Fan Dies at Rangers' Game

All I can say is wow! It was just a year ago that another firefighter fell from approx 30-35 feet terrace level trying to catch a foul ball. He was severely injured but recovered. Truly sad story.

One of the truly worst parts of this was that his six year old son was there and watched the whole thing and was surrounded by strangers with his dad severely hurt and being hauled off. It's bad enough that the man lost his life but for the little kid to witness that was horrific.

Truely tragic. Watch for the word from the front office to go out. Right or wrong, no more tossing balls into the stands.

Terrible with his 6 year old son watching the whole thing. I can't even imagine.

I have heard Josh Hamilton is taking it pretty hard. You have to wonder what effect this is going to on him considering all that he has already been through.

I always thought that all these waist or barely waist high railings at stadiums were a serious danger and simply fail to understand their design.

Not too difficult to understand the design. Low enough to see over when sitting.

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A little more info.

And still a little more.

More.

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Hamilton talked to reporters this afternoon. He said in the 1st inning he had a foul ball and flipped it to the ball girl. But he heard someone yelling next time and the father/son caught his eye. He said they looked like someone who would really enjoy a ball. When the father fell, Josh said he saw it and it seemed like it was happening in slow motion...and he could hear the son call for his father as he fell.

They were both big Ranger fans, and the son just got his first ball glove that day before making it out to the game. The Rangers are setting up a memorial fund for the family, and Josh asked to be in the line up tonight. Both teams are wearing black ribbons on the uniforms in the father's memory.

Such a sad story. The father sounds like he was a wonderful man, husband and father.

In a different thread, Observer 44 wrote of the humanity the hsbbw--I think of the humanity of the game.

Tx-Husker's post is heart wrenching. The whole story is. The humanity of Josh Hamilton eying the father and son, thinking they would enjoy a ball and tossing it up to them.....the little boy calling for his dad as he fell.....In one of the links that the woodman posted, the dad tells the emergency workers to take care of his son, he is all alone up there. This is so heart breaking.

My prayers are for the entire baseball family, with special prayers for Josh Hamilton, the six year old and his family. This is a tough one.

I was blessed to hear Josh Hamilton and his wife speak at a local church this past winter. I belive this man, will use his incredible faith in God to get him through this. That faith has already saved his life.

I pray that same faith can comfort the family of Mr. Stone as they deal with their loss.

Hopefully this will finally cause some changes at stadiums. They can do something... maybe netting under the rails. There has to be something done or this will happen again.

Can't help but be bothered by this tragedy.

I agree PG. Something has to be done. It can happen on a batted ball just as easily as a ball tossed up by a player. It should not be capable of happening. There should be some type of design that prevents fans from falling like that. What a terrible sad thing to happen.

I have not been able to shake this all day. I keep coming back to it over and over; especially thinking about his young son...and Josh. How terribly tragic.

You know, it sounds very out of place to an American fan's ear the first time you hear it; but, when a foul ball is fouled back into the stands in Japan, a whistle is blown. One of its effects is to alert fans who, otherwise, might not have been paying attention. Obviously, this would not have made a difference last night in Arlington; but, it could help in the case of batted balls into the stands.

quote:

Originally posted by CADad:
Not too difficult to understand the design. Low enough to see over when sitting.

No @#$*. What I fail to understand the safety of the design. The rail is 33 inches tall. Better hope you don't stumble walking back from the concession stand. A lot of stadiums have these low railings. Falls seem to be occuring more frequently. People are filling ball parks and stadiums like never before. This may be the incident that prompts a look at the design height of the rails, as it should. A man lost his life. A boy lost his father. A rail a foot higher probably prevents this and other falls from happening.

I'm surprised that it doesn't happen more often. Heights never really bothered me, but some of the new stadiums give me the willies if I'm in the upper levels. Maybe, it's all in my head, but, in some places, it seems way to easy to fall over.

The girl in the picture below made an ESPN-worthy catch on a foul back, at a Phillies game. She tracked the ball perfectly, stood up, leaned over and got it. Local news showed the replay for a week. I cringed every time I watched it. That was way too close. Thankfully, other spectators didn't go for the ball, as well. It could have been a disaster.

Such a sad story... especially the young son witnessing his father's fall. I feel so much for the father and son: "In one of the links that the woodman posted, the dad tells the emergency workers to take care of his son, he is all alone up there."

Just tragic.

Julie

Heartbreaking.I can't even imagine.Prayers for this little guy and his family.