# MLB to require fans to pass through a metal detector to attend a game, HELL NO **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 22, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571 "2013-11-22T22:42:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/21 "2013-11-25T17:03:49Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > The fact that no terrorist attack has occurred at any MLB game up til this point is not IMO a persuasive argument. The world is a different place and different responses are necessary. It seems to me that it’s upon the people proposing to spend millions of dollars on metal detectors and staff, and inconveniencing millions of people, to provide a persuasive argument as to why it should be done. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/22 "2013-11-25T17:12:43Z")
Here’s the thing, it’s really not that much of an inconvenience. You walk through them and if you have a sizable amount of metal on you you get personally screened or asked to empty your pockets and go through again. The sensitivity of these things can be adjusted so your car keys and belt buckle aren’t going to set them off. All it would take is one incident at one game and every ballpark would implement them immediately anyway. So, by being proactive, they’re removing the possibility of that one incident happening in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/23 "2013-11-25T18:55:39Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > All it would take is one incident at one game and every ballpark would implement them immediately anyway. So, by being proactive, they’re removing the possibility of that one incident happening in the first place. They certainly are not “removing that possibility,” they’re just going to force the Mad Baseball Bomber to come up with a rudimentary plan for getting past the detectors, which, the history of such things being what it is, won’t be hard to do. A quick walk about any MLB stadium and a few minutes of planning will reveal about ten thousand ways you could get a bomb past the metal detectors. Metal detectors aren’t going to stop a determined terrorist. They’re mostly to ease the minds of people who think they do. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/24 "2013-11-25T19:07:01Z")
We’re talking about baseball stadiums, not defense installations. If a terrorist wants to strike at a baseball crowd, he’ll find a way. Putting the rest of us through a needless search doesn’t make any of us more safe, it just makes us more compliant to random searches. Where do you draw the line? How about high school football games? Church services? Anytime more than x number of people are gathered- what value of x makes a big enough target for us to get paranoid? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/25 "2013-11-26T18:35:41Z")
Okay, let me get this straight. The same sport that for years resisted testing _itself_ for performance-enhancing drugs, which everyone knew was happening, and almost ruined the sport…wants to subject ME to inspection for something that has not, to date, happened once? Never mind whether it’s an inconvenience or not, I say we dig in and resist on abstract principle. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/26 "2013-11-26T18:48:08Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Why? AFAIK, there have been no explosions or terrorist attacks at MLB games. If we are playing “what if” then I can’t think of any large venue where this wouldn’t become “somewhat of a necessity.” I’m not in favor of a society like that. Then I strongly suggest you find a cave to live in. Like it or not, this is world we currently live in. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/27 "2013-11-26T18:49:31Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > So the MLB folks have decided that when the next bomb goes off at a sporting event it won’t be at one of theirs. Sounds like good planning to me. +1 ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/28 "2013-11-26T18:53:41Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > They certainly are not “removing that possibility,” they’re just going to force the Mad Baseball Bomber to come up with a rudimentary plan for getting past the detectors, which, the history of such things being what it is, won’t be hard to do. A quick walk about any MLB stadium and a few minutes of planning will reveal about ten thousand ways you could get a bomb past the metal detectors. > > Metal detectors aren’t going to stop a determined terrorist. They’re mostly to ease the minds of people who think they do. And as small a level of that piece of mind is, I appreciate it. Can someone PLEASE explain to me why you are so gungho whining about the loss of your “freedom” when the fact of the matter is DEAD people don’t need freedom! ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/29 "2013-11-26T19:21:00Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > And as small a level of that piece of mind is, I appreciate it. Can someone PLEASE explain to me why you are so gungho whining about the loss of your “freedom” when the fact of the matter is DEAD people don’t need freedom! How about the plan’s general stupidity? You think this is gonna give anyone security? It will not. Backpacks and bags are already searched for weapons at security checkpoints. The bomb the op’s link mentioned? Blew up in the street. The violence that made national news in LA and S.F.? Happened in the parking lot. Those that have said it will minimally affect the line int the stadium? I believe you are very much mistaken. Anyone see the line at courthouse? Unless they got a wand that can differentiate between knives and bomb parts and _car keys and loose change_, there will be delays. I can understand metal detectors at the courthouse. Maybe at your place of business. But this will be a lot of expense and hassle for zero benefit. You wanto to increase safety at the stadium? Stop selling beer and stop letting drunk people in. But that will never happen. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/30 "2013-11-26T20:38:03Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Those that have said it will minimally affect the line int the stadium? I believe you are very much mistaken. Anyone see the line at courthouse? Unless they got a wand that can differentiate between knives and bomb parts and _car keys and loose change_, there will be delays. They already do this at Fenway and I haven’t noticed significant delays. Fenway may be set up differently than other parks so it may not be the same everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/31 "2013-11-26T21:41:15Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > … it’s really not that much of an inconvenience. … How much is too much for you? > [@BobLibDem](#): > > …what value of x makes a big enough target for us to get paranoid? I’m tempted to say, “If the x includes _me_”, but I don’t wanna be searched. I would be delighted with a solution where everyone _except_ me gets searched. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/32 "2013-11-26T21:53:39Z")
