Dangerous bat incidents at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field
Update: The fan injured by a thrown bat that sailed over the netting at Yankee Stadium has filed a lawsuit against the Yankees and netting companies, seeking $10 million. She suffered a traumatic brain injury. The lawsuit has already attracted national media coverage by ABC News, NBC News, and originally by the NY Post.
Watch the thrown bat incident here:
Dear interested media outlets,
This is Jordan Skopp, founder of Foul Ball Safety Now, reaching out to you about an ongoing threat to baseball fan safety, evidenced by the fact that we’ve documented at least five dangerous incidents involving bats entering the seating areas at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field in the last 13 months.
For the past seven years, my team has been tracking threats to fan safety from bats and balls, and documenting far too many incidents of serious injuries and fatalities among fans.
A little more than a year ago, I was contacted by a major law firm regarding a lawsuit, and my team and I were able to assist them with relevant research for their trial preparation, regarding an infant struck by a bat nearly ten years ago.
Yet, no internal lessons have been learned from nearly a decade ago — professional baseball has continually failed to protect fans from preventable harm.
It's a slaughterhouse just waiting to happen. As recently as July 17, Freddie Freeman’s thrown bat was the latest documented bat incident at Yankee Stadium.
See for yourself as an investigative news organization these five videos, and please question these unsafe business practices. I’m happy to be available for comment.
Thank you again,
Jordan Skopp
718-627-6767
7/17/26 Dodgers vs. Yankees - thrown bat
6/22/25 Orioles vs. Yankees - thrown bat
5/19/26 Blue Jays vs. Yankees - broken bat
6/2/26 Guardians vs. Yankees - thrown bat
6/21/26 Phillies vs. Mets - broken bat
Open letter to Legends and Delta season ticket holders (September 2026)
Dear Legends Suite and Delta SKY360º Club Season Ticket Holders,
I have attempted to reach many of you through phone calls and emails, because there is an issue occurring inside New York's MLB ballparks that deserves your immediate attention. During the past 15 months, I have documented four separate incidents at Yankee Stadium in which bats entered spectator areas, along with one incident at Citi Field. One of the most troubling events occurred at Yankee Stadium on June 2, 2026 when a spectator sitting in a Legends Suite seat was seriously injured by a bat.
These premium seats are occupied by fans, employees, clients, colleagues, friends, parents, and children. For organizations and families investing substantial sums in premium season ticket licenses, I believe considerably more thought must be given towards what it means to distribute those tickets to others. When you give someone a ticket, you are giving them an experience that is supposed to be extraordinary, and you should be able to do that with confidence.
Yet, the incidents I have documented show that not enough precautions are in place to protect the people sitting in these areas. For seven years, I have accumulated research and incident documentation through Foul Ball Safety Now. It is just as difficult to summarize my body of work in a single letter as it is to remain quiet about what I have observed.
The Yankees and Mets continue the ordinary business of hosting baseball games. Meanwhile, bats continue entering spectator areas. There are practical solutions that deserve serious examination and there is no reason that another incident like the one on June 2 should occur before a sober conversation is had.
More than a year ago, I was contacted by a major law firm regarding a case involving an infant (who was seriously harmed) and mother who had been struck by a bat at a Major League Baseball game years earlier. That family’s lives were forever altered, and years passed by, but the problem has remained. Nearly ten years after that incident, I am still documenting bats entering spectator areas.
I am not asking you to apologize for enjoying baseball, attending games, or entertaining clients. You are paying customers. Your organization and families are investing enormous sums of money into the New York Yankees and Mets year after year. You have every right to ask difficult questions about the environment you are sending the people you care about into.
Your organization, family, and guests deserve to be respected. Your rights as consumers include the right to speak directly with the Yankees and Mets about spectator safety. I urge you to ask them why bats are still reaching spectator areas and what is being done about it, before someone receiving one of your tickets becomes the next injured spectator. Foul Ball Safety Now is prepared to be a resource. I can share the incidents and research I have documented.
I am ultimately a concerned baseball fan and citizen who has spent seven years collecting information that the public deserves to see. You have a direct consumer relationship with the New York Yankees or Mets. You can use it to demand a serious, transparent conversation about reasonable solutions.
There is nothing impolite about protecting your colleagues, clients, and friends. There is nothing apologetic about asking a business you support to make its premises safe. This is our civic responsibility.
