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Red Sox Release Statement Agreeing To Follow MLB's New Fan Safety Recommendations

BOSTON (CBS) -- Fan safety took an unfortunate front-row seat with a series of serious injuries throughout the 2015 baseball season, several of which took place at Fenway Park alone. In response, the Red Sox plan to implement new Major League Baseball measures to prevent further accidents from happening.

The team released a statement Wednesday confirming that they plan to widen the netting behind home plate for the 2016 season and beyond, following recommendations by the MLB front office.

Here is the statement in full:

"The Red Sox commend Major League Baseball and Commissioner Manfred for their thoughtful analysis on this very important issue. The league has completed a thorough investigation in consultation with all 30 clubs, including the Red Sox, and with input from a variety of experts.

"The Red Sox take matters of fan safety very seriously and intend to follow the recommendations put forth by Major League Baseball by expanding the backstop netting behind home plate for the 2016 season. The club is in the process of evaluating different design options to identify the best solution for Fenway Park, and is proactively reaching out to the ticket holders most affected by the planned changes."

On June 5, a splintered bat whirled into the crowd and struck Red Sox fan Tonya Carpenter in the head and face. She suffered "life-threatening" injuries, but ultimately survived the ordeal.

The incident brought fan safety at Fenway to the forefront, as more fans continued to get injured in later games. A fan was struck in the forehead by a foul ball in July, a bat hit another fan in August, and in September fans were seriously injured by both trying to catch and getting hit by foul balls.

The recommendations for further implementations aren't just for the Red Sox; they are part of a league-wide notice from Major League Baseball. I believe that for insurance's sake, every team in baseball will likely follow at least some modicum of added safety measures.

Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.

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