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Foul Ball Rates and Injuries at Major League Baseball Games: A Retrospective Analysis of Data from Three Stadiums

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2022

Andrew Milsten Open the ORCID record for Andrew Milsten [Opens in a new window] ,
William F. Bradley ,
Michael Hill ,
Weston Sacco  and
Mina Henes
Andrew Milsten*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Worcester, MassachusettsUSA
William F. Bradley
Affiliation:
Pure Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MassachusettsUSA Mirabolic Consulting, Arlington, MassachusettsUSA
Michael Hill
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Worcester, MassachusettsUSA
Weston Sacco
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Worcester, MassachusettsUSA Emergency Medicine, Emory Johns Creek Hospital, Johns Creek, GeorgiaUSA
Mina Henes
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Worcester, MassachusettsUSA Medical Student, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA
*
Correspondence: Andrew Milsten, MD, MS, FACEP Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine University of Massachusetts School of Medicine 55 Lake Avenue, North Worcester, Massachusetts02466USA E-mail: Andrew.Milsten@umassmemorial.org
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Abstract

Importance:

This paper provides a large-scale, per Major League Baseball (MLB) game analysis of foul ball (FB) injury data and provides estimates of injury frequency and severity.

Objective:

This study’s goal was to quantify and describe the rate and type of FB injuries at MLB games.

Design:

This was a retrospective review of medical care reports for patients evaluated by on-site health care providers (HCPs) over a non-contiguous 11-year period (2005-2016). Data were obtained using Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

Setting:

Data were received from three US-based MLB stadiums.

Results:

The review reported 0.42-0.55 FB injuries per game that were serious enough to warrant presentation at a first aid center. This translated to a patients per 10,000 fans rate (PPTT) of 0.13-0.23. The transport to hospital rate (TTHR) was 0.02-0.39. Frequently, FB injuries required analgesics but were overwhelmingly minor and occurred less often than non-FB traumatic injuries (5.2% versus 42%-49%). However, FB injured fans were more likely to need higher levels of care and transport to hospital (TH) as compared to people suffering other traumatic injuries at the ballpark. Contusions or head injuries were common. Finally, FB injured fans were often hit in the abdomen, upper extremity, face, or head. It was found that FB injuries appeared to increase with time, and this increase in injuries aligns with the sudden increase in popularity of smartphones in the United States.

Conclusions and Relevance:

These data suggest that in roughly every two or three MLB games, a foul ball causes a serious enough injury that a fan seeks medical attention. This rate is high enough to warrant attention, but is comparable in frequency to other diagnostic categories. Assessing the risk to fans from FBs remains difficult, but with access to uniform data, researchers could answer persistent questions that would lead to actionable changes and help guide public policy towards safer stadiums.

Keywords

foul ball injuriesMajor League Baseball (MLB)mass-gathering medicinepublic healthsports medicine
Type
Research Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 277 - 283
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

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