Pirates, MLB respond after young girl hit by foul ball

PITTSBURGH — One day after a young girl was injured by a foul ball in Houston, the Pittsburgh Pirates told Channel 11 that the team would be taking another look at safety netting in the ball park.

Alberto Almora, Jr. hit a foul ball that reached the stands just beyond the netting in Houston’s Minute-Maid Park on Wednesday night, injuring a young girl. The girl was expected to be OK, but the incident left Almore shaken, and calling for more netting around stadiums.

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The Pirates were among the first teams in Major League Baseball to extend netting from the start of the dugouts to the end of the dugouts back in 2017.  Since then, MLB made that the minimum standard for protective netting in all ballparks. Major league teams can extend the netting further if they wish.

MLB released the following statement to Channel 11:
"The events at last night's game were extremely upsetting.  We send our best wishes to the child and family involved.  Clubs have significantly expanded netting and their inventory of protected seats in recent years.  With last night's event in mind, we will continue our efforts on this important issue."

>>RELATED: Cubs' Albert Almora Jr. breaks down after foul ball hits young fan

Clint Hurdle responded to our question about protective netting.

“It's hard. We want to live in a perfect world and we don't want anyone harmed at any time, and I think the best thing we can do is put our minds together to come up with a better solution, rather than pick at it for what's wrong, and figure out what's best and insure the safety of anybody that can come to a game," Hurdle said.

The Pirates organization also released a statement to Channel 11:

"We pride ourselves in providing a family friendly, safe environment for all fans at PNC Park.  We were among the first Clubs to expand the protective netting at PNC Park to the far end of each dugout.  We are pleased that Major League Baseball will continue to evaluate the issue of protective netting in MLB ballparks and we will again assess the situation at PNC Park and determine if further expansion is warranted."

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