Norwich — Minor league baseball has the reputation of offering a close-up, cozy, affordable and fan-friendly look at professional ballplayers plying their dream of playing in the major leagues.

Connecticut Tigers General Manager Eric Knighton added the word “safe” to his description of a typical family outing to the Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium.

In January, Connecticut Tigers and Norwich Baseball Stadium Authority officials will discuss recommendations announced Dec. 9 by Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred that major league ballparks expand foul ball protective netting to “near the end of the dugouts and within 70 feet of home plate.”

The same memo was sent to all minor league baseball teams, and Knighton forwarded it to the Stadium Authority that oversees the city-owned Dodd Stadium.

The authority is expected to discuss it at its Jan. 13 meeting.

“We'll take a look at it,” Knighton said. “We want the stadium to be safe and affordable and fun.”

Knighton said the recommendation had been expected for a few months but the issue still is fairly new.

There are no cost estimates or designs for expanding the netting at Dodd Stadium.

The commissioner’s memo does not require even major league ballparks to make the changes, but “encouraged” teams to add netting or other type of protective shielding to protect field-level box seats and adjacent camera wells from line drive foul balls or broken or thrown bats.

The memo also encouraged teams to explore ways to better educate fans of the need to pay attention to action on the field during games.

A news release accompanying the recommendations posted on the Major League Baseball website included comments from Minor League Baseball President and CEO Pat O’Conner endorsing the recommendations for expanded netting and encouraging teams to implement the changes “as soon as practical.”

Manfred’s announcement said MLB has hired a ballpark architect consultant to assist MLB clubs with possible changes.

“Minor League Baseball is very appreciative of the time and effort that went into the research done by Major League Baseball in an effort to balance fan safety and the overall fan experience,” O’Conner’s statement said. “Minor League Baseball clubs strive to offer safe, family-friendly facilities for our fans and these recommendations will help ensure the safety of those fans sitting close to the action.”

Gary Schnip, a Norwich Baseball Stadium Authority member since the stadium was built in 1994, said the authority would have to look into various designs and possible heights of the netting — whether it would cover just the premium box seats or run the full height of the backstop netting to the ends of each dugout.

Currently, Dodd Stadium’s backstop netting runs behind home plate to the beginning of each dugout to the height of the skybox seats. After the 1995 season, the height of the netting was raised to better protect the skyboxes.

There is no top net over the seats behind home plate.

Schnip and city Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll said the city has never been sued for a fan injury by a foul ball, but lawsuits of that type have been filed in recent years throughout the country for injuries at both major and minor league ballparks.

According to a story posted on ballparkdigest.com, several Minor League Baseball teams already have announced plans to extend protective netting.

The Class AAA Durham Bulls have announced plans to install a 35-foot high net running the length of each dugout, and the Class AAA Iowa Cubs plan a similar netting expansion, costing about $100,000, the Ballpark Digest story said.

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter: @Bessettetheday