Goleta resident Jana Brody’s mother died after she was hit in the head by a foul ball at Dodger Stadium.

She has written a book about the tragedy called “Sit Behind The Nets.”

“It was pretty shocking to hear your mom went to a Dodger game and never came home,” Brody said.

Brody shared her story and the devastation it brought her family in the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina.

Linda Goldbloom attended the game with her husband, Erwin, and family, five years ago, Aug. 25, 2018.

A foul ball hit by a San Diego Padres player struck her mother in the head in the ninth inning, and she was rushed to a hospital nearby.

She died a few hours later from trauma to her head.

The family grew up on the Dodgers, but it will never be the same.

“They were avid Dodger fans,” Brody said. “We’ve been going since I was a kid.”

She grew up in the San Fernando Valley, and attending Dodger games was part of their lives. They had block tickets, which meant tickets to every 10th game.

Brody said she was most upset by the Dodger organization and their reaction to the tragedy.

The incident received little attention after it happened, so Brody decided to make some noise and alert national media.

Brody said the Dodgers have never formally recognized her mother at a game, not even a mention on the DodgerVision screen, or installed a placard. The incident was not caught on camera.

The family also could not sue, Brody said, because on the back of the ticket it says, “Enter at Your Own Risk.”

“It’s in teeny letters, smaller than the Farmer John’s coupon,” Brody said.

To challenge the Dodgers would require money, and the possibility of years of litigation and appeals.

A family friend, who is an attorney, however, decided to contact the Dodger organization. The attorney worked with them on contingency and was able to get a mediation session.

“We had to meet in two different rooms,” Brody said. “They never even wanted to meet us or know our names. It was pretty heartbreaking.”

Whatever came out of that is not public, Brody said, but her main goal was to raise awareness around the issue and to pressure the Dodgers and Major League Baseball to increase the height of the nets.

ESPN eventually did a story. Goldblum, it turns out, is the second person to die from a foul ball at Dodger Stadium. The first incident was in 1970, she said.

“ESPN getting that story out started an avalanche,” Brody said.

In the podcast, Brody explains how the Dodgers eventually raised the nets, as did MLB, and she is working to require minor league baseball stadiums to do the same.

“I just want to get the word out and protect people,” Brody said.

The book is available on Amazon and local stores such as Chaucer’s and Tecolote Books.

Joshua Molina is journalist who currently writes for Noozhawk and teaches journalism at Santa Barbara City College and Cal State University, Northridge. He formerly covered politics and land use for the San Jose Mercury News. Santa Barbara Talks is an independently owned podcast where Molina looks to bring together voices from all perspectives to discuss and provide solutions to the challenges related to housing, education, transportation and other community issues. Subscribe to his podcast here and consider a contribution here.