2026 MLBPA and OnRise Outreach: Player Mental Health

Foul Ball Safety Now (FBSN) is expanding its advocacy to confront not only the physical risks faced by fans, but also the overlooked psychological toll those risks impose on players and coaches. The following letters, addressed to the Major League Baseball Players Association(MLBPA) and OnRise (a mental health and performance organization that partners with the union to provide comprehensive support to players) represent a direct call to acknowledge and address the mental burden associated with foul ball and bat incidents. Every year, preventable, life-altering injuries to unsuspecting fans persist, reinforcing a system in which players must perform under the constant, often unspoken fear of causing harm. FBSN believes athletes deserve the opportunity to pursue their careers free from this underlying anxiety, and that meaningful collaboration is urgently needed to create the safest and a more responsible future for everyone connected to the game.

Letter sent to MLBPA in March 2026

The time has come for the Major League Baseball Players Association to finally recognize their connection to the legacy of baseball fans injured by foul balls and bats entering the stands.

Every year, there will continue to be life-altering injuries to the most innocent, unsuspecting fans. Our responsibility as a baseball civilized society is to finally take proper measures to safeguard all fans from preventable injuries inside and outside professional ballparks and stadiums.

Players need to have the opportunity to perform their life-long passion free of the psychological burden always right beneath the surface or present when a ball or bat leaves the field and threatens fan safety.

MLBPA is familiar with this subject, as news reports indicate that the matter of extended netting to protect fans has been raised repeatedly by the union in past CBA negotiations. But those discussions have failed to deliver any solutions for fan safety, and the threat remains ongoing to this day as serious fan injuries continue to happen. Dangerous balls and bats are entering the seating areas at both the MLB and PDL levels, as evidenced most recently during Game 2 of ALDS playoffs when a broken bat flew into the stands in Seattle. That is unacceptable.

Let’s all put our heads together and bring in the most talented engineers, architects, and designers from every zip code in our country to address our modern-day needs of providing a safe experience for all fans.

We’re happy to sit down with you and share all of our findings on fan injuries throughout MLB and minor league baseball as well, with its much larger rank and file. We know of two children who were critically injured by foul balls in 2023 in minor league ballparks in Hickory, NC and Peoria, IL. We also know of a serious 2023 incident in which a woman sustained a traumatic brain injury while awaiting entry to the park.

These incidents are a symptom of the larger problem with baseball culture. It’s up to us all to fix that now.

The future of baseball fan safety can be as bright as the games can be. We can all get there together.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

Jordan Skopp

Founder, Foul Ball Safety Now

Letter sent to OnRise in March 2026

I’m Jordan Skopp and I was very interested to learn about your organization’s existence this week. I would like to schedule a call with your team to get acquainted on mutual areas of concern.

My advocacy campaign, Foul Ball Safety Now, is actively engaging in dialogue about athlete psychology, public safety, and the unseen mental burden carried by players and coaches in professional and college baseball.

In recent years, my team and I have interviewed more than 30 people connected to baseball, including current and former MLB and minor league players, coaches, and insiders of the game. Many of them have described the psychological impact of knowing that a split-second foul ball or bat can strike a spectator in the stands or outside the ballpark.

These individuals have explained that the possibility of injuring a fan can weigh heavily on their minds. Some have spoken about persistent anxiety while at bat or in the dugout. Others have reflected on the emotional aftermath when incidents occur.

We are concerned about the mental wellness of athletes and coaches who may carry this burden throughout their careers. Based on our conversations and conferences with baseball professionals and college athletes, we believe the issue deserves serious attention from experts in sports psychology, sports science, and athlete wellbeing.

That’s why I was very interested to learn about OnRise. As it happens, I was on the website of the MLBPA looking for their contact email address when I saw the January news item announcing your agreement with the players union to provide holistic mental support for players.

Can we schedule an introductory call? How about next week Monday-Thursday between 4-6pm EST? That window is when I typically work with Brendan, an investigative journalist on our team who assists with data collection and analysis, who could join our call.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

Jordan Skopp

Founder, Foul Ball Safety Now