An Epidemic Of Baseball Spectator Injuries

This new regulation in the game of baseball will minimize injuries and maximize skill levels.

The movie Varsity Blues is riddled with sports related injuries. The audience is shown the dangers of playing while injured, as well as the consequences of the immense pressure put on student athletes. In almost all cases of injury in the movie, the treatment of these injuries is carried out entirely wrong. While watching the movie, the audience sees injuries ranging from torn ligaments and muscle strains to a broken nose, a concussion, and dehydration.

From the sandlot to stadiums seating over fifty thousand people, the game of baseball has provided people of all ages with a

Baseball has always been known as America's pastime. But America's pastime, along with America's past, have both been saturated with the brutal force of racism. For hundreds of years, from the time of slavery until the middle of the 20th century, African-American children rounded up their friends and headed to the baseball diamond. There, for thousands of young black players, the smell of the grass, the cloud of dust that formed when running the ninety feet between bases, and the feeling of safely sliding into homeplate for a run marked the glimmer of fun and excitement in an otherwise dreary day. However, due to the color of their skin, black children were not awarded these

Before the sport of baseball was tainted, it was initially just a growing sport amongst working middle-class people, whether they were playing or simply watching. The first professional team was formed in 1869 and was soon joined by eight other teams which formed the first national league for the sport of baseball. A few years after existence, the national league was struggling to stay afloat. Many team owners ruled with in an extremely strict manner. Athletes who put forward complaints were often fired and blacklisted. The first case of gambling within a baseball game happened the year 1877. Members of the Louisville Grays purposefully lost the game for money and claimed it was because they hadn’t been paid yet. Shortly after, baseball was turned into a booming business with the brand name “Spaulding” coming to rise in selling sporting goods. Eventually a new league of baseball was formed and came out on top as the favorite amongst the nation. While the players were enjoying the new conditions thanks to Spaulding, they were still ruled under extreme strictness. Players were being dictated and their complaints weren’t given any attention whatsoever. Despite many efforts to counter the strictness of the league, players were still put under poor conditions which may have caused the Black Sox Scandal to happen in the first place (Pearson).

If the commissioner 's actions caused by his breach of duty link to the damages suffered, the plaintiff’s party must also prove proximate cause, the fourth element of negligence. The two key concepts of proximate cause are that the tortfeasor’s conduct was the closest in to proximity to the damages and that there was no superseding causes that could cancel out the tortfeasor’s liability. In determining proximate cause, courts use foreseeability in defining the scope of risk. Given the statistics of an average of 1,750 injuries per year, the commissioner could have foreseen the possibility of injuries to MLB fans (Gail Payne v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball (MLB), 2015). However, proximate cause cannot prevail as an element of proof because there are multiple superseding causes of these injuries that cancel the commissioner 's liability. One superseding cause would be the pitcher throwing a ball in a certain way, combined with the batter’s action of swinging the bat. This forced the ball and/or bat to exit the field of play, injuring the plaintiffs. Another superseding cause is the section the plaintiffs decided to purchase tickets. In this case, tickets purchased in an exposed section along the first base line are more dangerous than those covered by protective netting.

Inner city baseball teams, promote a positive environment for children and young adults to help prevent and reduce the rise in city crime rate. In many eyes, the people of America value baseball as the number one sport nationwide. Many Americans live for the crack of a bat when it makes contact with the ball, or for the thrill of predicting on where the balls going to land or if the team player is going to catch the “pop fly”. Baseball is a sport played by some and watched by millions. Baseball is a sport that requires nothing less than high quality team work, hand eye coordination, and chomping on a stick of “big chew gum”. It’s every minor baseball players dream to make it into the major leagues, and to hit a home run or a grand

Plaintiff Gayle Payne (“Ms. Payne”) brought a class action complaint against Rob Manfred, the Commissioner of MLB (“Commissioner”), the office of the commissioner (“MLB”), and all 30 Major League Baseball member teams, alleging the defendants’ failure and inaction in providing reasonable safety measures to protect game-goers from risk of serious injury while attending games. On behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, Ms. Payne sought “class-wide injunctive or equitable relief in the form of changes to current MLB rules and practices with respect to protective netting in MLB ballparks” (Gail Payne v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball (MLB), 2015). She filed this negligence suit in hopes of remediating the possibility of frequent injuries at baseball stadiums.

