BOSTON -- Erik Barnard sat with his 3-year-old son along Fenway Park's third-base line, a few sections from where a woman was seriously injured when a broken bat flew into the stands two days earlier.
He never considered surrendering those front-row seats that aren't guarded by netting. But he would be sure to protect little Christopher.
"I'll definitely be watching out for him and putting him on my lap," Barnard said before Sunday's game between the Athletics and Red Sox.
It's a delicate balance for fans throughout the major leagues: weighing the danger of being hit by a wayward bat or ball against the enhanced experience of being so close to the action, few closer than at cozy Fenway.