Every MLB ballpark will have extended protective netting by opening day

All 30 ballparks will have extended protective netting reaching at least to the far end of both dugouts by opening day, Major League Baseball announced Thursday.

The reach of the netting, which protects fans seated near the dugouts from foul balls and broken bats, has been an issue for some time (a woman was hit in the head by a broken bat at Fenway Park in 2015) but took on increased urgency when a young girl was hit in the head by a line-drive foul ball at Yankee Stadium in September.

The Pirates extended the netting to the ends of the dugouts before the 2017 season. The netting, according to the team, is the most transparent, knotless kind available and uses fewer vertical ropes to reduce…