“Common people” means the jury can be made of people rich or poor, educated or ignorant, wise or not. Regardless of economical, religious, or social stature, people trust the news—But, should they? The jury may come to court with their vote already subconsciously, or not, instilled in their minds. Hengstler states that, as of now, “with respect to balancing First and Sixth Amendment rights and values under our system, the answer is not readily apparent.” He closes the article by presenting a challenge for others to find an answer that is suitable to conform to the new millennium’s ever growing technological advancements.

Over the past decade, the increase in participation from recreational sporting activities to organized has increased significantly (Taniguchi, 2003). With more individuals taking part, the amount of injuries has escalated and the amount of negligent lawsuits soon followed. The courts have had to acclimate themselves and look at sporting injuries through the lens of tort law (Harvard Law Review, 2008). The landmark case in the state of California, Knight v. Jewett, the state supreme court upheld the original ruling that participants who knowingly cause injury to another contestant outside of the normal rules of conduct while participating in a sporting activity, are liable or negligent, changed the course how courts would rule in tort cases (Harvard Law Review, 2008). Hence, tort law is now a leading point of discussion in athletic and physical education departments in our local school districts (Taniguchi, 2003). Included in the discussion is intentional tort, when a player injuries another participant purposely (Wolohan, 2013). For intentional tort to be ruled on, three essentials must be present: 1.an injury must have occurred, 2. the cause of injury is due to a negligent act, 3. the act that caused the injury must be intentional (Wolohan, 2013). Thus, the merging of recreational activities, extreme sports, and physical education programs, intentional tort law will be looked at in the school setting.

Along with the throwing arm, one of the largest areas where injuries occur happens to be one of the largest parts of the body, the trunk. Trunk injuries have one of the highest percentages of any injuries in major league baseball. With the help of measurements that can be taken between the pelvis and upper trunk, Exercise Scientists are able to calculate measurements including the maximum trunk rotation and angular acceleration of the trunk. Front foot contact for pitching, and after ball contact for batters is the most demanding instance for the trunk and spine, thus placing more stress on those areas during that time. Although it is impossible to calculate the amount of stress the abdominal muscles repetitively go through during pitching

Some may argue that this part of the beauty of the game since it is not like any of sport in the United States. The concern for baseball is that this uniqueness may be selling to the modern day fan like it once did to the average american and these concerns are supported by where the sport ranks in viewership over the last 5 years. This decline in fans/viewers has led baseball to look into some options for improving the speed of the game.

Injuries are a crucial issue throughout the sports world and affect most players futures. Athletes are concerned of getting severely hurt or having their lives be at risk. Many players have the chance to prevent their injuries, but yet they never do. Families must discuss with the athlete about whether it is safe and enforce the rules to stop injuries such as concussions. More protection could also be worn to prevent broken bones or worse and also stretching to strengthen muscles. Injuries have increased a tremendous amount throughout the years because many players have stopped wearing the correct amount of protection and taking care of themselves.

The game of baseball is America’s national pastime, and continues to be one of the major sports of North America. Major League Baseball must adapt to the changing times in order to increase the games popularity. Giving fans more action and less down-time while watching games is a first step towards making baseball America’s top sport again, and these rule changes seek to increase the pace of play and lessen dead-ball

The active sports lifestyle is crucial for proper growth and body development in children. Unfortunately, the risk of mild and severe injuries in youth sports is unavoidable. While occasional bumps and bruises have become an integral part of each game, severe fractures and painful sprains and strains have become top sports-related injuries that have sent millions of children in the emergency room in the past few years.