MLB Security Measures

[xpress34]

Going to the ballpark has been getting to be less and less fun; this is just one more damn thing. Last year they went back to doing something they hadn't done for several years - restricting access to the second level, where all the good restaurants and one of the game day GU silent auctions are at, to those with "Suite Level" tickets; apparently the Suite owners decided they didn't like mingling with the riff-raff in the common use areas. Some of the ushers and customer service types are just downright rude and arrogant any more. If it wasn't for the GU auctions, the SGAs and - of course - the thrill that only seeing those great plays live and in person can truly give you, I would stop buying tickets all together.

Jeff - be glad you could go there at all. The Rockies and Coors Field have NEVER allowed fans access to the '2nd Level' (i.e. Club and Suite Levels) without being ticketed for those areas.

You can go to the Mountain Ranch Club during the game to eat - IF you are holding a Season Ticket. Not available for those who by their tickets day of game, etc...

- Smitty

[xpress34]

I am waiting for MLB to fall into the NFL mold.

Went to ONE Broncos game last year. Per NFL policy, the ONLY bags allowed in (besides HAND HELD Purses - or 'clutches') are CLEAR 12" x 12" x 6". Binoculars and Cameras can NOT be in cases. etc, etc.

The Rockies just mailed out to Season Ticket and Mini Plan holders a 12" x 12" x 6" CLEAR bag with a Rockies sticker on the side of it.

Foreshadowing? More than likely.

[cjclong]

It's too bad, but we live in a dangerous world. In December 2000 I went to the Windows of the World restaurant in the World trade center and was annoyed when they searched me and checked out my camera before letting me on the elevator to the restaurant. Less than 9 months later we had 9-11.
Public events are damned if they do and damned if they don't. If people are searched or have to go through metal detectors they complain. Then if something like the Boston Marathon happens people say why wasn't there more security. For now we will just have to get used to it. (Of course this has nothing to do with keeping tickets holders off the second level. That has nothing to do with security and is another issue.)

[mr.miracle]

I don't see how they could possibly keep you from bringing a baseball in to a ballgame - or really why they would want to try. For one thing, you can buy all sorts of souvenir baseballs in any ballpark's team shop, so what's the difference?

Of course, I feel the same way about bats, and I've heard about Major League parks (and even some Minor League ones) where you can't take a bat in, and can't keep one if it goes into the seats, even if the player doesn't want it. That's one positive thing I'll say about Chase Field - they've never prohibited bats.

You cannot bring any bats into Oriole Park nor can you carry one around the stadium if purchased during a game in the case of a game used bat you may take possession once you are ready to leave and must be escorted to the gate with it and you also cannot gain access to the Club Level unless you are ticketed to be on that level

Such is the world we live in today especially due to the necessary security measures that need to be taken in light of current world events

[sox83cubs84]

You cannot bring any bats into Oriole Park nor can you carry one around the stadium if purchased during a game in the case of a game used bat you may take possession once you are ready to leave and must be escorted to the gate with it and you also cannot gain access to the Club Level unless you are ticketed to be on that level

Such is the world we live in today especially due to the necessary security measures that need to be taken in light of current world events

Both Chicago ballparks pretty much bans bats from being carried aound by fans as well. The Sox have occasionally made exceptions on Kids' Day for the autograph sessions, but otherwise, for both, a bat received from a player must be checked in (you get a numbered claim ticket) until you plan to leave.
Dave M.

[godwulf]

It's too bad, but we live in a dangerous world. In December 2000 I went to the Windows of the World restaurant in the World trade center and was annoyed when they searched me and checked out my camera before letting me on the elevator to the restaurant. Less than 9 months later we had 9-11.

Yeah, amazing that something like 9-11 could have happened, isn't it? I mean, considering all the camera bag checking that had been going on?

Not trying to be a smartass here. No, wait - maybe I am.

[godwulf]

You cannot bring any bats into Oriole Park nor can you carry one around the stadium if purchased during a game in the case of a game used bat you may take possession once you are ready to leave and must be escorted to the gate with it and you also cannot gain access to the Club Level unless you are ticketed to be on that level

Such is the world we live in today especially due to the necessary security measures that need to be taken in light of current world events

Because as we all know, one of international terrorism's weapons of choice is a baseball bat.

Kool-Aid, anyone?

[mr.miracle]

Because as we all know, one of international terrorism's weapons of choice is a baseball bat.

Kool-Aid, anyone?

In Baltimore at least it is likely more an issue with half of the stadium attendees being completely drunk by the 4th inning and the potential damage that could be done by a drunk fan wielding a bat when a rival fan happens to walk by

Baltimore has to be one of the only stadiums in the league where alcohol sales per game have at times outpaced overall food sales which is just a staggering thought to comprehend

[cjclong]

There are probably more ways to destroy and kill people at building and events than we have thought of. But we have to protect against those that we can anticipate. A bomb in the restaurant wouldn't have destroyed the Trade Center, but it could have killed many people in the restaurant. If people going through the gates aren't checked some day some one will walk right through with a bomb. Its a hassle and we understandably don't like it, but the inconvenience is out weighed when you consider the devastation that can be done to humans as happened at the Boston Marathon.

[godwulf]

I'm sure that security precautions were taken before and during the Boston Marathon that year, but they did no good, did they? And if they had been more stringent, making the smuggling in of pressure cookers impossible, they'd have blown up somewhere else and perhaps killed even more people. A small plane could have crashed itself into the finish line before anyone could have lifted a finger to stop it, and there are a hundred other terrorist scenarios that might have been carried out against which no restrictions or searches would have been effective.

My point is simply that we can't make each other walk around all the time carrying transparent bags, emptying our pockets, taking off our shoes everywhere we go and passing through metal detectors every fifty feet. America is becoming a paranoid police state, and I don't like it.

As for the prohibitions on having bats in the stands, wouldn't a more comprehensive and sensible solution be to prohibit and punish public drunkenness at the park? At the first sign of intoxicated behavior, an usher alerts security and the drunk is put outside - problem solved. And a cop is waiting outside to ensure that he/she isn't going to try to drive home.