Umpire tired of lame Camden Yards Security tackles shirtless drunk young male fan.

[StottyByNature]

What preventative measures would you suggest? 10 foot plexiglass barriers running from foul pole to foul pole? Vintage TSA-style personal screening of every fan entering the ballpark? If you're selling an entertainment product, in my experience you don't start by going out of your way to kill the buzz.

I'm not trying to twist your words, but I do think a comment like, "Something needs to be done..." requires the response, "Like what?"

IMO the proper way of dealing with these people is through limited exposure of the actual event, a controlled but thorough police response, vigorous criminal prosecution afterward and the presentation of a bill for the entire cost of the security services for that game - followed by a well-publcized civil lawsuit for non-payment if necessary.

Thanks for the thoughtful response. Just to be more clear, I am not necessarily in favor of more force. I simply think that whatever is being done right now is not enough of a deterrent. Also, I do believe that such incidents do increase exponentially. One suggestion I would have is to be more explicit about the consequences. Right now, they say something like "will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law". I am sure the average person, myself included, does not know what that means. Is it a fine? Jail time? I know most of these people are under the influence of alcohol, but even in such a state the idea of jail time or a hefty fine would still get through to some. Right now they just know they will be tackled, which any drunk can handle.

Again, just a suggestion, but increased measures (not necessarily violent ones) do seem like they are needed. I am sure someone smarter than me can come up with a solution, but the status quo is not presently working.

[Jules]

500 over 10 years. How many were caused by mitigating factors like the individuals health, influence of alcohol and or narcotics? An idiot at an MLB stadium is not the proper place or level of force to use against these guys. Entertaining..certainly, but not proper.

[byrdz]

FWIW - Tasing can kill a person. I doubt that something MLB wants to take a chance with.

So can getting hit the head by a foul line drive. But any time you go to the ballpark you take THAT chance.

Besides this is not likely to happen to a healthy young person. Exactly the type to run around on baseball field in their underwear and cape.

[notfast]

When one of these idiots comes out and tases a player or injures them, we'll see if using too much force is on anyone's mind.

[Bosibus]

Dumb ass fools running on the field, you are not cool and your mom probably still hates you.

[El Gordo]

Did you see the guy juke out the cop at 2nd base yesterday? In that case the cop was close enough to tase him but wasn't able to tackle him.

Dogs. That's the ticket.

[Tony-OH]

Look, I hate the idiots too, I'm not saying the current methods are inadequate/leave a little to be desired, but according to this there have been 500 taser related deaths in the US since 2001. There's about 2,400 ML games a year, not including MiL games. How many of them have one of these idiots? How many streakers have died so far using current methods? How many would you be okay with dying if it cut the number of streakers down by 75%?

I'm sure we could stop bank robberies if we made it punishable by death. That doesn't make it right.

I like dogs. I also think the players should leave the field the minute someone steps onto the field. IF'ers go to dugout, OF'ers go to bullpen. Fans Boo! Dogs are released. Fans cheer!

How many have happened on grass or dirt? I'll bet most are done on hard surfaces where people hit their heads. Look, I'm not really into watching people get tased either, but their needs to be a deterrent since trespassing charges apparently aren't enough of a concern for the idiots that think this is their 15 minutes of fame. You want dogs? Sure. Rubber bullet snipers? I'm with ya. I honestly don't give a rat's butt about these idiots. You tase one, they die, that's cleaning out the gene pool.

[24fps]

1. Screen people that show signs of intoxication entering the stadium.

2. Security checks for alcohol/weapons/contraband should be expected at all stadiums imo ( I don't think we need to do TSA body scans/pat downs etc). Any type of containers could be restricted from entering the park (I don't know what the current policy is).

3. Install minimally evasive barriers at egress points. This could be as simple as placing something like the tarp roller in front.

4. More security guards in general and specifically at perimiters/egress points.

5. Aggressive video and manual surveillance techniques including covert surveillance.

6. More aggressive alcohol control/restriction policies or elimination.

7. Pursue more aggressive punitive actions, which may require action by legislative policy.

I think most people would be OK with these suggestions and I would be as well. Drunks and the attendant foul language stopped me from going to Dodger games the season before the tragic beating in the parking lot took place, but I recently learned that the increased security since then has extended to restoring some of the family-friendliness elsewhere around the stadium. Perhaps I'll reconsider knowing that.

No longer directing my comments at your post, I will say that I believe a necessary part of taking in a professional ball game needs to include the understanding that the whole family can enjoy the experience. I'm confident that my wife and 10 year-old daughter would emphatically not enjoy the experience of watching a man be tased or attacked by dogs, nuanced arguments justifying the decision notwithstanding. I've witnessed both, and I wouldn't blame them.

[El Gordo]

How many have happened on grass or dirt? I'll bet most are done on hard surfaces where people hit their heads. Look, I'm not really into watching people get tased either, but their needs to be a deterrent since trespassing charges apparently aren't enough of a concern for the idiots that think this is their 15 minutes of fame. You want dogs? Sure. Rubber bullet snipers? I'm with ya. I honestly don't give a rat's butt about these idiots. You tase one, they die, that's cleaning out the gene pool.

I was with till there. And I can't stand these jerks.

[jonesing4pie]

I will admit after one streaker this year I was saying handcuffing, scare them a little bit at central booking and then just release them and don't press any real charges/waste your time for anything more than a fine. However, now that the problem seems to be getting worse I think the best option is just to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law and publicize it. Once word spreads that you will serve a real penalty, I think the streaking problem will die down.

Until then, just station two extra cops out there. I agree that the batman streaker has caused this increase most likely but we can solve this without using riskier techniques that would give a bad image to the local cops (tasing a 19 year old drunk kid looks fine to people like us that are reasonable and understand there is a problem but there will be a whole other segment of the population that will say the cops/Orioles have gone too far and we don't want to have to deal with that).

[SammyBirdland]

Has anyone been injured as a result of some idiot running on the field?

Remember this? Fast forward to 1 minute in.

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[allquixotic]

+1 for dogs. -1 for excessive force, oops I mean tasers.

[CA-ORIOLE]

2/3/4/5/6 sound absolutely terrible. First off, the increased cost would be tremendous which would impact the prices of tickets. Secondly, what reason is there for this? I mean seriously? Has anyone been injured as a result of some idiot running on the field?

I don't think the additional cost would be "tremendous" at all. As far as the reason, if you're ok with guys running on the field, then there is no reason to do anything at all. I don't think you're in the majority though.

[SammyBirdland]

Perhaps I should say, with a weapon. Pretty sure you can't take fists away from somebody by screening them on the way in.

Monica Seles got stabbed by a crazy person who ran out onto the tennis court.

[NJOsFan]

Before I write a lengthier post, I have a question for those of you in favor of dogs over Tasers. Is this only due to their intimidating presence, or their ability to subdue someone?