, Raife, J, Allen, D. An analysis of medical care at mass gatherings. Ann Emerg Med. 1986;15(5):515–519.10.1016/S0196-0644(86)80984-2CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed