CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) - With worries about terrorism heightened following attacks in France and California, baseball owners began their two-day meeting Wednesday by discussing threat protection with the U.S. Homeland Security secretary.
Presenting more than 2,400 games a year in venues that attract large crowds, Major League Baseball has tightened checks in recent years. Starting last year, fans were required to go through metal detectors at all 30 ballparks.
"There's got to be more security than there is now, I don't know what it will be," Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said Wednesday. "Everybody realizes that the world has changed and these people are never going to give up, so we have to give up some of our comforts."
After arriving in a seven-car motorcade, Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson addressed owners for approximately an hour and took about a half-dozen of their questions. Teams want to know what layers to add.
"His message was more of the same: recognize the new realities," Atlanta Braves chairman emeritus Bill Bartholomay said. "Radicalization is something that doesn't necessarily have to take place outside the United States."
Bartholomay said Johnson cited the attack in San Bernardino, Califf., as an example. Johnson did not stop to speak with media when he left the building.
Johnson reportedly told the group a stadium could be 100 percent secure if additional steps were taken, such as prohibiting fans from bringing any bags, and eliminating food and food-services workers. Checking the trunks and bottoms of cars entering parking lots outside ballparks could be another step discussed at some point.