Blue Jays To Extend Protective Netting At Rogers Centre Next Season

Some changes are coming to Rogers Centre in 2020.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced plans to extend the protective netting next season after a number of incidents with fans getting hit by foul balls occurred this year around Major League Baseball.

“Fan safety is paramount to the Blue Jays and we believe that fans should feel protected and secure during our games,” Blue Jays executive vice president of business operations Andrew Miller said in a statement Tuesday. “Extending the protective netting at Rogers Centre and Dunedin Stadium is a clear next step for our organization and one that reflects our team’s values.”

How far the netting will be extended, however, still is unclear.

The Jays are the third MLB team to announce plans to extend the netting at its home stadium.

The Chicago White Sox were the first team to do so, and already has extended the netting at Guaranteed Rate Field from foul pole to foul pole. The Washington Nationals also extended the netting at Nationals Park during the All-Star break.

All 30 teams were required to extend their netting partway down either line before the 2018 season.