Respectfully,
Jordan Skopp
Founder - Foul Ball Safety Now
Letter to Assemblywoman Larinda Hooks (August 2026)
Dear Assembly Member Hooks,
This is Jordan Skopp, founder of Foul Ball Safety Now, reaching out to you about an ongoing threat to baseball fan safety, evidenced by the fact that we’ve documented at least five dangerous incidents involving bats entering the seating areas at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field in the last 13 months.
For the past seven years, my team has been tracking threats to fan safety from bats and balls, and documenting far too many incidents of serious injuries and fatalities among fans.
A little more than a year ago, I was contacted by a major law firm regarding a lawsuit, and my team and I were able to assist them with relevant research for their trial preparation, regarding an infant struck by a bat nearly ten years ago.
Yet, no internal lessons have been learned from nearly a decade ago — professional baseball has continually failed to protect fans from preventable harm.
It's a slaughterhouse just waiting to happen. As recently as July 17, Freddie Freeman’s thrown bat was the latest documented bat incident at Yankee Stadium.
See for yourself as an elected official these five videos, and please question these unsafe business practices. I’m available to discuss in further detail this urgent and pressing matter.
Videos of recent incidents are available at https://www.foulballsafetynow.com/newyork
Thank you again,
Jordan Skopp
Letter to NY Attorney General Latitia James (August 2026)
For your immediate review: lawsuit at Yankee Stadium, and more bat incidents at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field
Dear Attorney General James,
This is Jordan Skopp, founder of Foul Ball Safety Now, reaching out with an urgent appeal for your leadership to address the ongoing threats to baseball fan safety at New York’s MLB stadiums, where recent incidents of bats and balls threatening fans in seating areas demonstrate clearly that further action is needed now more than ever to safeguard fans from serious injury or death.
There is a crisis currently at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, where we’ve discovered four separate incidents this year of thrown or broken bats entering the stands. One of the fans who suffered a traumatic brain injury from a thrown bat at Yankee Stadium has filed a lawsuit which is in the news right now, and has already attracted national media coverage by ABC News [https://abcnews.com/US/woman-struck-head-bat-yankees-game-suing-10m/story?id=135430454], NBC News [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-sues-yankees-10m-getting-struck-bat-says-suffered-brain-injury-rcna591338], and originally by the NY Post [https://nypost.com/2026/08/06/sports/yankees-fan-sues-for-10m-after-bat-thrown-into-stands-clobbers-her-in-the-head/].
I believe we need to seek immediate injunctive relief for all families unknowingly putting themselves in harm’s way by attending games at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. If a judge were to grant injunctive relief now, it would hopefully stop the most preventable incidents while giving the teams enough time and motivation to at least make immediate upgrades to prevent these repetitive incidents.
Ultimately, we need to finally establish total solutions, which I’m confident can come about with your leadership, once all of our research is received openly and honestly.
My team and I have spent the past seven years assembling evidence documenting a hidden crisis with balls and bats hurting fans throughout the history of professional baseball.
I’ve had success in Illinois helping to instigate a proceeding for immediate relief involving a minor league ballpark that didn’t even have netting above the dugouts.
It’s time to do the same thing in my hometown of New York, where the Yankees, Mets and MLB have long possessed extensive knowledge of fan injuries occurring as far too many balls and bats continue to travel over the nets into the stands at dangerous speeds today.
I am available to discuss this with you or your colleagues as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Jordan Skopp
Founder, Foul Ball Safety Now
Letter to Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (August 2026)
Dear Assemblywoman Paulin and fellow New York leaders,
I write with an urgent appeal for your leadership to address the ongoing threats to baseball fan safety at New York’s MLB stadiums, where recent incidents of bats and balls threatening fans in seating areas demonstrate clearly that further action is needed now more than ever to safeguard fans from serious injury or death.
Please see the Media Release and videos on our website demonstrating at least five dangerous incidents involving bats entering the seating areas at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field in the last 13 months. All the major NYC media outlets were alerted to this on Monday, and so far none have reported on this. https://www.foulballsafetynow.com/newyork
Given your previous leadership on this issue, I believe you are best positioned to determine the appropriate pathways to achieve immediate results. Whether it is through actions taken by your colleagues in the Assembly, or relevant regulatory authorities at the city or state level, I encourage you to pursue emergency action to stop fan injuries, and to hold hearings to explore accountability for this ongoing threat.
