The Giants are going to extend the netting behind home plate at AT&T Park

Last week at Yankee Stadium, a little girl was almost killed by a foul ball. Because people are horrible, this led to a debate about ballpark safety. There did not need to be a debate. More netting was the obvious solution. Luckily for Giants fans, their team agrees. From the AP:

The San Francisco Giants plan to expand the protective netting behind home plate going into next year.

Spokeswoman Staci Slaughter says more safety netting is in the works and the club is “in the process of figuring out the engineering aspects.”

When I argued in favor of more netting, I got to use this braggy image:

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

I used it because it was the first time I realized that I watched history behind a net. My experience was unharmed. Well, it was because I had to sit next to Goofus, but there is only so much that a net can do. Nets aren’t a big deal. Every writer in the press box is watching the game behind a net. It’s fine. Really, it’s fine.

There were arguments that were presented to me after writing that article, though!

The parents should have paid better attention.

It’s nearly impossible to attend a baseball game with another person and watch every single pitch. It takes a serious effort, and it’s completely unnatural. Now try it with a kid who absolutely does not care about your wants and needs in relation to theirs. It’s impossible.

Don’t sit there.

I mean, that’s how I handle the situation with my family, but ... those are good seats. I wanna sit there. Let me set there.

This will limit fan interaction.

Players will roll fewer signed baseballs over the dugout, true. I got one as a kid. But all of the inky baseballs in the world aren’t worth a second of what that little girl experienced. I don’t remember who signed the one I got, and I certainly don’t remember where it is.

Mollycoddling bubble wrap nanny state when I was a kid I didn’t wear helmets and I’m fine.

While I’m continually impressed with your inability to feel empathy, evaluate context, or explore nuance, you’re not helping. Anything, I mean. You’re not helping anything. You’re not helping the world in general. You should be better at everything. There are profound ethical questions that come with things like speed limits. There is not a profound ethical question that comes with watching a baseball game behind a net that you notice only occasionally.

There are still details to work out, but I’m excited at the prospect of being able to sit behind the dugout with my family without fear. The odds are outstanding that it won’t take long to forget the nets weren’t there all along. Until you think, “Whoa. Glad those nets were there. Jeez.” Which you will.

Which is the point.