Thanks!
I still stand by what I said, with a few updates. I posted in last year's photos thread about
my experience from Box 50. The biggest problems with the netting are shooting at an angle (the netting pattern gets more concentrated and throws off the autofocus), following a moving player (same thing--the autofocus can get confused), and keeping the heavy black tape or cord from the edge of the netting out of your view (especially where there's a gate to the field).
I didn't usually get the netting--I just got blurred photos. The exceptions were shots like this [it was Cuevas' debut]:
but I think that's from dropping the shutter speed to 1/100 in order for the video board image to be clear.
I do shoot through the netting at McCoy and Hadlock all the time, but that's right up against the net and 99% of the time I'm shooting the pitcher. A straight shot and being close to the net and farther from the action generally works--at least with a good camera. FWIW, this is Bobby Dalbec through a chain link fence (not right up against it trying to shoot through the holes):
Edit: here are some (bad) photos I shot last April just to show the tape around the field gate between Box 50 and 51:
and a sample from this year's Opening Day, when I had a loge seat that had previously been solid for photos but is now a total loss thanks to the top edge of the netting (bad focus is mainly on me, as I admittedly wasn't trying too hard knowing that I wouldn't use anything I shot--but it was harder with that cord there):