Astros rival’s criticism following Taylor Ward's injury is severely misguided

Los Angeles Angels outfield Taylor Ward was injured after colliding face first into the left field wall at Daikin Park over the weekend. Ward cut his head on the unpadded scoreboard, and given his history of facial injuries, everyone was understandably concerned for his wellbeing.

While Ward appears to be okay, his teammate Jo Adell had some very strong feelings about how the Houston Astros' home ballpark is set up. Adell, has been consistent in his critique of Daikin Park, and he might have a point.

The out-of-town scoreboard is hazardous for outfielders if they crash into it, and for many, Ward's injury was one that could have been easily prevented. However, Adell's criticism, while valid, is misguided and ignores a number of ballpark features around the league that would have to radically change if he got his way.

Jo Adell's criticism of Astros ballpark following Taylor Ward's injury is severely misguided

Again, fans can all relate to Adell. Most outfield walls in MLB are padded for safety for a reason and the existence of a metal scoreboard as a wall certainly feels like a hazard. However, the problem is that if we extend Adell's logic further, a lot of what makes many MLB stadiums unique would have to be stripped away and that risks real backlash from fans.

Do you think there is any world where the Boston Red Sox would overhaul the Green Monster? There's ;ess than zero percent chance. The unpadded wall behind Wrigley Field's ivy has resulted in a number of injuries over the years including to Cody Bellinger just last season. Spoiler alert: the Chicago Cubs aren't ripping out the ivy (which players can and get caught up in sometimes) to put in padding. Even small features like the chain link portion of the right field wall at Truist Park in Atlanta can be a problem and it's one of the newer stadiums in Major League Baseball.

We have seen changes to ballparks before in the name of safety and consistency, including Houston. This website's namesake, Tal's Hill, was removed nearly a decade ago and there were plenty of fans that were mad at the change even if it seems like common sense now.

Adell can be as mad as he wants, but the reality is that he is fighting a losing battle here and outfielders just need to be more aware and careful instead of just yeeting themselves into walls like Ward did.

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