Baseball season is here. For die-hard Los Angeles Dodgers fans, it means trips to the epic stadium that's been home to baseball greats like Sandy Koufax and Clayton Kershaw.,
Going to Dodger Stadium was a big social event for Jana Brody, and her family. She grew up going to games.
"My parents had block tickets...they had been going for years, with their best friends from college," said Brody.
But, Brody says she'll never set foot in the stadium again. What the Santa Barbara woman said was an easily preventable accident took her mother's life.
Brody's parents were regulars at the stadium. They had seats behind home plate, on the second level of the stadium, known as the Loge Level.
On August 25, 2018 her parents were at a game. A batter hit a foul ball which curled up into the air behind home plate, flying over a net designed to protect fans. It hit her mother, Linda Goldbloom in the head.
"It was hit so hard it actually bounced off my mom's temple, and hit my uncle who was sitting in the seat behind, so it was a very strong velocity," said Brody.
The 79-year-old woman was stunned, but then soon lost consciousness. She was taken to a hospital where she underwent brain surgery, but later died,
The family was in shock, How could something as innocent as going to a ball game lead to a death?
Brody said soon after, she saw a story about how major league ball parks had added some safety netting. The story said the last death due to a ball hit into the stands was in 1970. She admits she was shocked. Her mother had died just months early from being hit.
She contacted the story's author, who was stunned to hear about Brody's mother. The issue then exploded in sports media. Brody became an advocate for ballpark safety, and was interviewed by everyone from ESPN to the New York Times. She decided to write a book telling her mother's story, called "Sit Behind The Nets". It hit bookstores in February,
Brody said all the publicity worked. Major League Baseball mandated expanded safety nets for fans in stadiums.
She said her family reached a settlement with the team over her mother's death. They don't blame the player, but she said they are saddened that it took what happened to improve safety.
Brody said her message with the interviews, and the book is to get teams thinking more about improving safety. And for fans, she said she's hoping to get thinking about the safety issue as they choose seats for games.
"The message behind my book is please sit behind the nets, and be safe," said Brody.
Brody is appearing at Chaucer's Books in Santa Barbara for a book signing event on Wednesday, March 29 at 6 p.m.
