A Bloomberg.com report on Major League Baseball is making the ol' Internet rounds on a slow Tuesday (seriously, no day games, MLB? C'mon!). The story as a whole is worth a read for those interested, but the main takeaway is right here:

About 1,750 spectators get hurt each year by batted balls, mostly fouls, at major-league games, or at least twice every three games, a first-of-its-kind analysis by Bloomberg News has found.

The report also notes that MLB has left the policy on netting behind home plate and fan safety up to each individual baseball club.

On one hand, yes, it's very alarming that so many fans are struck by baseballs. The most disturbing parts of the Bloomberg story, for me, are the several detailed accounts of young children being struck in the head and having to go into intensive care. That's rough to read and it would make any parent empathetic to those specific situations. 

Of course, does that mean that MLB teams must expand netting down the foul lines further? Should Major League Baseball mandate it?

Two points come to mind for me here: 

1. The stadiums are run by businesses and those businesses should be able to set their own rules. There's a certain risk involved into going to a game and fans assume that risk when they buy the ticket. If they don't want the risk, they shouldn't buy a ticket.

As far as kids go, protecting a child is the job of the parent, not the MLB team.

2. It would be good business practice to protect all patrons to the fullest possible extent and it's probably unreasonable to expect every fan to pay 100 percent attention at all times during the game.

I don't think those two have to be mutually exclusive, either. Of course teams should want to protect the fans and it would be good for business if fans weren't worried about being struck by a ball, but it's still up to the team how to achieve a happy medium between not throwing a net in front of the view of fans who don't want it and protecting fans. If they aren't forcing fans to attend games, they can operate the ballpark however they want. These are private businesses. You vote for how they do business with your wallet. If people stop buying tickets in the non-netted areas close to home plate, they'd put up nets rather quickly.

As for parents, we can minimize the risk. Try to find seats that aren't in high-risk areas (far down the lines or in the upper deck) and shield your child (if you're on the third-base side, for example, sit to the right of your child and always pay attention). If that doesn't make you feel safe enough, stay home and watch the game on TV. That can be pretty fun and it's much cheaper.