In the wake of a woman being struck in the head by a broken bat Friday at a Boston Red Sox game, reports have surfaced that the MLB owners rejected proposals to extend protective netting around the field during the last two labor negotiations, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sport.

As noted by Big League Stew, the request, which was proposed by the MLB Players Association, would have extended protective netting down the foul lines, and possibly the foul poles. The proposals were rejected both in 2007 and 2012, according to the report.

"Some owners are afraid to upset the fans that pay some of the highest ticket prices, when in reality, it's an effort to protect those very fans," Arizona Diamondbacks reliever, and players union negotiating committee member Brad Ziegler told Fox Sports.

"(The owners) seem afraid that fans will lose access to the players"”authographs, getting baseballs, etc."”and that will cause those ticket holders to be unhappy. Or, that they'd have to watch the game through a net. (But) fans behind home plate pay the highest prices, have the same issues, and yet those seats are always full."

The fan that was injured Friday was identified as Tonya Carpenter. Police described her injuries as life threatening, and is reportedly now in "serious but stable condition."

Brett Lawrie of the Toronto Blue Jays hit a ball during the game, which snapped the bat in half. In a Boston Globe report, he said he did not realize the severity of the woman's injuries because he was running to first base.

"The only thing there, you've got limited netting here in Boston. When you're behind home plate and you're along third base side and first base side, you've really got to be heads up for foul balls, anything coming into the stands, because it's so close there's really no time to react," Lawrie said when asked about the situation.

According to Fox Sports, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred would likely revisit the idea of adding more protective netting.