Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Cary Osborne

The Dodgers announced today that, in accordance with the recommendations issued by Major League Baseball, the screen behind home plate will be extended to cover the seating area between the ends of the dugouts closest to home plate and within 70 feet of home plate.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to owners in August and November about the issue. On November 19, he said baseball was getting closer to making changes, while acknowledging how some fans prefer to leave things status quo.

“Obviously, fan safety is paramount for us. We want our fans to be safe in the ballpark. But we also have lots of fans who are very vocal about the fact that they don’t like to sit behind nets,” Manfred told MLB.com’s Paul Hagen.

“The toughest issues for us are when we have fans on both sides of the equation. If it’s about fans and, let’s say, revenue, you always try to err on the side of the fan. But if it’s that the fans want ‘X’ on one side and we’re concerned about our fans on the other side, that’s a more difficult balance. We’re trying to reach an appropriate balance on the topic, recognizing that it’s complicated by the fact that not every stadium is laid out exactly the same.”