A fan died Thursday night after falling from the stands during the Rangers/Athletics game from Rangers Ballpark at Arlington.
The fan who attended the game with his young son fell after trying to catch a foul ball that Rangers left fielder Josh Hamilton tossed into the stands.
According to Arlington Fire Department officials, a fan sitting next to the man tried to grab and prevent him from falling 20 feet. He was unsuccessful in doing this however the young child did not fall.
“We had a very tragic accident tonight and one of our fans lost their life reaching over the rail trying to get a ball,” team president Nolan Ryan said. “As an organization, and as our team members and our staff, we’re very heavy-hearted about this, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family.”
Josh Hamilton as well as many other players on both clubs were extremely distraught over what happened. This is also something that caught many of the players off guard considering the man was still conscious when being put on the stretcher.
Athletics reliever Brad Ziegler was in tears after the game when he found out the man had died.
“They had him on a stretcher. He said, ‘Please check on my son. My son was up there by himself.’ The people who carried him out reassured him. ‘Sir, we’ll get your son, we’ll make sure he’s OK,”‘ Ziegler said. “He had his arms swinging. He talked and was conscious. We assumed he was okay. But when you find out he’s not, it’s just tough.”
This was the second fatal fall that happened at an MLB ballpark so far this season. In May, a 27-year-old man died after he fell about 20 feet and struck his head on concrete during the seventh inning of a Colorado Rockies game. Witnesses told police that the man had been trying to slide down a staircase railing at Coors Field and lost his balance during a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
This was also the second time in as many seasons that a fan fell from the stands at Rangers Ballpark. Last July a fan fell 30 feet while too attempting to catch a foul ball. That fan however survived suffering a fractured skull and sprained ankle.
Source: Associated Press
