A fan died after being hit in the head by a foul ball while attending a game at Dodger Stadium last season, and the news is only now coming out, several months after the fan’s death.
ESPN’s William Weinbaum wrote a story published on Monday about the death of fan Linda Goldbloom, who died on Aug. 29, four days after being hit by a foul ball. Goldbloom was attending an Aug. 25 game between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres when she was struck by a foul ball in the 9th inning. ESPN says Franmil Reyes fouled back a 93-mph pitch from Kenley Jansen to the first base side of home plate, and it sailed into the loge level and hit Goldbloom in the head. The loge level is the second deck at Dodger Stadium, so the ball just cleared the protective netting.
Goldbloom was rushed to the hospital after telling ushers she did not feel well. She apparently threw up in the ambulance and underwent emergency brain surgery. After being unresponsive for the ensuing days, the family followed Goldbloom’s wishes not to be kept alive by a machine if it was deemed she would not get back her quality of life.
According to Weinbaum, this is the third death at an MLB game due to a fan being hit in the head by a ball.
The news is troubling on many levels. Fans should feel safe when attending sporting events and not have to fear that they could die at a ballgame. Secondly, there is the issue of the news being buried for so long. The telecast apparently did not show that the foul ball hit Goldbloom, and no stories about the matter were made public. The Dodgers and Goldbloom family apparently settled the matter. This is something the public should know about; fans need to be informed of the potential dangers of attending a game. Lastly, tragedies like this stress the importance of MLB implementing even more protective netting surrounding the field than they have in the past. They have recommended teams implement netting but do not have standard mandates. They should — and players even agree.
