CHICAGO — When Miami Marlins outfielder Curtis Granderson raced into foul territory to catch a fly ball just before reaching the knee-high wall at Guaranteed Rate Field, he might have tumbled into the lap of 7-year-old Nathaniel Wolpoff.

But not on Monday night.

Granderson — and the wispy, sports-goggled Nathaniel, who was sitting in the first row with his parents — were spared any calamity by a new feature at the White Sox’ home ballpark: protective netting that extended all the way from behind home plate to each foul pole .

Such extensive netting, installed to save fans from searing line drives more than tumbling outfielders, is the first of its kind in Major League Baseball.

It will not be the last, as the sport comes to grips with a spate of serious fan injuries caused by foul balls. The Washington Nationals also extended their netting to deep down the foul lines before Monday’s game, which was rained out. The Pittsburgh Pirates, the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Dodgers have pledged to push their netting to the foul poles. The Texas Rangers will do so in their new ballpark that opens next season.