Yankees executives have not reached out to the family of the toddler who was struck in the face by a scorching foul line drive last month, her father said.
Geoffrey Jacobson told the New York Times his daughter’s nose and orbital bone were broken by the ball, she had bleeding on the brain, and that the ball had left a seam imprint on her forehead. He noted that “doctors had not yet determined whether his daughter would require facial surgery or whether her vision would return to normal.”
The girl was released home after five days in the hospital, and so far, Jacobson says the only people with the Yankees with whom he’s spoken have been someone from the team PR team and Todd Frazier, who hit the foul ball.
Frazier, who the Times notes has two small children as well, appeared immediately shaken up by the hit. He called on the Yankees to extend the protective netting at the ballpark to increase fan safety, but the team dragged their feet for nearly two weeks as other teams around the league reacted to the incident in the Bronx and announced plans to expand their safety netting.
The team released a statement just ahead of the Times publishing their story, saying they will “significantly expand” the existing netting at Yankee Stadium and at their spring training facility.
It’s plausible to assume the Jacobson family has yet to hear from any Yankees executives out of concern of litigation; the team has signs posted warning fans that balls and bats may enter their baseline seats, as well. Jacobson, who is an attorney, told the Times he has not yet considered legal action against the team.
Frazier told the Daily News that he’s relieved the Yankees are going to expand the netting:
I think a lot of fans realize (it’s a good thing), too. There’s always going to be some fans that don’t like it, and some fans that do. It’s always going to happen, but it’s the right thing to do. It really is. I think safety first. We used to not have seatbelts, but they save lives, too.
Jacobson told the Times:
The problem is that the economics of safety ignore that it’s somebody’s daughter or son in a hospital or worse. People have been turned into statistics and probabilities so that fans can have a better view or seats can be sold for a higher price, and everyone believes they are safe and nothing bad will happen until it does.
Jacobson’s daughter will turn two years old this week.