Of course, when dealing with a sport such as baseball, there are many ways that players, coaches, umpires, or spectators can be injured. Tort liability plays a big role in sports such as baseball because of the great amount of assumed risks (Fried, 2002).
All sports have assumed risks that players are taught at a young age, starting at the beginner level. In football, players are taught that in order to play the game, they must block and tackle, which requires a great deal of physical play. At the tee-ball level in baseball, the players are taught that the pitcher throws the ball to the catcher, but there is a possibility that the pitcher misses his target and hits the batter. Of course there are many steps taken to reduce the number of injuries in sports like football and baseball. But, there will always be a risk factor involved in the respective games. .
When children ask their parents to sign them up for the youth level sports, the parents must sign waivers that acknowledge the assumption of risk in order to protect the youth athletic organization. Without waiver forms, parents would have the right to sue the leagues and claim that they were not aware of the risk that injured their child. All sports have risks that are dealt with in all different types of ways. But the game of baseball has seen some rule and equipment changes in attempt of making the game as safe as possible for not only the players, but the spectators that fill up the ballparks. Every time a baseball player ties up his cleats and puts on his glove, he knows that the game he is about to play is by no means safe. There are thousands of different ways that a baseball player can get injured throughout a game. Ball players assume this risk every time they step onto the ball field. There have been many steps taken over the years that have made the game much safer, such as making a rule that says that the batter must wear a helmet when hitting and when on base.