Perhaps these recent incidents could also advance your stalled bill to study the issue further, but Assemblywoman, I hope you’ll agree that immediate emergency measures are needed rather than further study.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/A300
Ever since 2017 when you drafted proposed legislation that would have mandated extended netting to the foul poles of all ballparks in the city with more than 5,000 seats, effective solutions to ensure robust fan safety have remained elusive.
Because both the Mets and Yankees took voluntary action to extend netting in 2018 — albeit not all the way to the foul poles as the legislation would have compelled — the proposal was abandoned. We can all see clearly now that more work remains. The teams’ piecemeal approach left far too many fans at risk over the past decade and to the present, as the recent video evidence demonstrates. Bear in mind that the Yankees, Mets and MLB have long possessed extensive knowledge of fan injuries occurring well past the dugouts along both baselines, as well as balls and bats continuing to travel over the nets at dangerous speeds into the stands today.
I am available to discuss at your convenience.
Thank you,
Jordan Skopp
Founder, Foul Ball Safety Now
P.S. I agree with your 2019 statement, which I reference for your consideration now.
https://www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Amy-Paulin/story/87567
“As much as we love the ballpark experience, it is not reasonable to expect attendees to be vigilant at every moment for a sudden 100-mph projectile that could threaten their health and safety. Professional baseball and New York State need to do what we can to ensure professional baseball games continue to be sources of joy for our families and not potential tragedy.”
Cc: Rafael Espinal, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment
Letter to NY Sports Law Clinics (August 2026)
Hi,
This is Jordan Skopp, founder of Foul Ball Safety Now, reaching out with an urgent appeal for your clinic’s help to address the ongoing threats to baseball fan safety at New York’s MLB stadiums, where recent incidents of bats and balls threatening fans in seating areas demonstrate clearly that further action is needed now more than ever to safeguard fans from serious injury or death.
There is a crisis currently at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, where we’ve discovered four separate incidents this year of thrown or broken bats entering the stands. One of the fans who suffered a traumatic brain injury from a thrown bat at Yankee Stadium has filed a lawsuit which is in the news right now, and has already attracted national media coverage by ABC News [https://abcnews.com/US/woman-struck-head-bat-yankees-game-suing-10m/story?id=135430454], NBC News [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-sues-yankees-10m-getting-struck-bat-says-suffered-brain-injury-rcna591338], and originally by the NY Post [https://nypost.com/2026/08/06/sports/yankees-fan-sues-for-10m-after-bat-thrown-into-stands-clobbers-her-in-the-head/].
I believe we need to seek immediate injunctive relief for all families unknowingly putting themselves in harm’s way by attending games at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. The fan’s new lawsuit against the Yankees could take months or years to affect change, if it even does, so if a judge were to grant injunctive relief now, it would hopefully stop the most preventable incidents while giving the teams enough time and motivation to at least make immediate upgrades to prevent these repetitive incidents.
Ultimately, we need to finally establish total solutions throughout professional baseball (and in NCAA and so on), which I’m confident your clinic could help with, once all of our research is received openly and honestly.
My team and I have spent the past seven years assembling evidence documenting a hidden crisis with balls and bats hurting fans throughout the history of professional baseball. Despite piecemeal updates to netting in MLB and the minor leagues, there is still no robust, independent mechanism to ensure fan safety is prioritized throughout baseball.
I’ve had success in Illinois helping to instigate a proceeding for immediate relief involving a minor league ballpark that didn’t even have netting above the dugouts.
It’s time to do the same thing in my hometown of New York, where the Yankees, Mets and MLB have long possessed extensive knowledge of fan injuries occurring as far too many balls and bats continue to travel over the nets into the stands at dangerous speeds today.
I am available to discuss this with you or your colleagues as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Jordan Skopp
Founder, Foul Ball Safety Now
Press release distributed to NY Media (August 2026)
PREMISES UNDER SIEGE: BASEBALL SAFETY ADVOCATE SEEKS CONCERNED CITIZENS TO JOIN CALL TO ACTION OVER FLYING BATS AT NEW YORK BALLPARKS. FIVE DOCUMENTED INCIDENTS IN APPROXIMATELY 14 MONTHS RAISE URGENT QUESTIONS ABOUT SPECTATOR PROTECTION AT YANKEE STADIUM AND CITI FIELD.