Sounds like less of an inconvenience to me. For quite a while all of the sports stadiums here require a physical pat down. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/33 "2013-11-26T22:58:50Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > How, exactly is the world a different place? > > Because one nut (and his pressured-into it brother) killed a couple of people (and hurt a bunch more)? Why does that make the world different, from say, when someone with a bomb killed eight people in Chicago – [in 1886](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair)? > > How many people have been killed by bombs in the U.S. since, well, any date you want to choose, compared to how many have been killed by automatic weapons? Or for a real comparison, killed by drunk drivers? It’s not one nut. It’s _multiple_ nuts, who keep killing people in crowded public places, schools, movie theaters, sporting events. A major league baseball game or other pro sporting event is a tempting target as far as psycological impact, so the people that would be blamed for poor security if it did happen aren’t waiting around. And yes, it’s as much show as real security, because that does act as a deterrent. The NFL has severly limted what you can bring inside stadiums. All these security measures are because there is a very real threat, and a very minor incovenience is better than even one dead fan. Not to mention the run-of-the-mill violence that can be curtailed by keeping weapons out. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/34 "2013-11-28T15:56:39Z")
No, there is NOT a very real threat and a minor inconvenience. There is only the most remote chance of any sort of terror attack. I’m more likely to win the lottery and be struck by lightening on the same day than I am to be the victim of a terror attack. Sure, I can be gunned down by a nut in a movie theatre during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight, but I’m more worried about the possibility of being mugged on my way back from the theatre. It is nothing but the same stupid security masquerade we’ve had to put up with since “9/11 changed everything.” The dumb shoe dance, the idiot restrictions on liquids, they don’t a damn thing to make anyone safer. Metal detectors for ball games or stupid restrictions at NFL games are an insane overreaction to an idiot student with a pressure cooker. Tell you what, if I’m carry a backpack bulky enough to look like it has a pressure cooker in it, you can search me all you want. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/35 "2013-11-28T23:53:45Z")
This is kind of overdue, sorry to say. Not so much from the terrorism angle, but I’m surprised that up till now no crazed fan has smuggled in a handgun to take a potshot at a player. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/36 "2013-11-29T03:02:08Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > And as small a level of that piece of mind is, I appreciate it. Can someone PLEASE explain to me why you are so gungho whining about the loss of your “freedom” when the fact of the matter is DEAD people don’t need freedom! Because I’m not dead. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/37 "2013-11-29T04:45:22Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > No, there is NOT a very real threat and a minor inconvenience. There is only the most remote chance of any sort of terror attack. I’m more likely to win the lottery and be struck by lightening on the same day than I am to be the victim of a terror attack. I had dozens of friends who passed in front of the Boston Marathon bombs within 10 minutes of the explosions. Dozens more were there before and a few unfortunate ones were working at the finish line and spent the rest of the day dealing with the aftermath. I have run by that point during the 2011 marathon at roughly the same time during the race. One of the bombers spent time the apartment above mine on a regular basis. It’s not so abstract any more to me, so perhaps my thoughts on this are different now. Even with all that, this doesn’t represent any changes in the Fenway screening process that I’ve lived with for a while now so I don’t perceive this as a major change. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571/38 "2013-11-29T05:27:25Z")
I think that this is a great policy that will make all of us much more secure. The ballpark i go to most often these days is Petco Park here in San Diego. Here’s a [Google streetview image](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=petco+park&ll=32.709412,-117.15671&spn=0.000584,0.000579&fb=1&gl=us&hq=petco+park&hnear=petco+park&cid=2187830650919296792&t=h&z=21&layer=c&cbll=32.709412,-117.156772&panoid=88zFDNQR6WFW4JaDVDSMaQ&cbp=12,184.17,,2,6.44) of the north side of the park. Here’s [a view](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=petco+park&ll=32.705982,-117.156624&spn=0.002336,0.002317&fb=1&gl=us&hq=petco+park&hnear=petco+park&cid=2187830650919296792&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=32.705982,-117.156624&panoid=sovUlyzJlO43Lx2AoJk_Ww&cbp=12,330.27,,1,2.24) from the south side of the park. There’s clearly no way that an accomplice could pass something into the park once someone had gone through the metal detectors. :rolleyes: Almost every ballpark i’ve ever been to has plenty of similar areas. This metal detector policy may deter a terrorist once they replace all the ballpark fences with 15-foot high solid walls, but not until then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-to-require-fans-to-pass-through-a-metal-detector-to-attend-a-game-hell-no/674571.md?page=1)