Yankees, Twins call for more netting after watching child get hit

Players on both the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins began calling for protective netting to be expanded after a young girl was hit by a foul ball during Wednesday's game at Yankee Stadium.

Twins second baseman Brian Dozier had a clear view of the incident, and appeared shaken while speaking about it after the game. Dozier was one of many players in both clubhouses who demanded protective netting be expanded in the aftermath of Wednesday's scare, which was only the latest involving a fan being hit by a projectile at a baseball game.

"Either one, you don't bring kids down there (behind the dugout), or number two, every stadium needs to have nets. That's it," an irate Dozier told reporters, including Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press. "I don't care about the damn view of a fan."

Todd Frazier hit the foul ball that struck the fan. After he saw what happened Frazier immediately fell to a crouch and then a kneeling position while appearing to be praying. Matt Holliday, who was on base and standing with Dozier at second, was brought to tears as he watched the scene unfold.

"I just hope she's all right," Frazier - who was described as "glassy-eyed" while speaking - told reporters after the game, according to Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record.

"Yeah, I think the netting should be up," Frazier added, according to the New York Post. "I think every stadium should have it, but we're not at that point yet. Hopefully they'll take a look at all this and figure something out."

"I'm all for making everything as safe as possible for everybody at the ballpark," Yankees skipper Joe Girardi added, per ESPN's Andrew Marchand.

Girardi told Marchand after the game that he was told the girl - who was taken to a local hospital - was doing alright.

This past April, New York City councilman Rafael Espinal introduced a bill that would mandate all ballparks in New York to install netting down the lines. Over the All-Star break, the Mets added protective netting at Citi Field; the Yankees told Forbes' Maury Brown earlier this month that they were still "discussing the technical parts" of placing extra nets at Yankee Stadium, but would not provide a time frame for installation.

The Twins became the first MLB team to extend the nets to above both dugouts when they added netting above Target Field before the start of the 2016 season.