When fans purchase a ticket to a Major League Baseball game, should they have to accept the possibility that a baseball bat could fly over the netting and into the seating areas? Jordan Skopp, founder of Foul Ball Safety Now, says the answer is no. Following a series of alarming incidents involving bats traveling over netting and towards spectators at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, Skopp is seeking concerned individuals willing to stand with him and become what he calls “the voices of reason to stop the madness.”
Skopp is asking television networks, journalists, broadcasters, and other members of the media to help alert the public to the recurring danger and connect him with New Yorkers and baseball fans who believe spectators should be protected from flying bats. Foul Ball Safety Now has documented at least 5 incidents at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field since June of 2025, involving bats entering spectator areas.
On June 22, 2025 a bat traveled over the netting at Yankee Stadium and into the seating area. On May 19, 2026 another bat cleared the netting at Yankee Stadium and entered the seats. On June 2, 2026 a flying bat again raised serious concerns at Yankee Stadium when it traveled over the netting and seriously injured a spectator. On June 21, 2026 a bat cleared the netting at Citi Field, and sailed towards a father and his two young children. On July 17, 2026 yet another bat traveled over the netting at Yankee stadium and into the seating area. How many warnings are necessary before this danger is deemed preventable?
Why should families be expected to sit in areas where a bat can clear the netting and enter the stands? A ballpark is a premises operated for the benefit of thousands of paying guests. Fans should be able to expect that known, recurring hazards will be examined and addressed.
When a bat clears the netting once, it is an incident. When it happens repeatedly at the same ballparks, it becomes a public-safety concern. Are these premises adequately protected? Skopp believes fans deserve an answer.
Skopp is seeking individuals who share his concerns and are willing to join him in calling for meaningful corrective action. Attending a baseball game should not mean unnecessarily exposing yourself, your children, or your family to a preventable flying-bat hazard. Why wait for another serious injury before fixing a known problem?
If you are concerned about flying bats entering spectator areas at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field, Foul Ball Safety Now wants to hear from you. You can contact Jordan Skopp at 718-627-6767.
Our objective is to pressure the league to implement protective measures to make attending baseball games safe for all. If you believe spectators should not have to accept flying bats entering seating areas as an unavoidable part of attending a baseball game, contact Jordan Skopp of Foul Ball Safety Now and learn more at https://www.foulballsafetynow.com/newyork
Press release distributed to NY Media (August 2026)
DANGEROUS BAT INCIDENTS AT YANKEE STADIUM AND CITI FIELD
Dear interested media outlets,
This is Jordan Skopp, founder of Foul Ball Safety Now, reaching out to you about an ongoing threat to baseball fan safety, evidenced by the fact that we’ve documented at least five dangerous incidents involving bats entering the seating areas at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field in the last 13 months.
One of the fans injured by a thrown bat that sailed over the netting at Yankee Stadium has filed a lawsuit recently against the Yankees and netting companies, seeking $10 million. She suffered a traumatic brain injury. The lawsuit has already attracted national media coverage by ABC News, NBC News, and originally by the NY Post.
None of the coverage has mentioned the other four thrown and broken bat incidents that Foul Ball Safety Now identified at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field in 2025-2026. This is an opportunity for your outlet to add significant context to demonstrate that this is a systemic threat to fan safety, not a freak occurrence.
For the past seven years, my team has been tracking threats to fan safety from bats and balls, and documenting far too many incidents of serious injuries and fatalities among fans.
A little more than a year ago, I was contacted by a major law firm regarding a lawsuit, and my team and I were able to assist them with relevant research for their trial preparation, regarding an infant struck by a bat nearly ten years ago. Yet, no internal lessons have been learned from nearly a decade ago — professional baseball has continually failed to protect fans from preventable harm.
It's a slaughterhouse just waiting to happen. As recently as July 17, Freddie Freeman’s thrown bat was the latest documented bat incident at Yankee Stadium.
See for yourself as an investigative news organization these five videos, and please question these unsafe business practices. I’m happy to be available for comment.
Videos are located at https://www.foulballsafetynow.com/newyork
Thank you again,
Jordan Skopp