Horrible story - Fan dies after tumble from stands catching ball thrown by Josh Hamilton

[molitor fan]

http://sports.espn.go.com...lb/news/story?id=6747510

 

I worry about Hamilton's psyche after this....creepy fact is that 1 year and 1 day ago same thing happened though fan survived with skull fracture...both were firefighters.

 

Rangers need to look at the safety/height of this railing

[azcheesehead]

Sportsgrid has a story, linked through Deadspin, that highlighted a similar story last year out of Miller Park. Didn't know about the MP incident?!

 

Nevertheless, very sad indeed.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Man, this is horrible. Even though it's not his fault, Hamilton has to be feeling very bad about this. This is very sad to see.

[trwi7]

Sportsgrid has a story, linked through Deadspin, that highlighted a similar story last year out of Miller Park. Didn't know about the MP incident?!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5189203

[gypcasino]

This lady fell over the railing in Arlngton after a game against the Brewers in '94

http://www.star-telegram....hives-rangers-raise.html

[danzig6767]

Watching so much baseball over the years, i'm actually surprised that this doesn't happen more often. The railings in quite a few parks aren't really that high, and thus when you have fans sometimes reaching so far over these railings, it just strikes me as a potential very serious injury waiting to happen. Mix in that sometimes fans reaching over railings are either buzzed to lit up, that can further increase chances of a disaster.

[bucksbeat]

A very sad story indeed.

 

I've always had an eerie feeling of the height of railings at ballparks. Most of those at Miller Park come up to mid-thigh on me. I've always thought of those on the higher levels and precarious areas having to be careful, especially when boozed. I too am shocked we're not talking about this kind of thing more often.

[dlk9s]

Watching so much baseball over the years, i'm actually surprised that this doesn't happen more often. The railings in quite a few parks aren't really that high, and thus when you have fans sometimes reaching so far over these railings, it just strikes me as a potential very serious injury waiting to happen.

I've thought the same thing.

 

I reached over the rail of the upper deck at Turner Field a few years ago to try to catch a foul ball, but didn't reach as far as I needed to because I didn't want to take any chances. I heard later that Don Sutton made fun of me on the radio for "booting it."

[gypcasino]

The railings in quite a few parks aren't really that high, and thus when you have fans sometimes reaching so far over these railings, it just strikes me as a potential very serious injury waiting to happen.

And if you watch the video, you'll see that this fan was on one foot and leaning really far over the railing. Then he held onto the ball with two hands for way too long. Unfortunate, obviously.

[molitor fan]

http://sports.espn.go.com...lb/news/story?id=6747510

 

More information and player reaction, including a really wrenching bit of info from Brad Ziegler indicating the fan was asking the medics to check on his son who was now in the stands alone....the fan was awake and aware and the players were shocked that he died later on. By all accounts, this fan was sober, just off balance as the video, which I have not seen, apparently attests.

[Baldkin]

I reached over the rail of the upper deck at Turner Field a few years ago to try to catch a foul ball, but didn't reach as far as I needed to because I didn't want to take any chances. I heard later that Don Sutton made fun of me on the radio for "booting it."

You know what they say.... Let those who wear ramen noodle toupees cast the first stone.

[craigharmann]

From looking at the newspaper from Brownwood, where he's from, he had cardiac arrest at the hospital and died. This is really sad for his wife and son, for the other fans around him, and for Josh Hamilton and the other players who witnessed it. Prayers go up for all.

[rluzinski]

It looked like he had a chance to grab the outer wall with his right hand but instead kept clutching the ball. Of course, I'm sure it was all so fast that he didn't have to really consider what could happen?

[Patrick425]

This may sound a little crass, but I certainly hope that MLB does not over react and start banning players from throwing balls to fans.

[JoeHova]

Once when I was a kid, one of my neighbors (an adult) wanted to play a quick game of touch football with me and my brother. We lived across the street from a park so we normally played there but the neighbor insisted we should play in the street, because that was how they did it when he was a kid. My brother had/has no fear and almost no regard for his safety or well-being so I was wary but we agreed. A few minutes into the game I threw a pass that led my brother too far toward the curb. He leapt for the pass and hit his hip on the side of a pickup truck (coincidentally owned by the neighbor we were playing with). His momentum made his upper body whip forward and he smashed his face into the windshield of the truck hard enough to spiderweb it. He was knocked unconscious, slid limply onto the pavement and had to be rushed to the hospital. I felt horrible about that for months (though my brother didn't hold it against me).

 

Anyway, this is a terrible story. There's nothing I can really say except that I hope the son or Josh Hamilton don't blame themselves too much. Hopefully the guy's family can recover.

[RockCoCougars]

This may sound a little crass, but I certainly hope that MLB does not over react and start banning players from throwing balls to fans.

It was a horrible thing and watching it made my stomach turn, especially considering his son was right there. However, it was a freak accident. I agree in the hope that we don't get a bunch of knee jerk reactions after the lawyers do their thing.

[FVBrewerFan]

Terrible tragedy, but I think there's a much greater risk of serious injury or death from batted balls and flying bats. I can't tell you how many times people aren't paying attention when sitting in prime line drive foul territory.

 

So you could extend the screen to cover the entire lower deck and put a wall or more substantial fence around the upper deck in every ballpark. Or, we can accept there is risk in life, and horrible things happen to good people. Goes without saying, but there's way more risk driving home from the game than anything that could happen to you while inside the ballpark.

[RockCoCougars]

This sort of thing has been going on forever, with lots of close calls. Today I saw a link to an amazing video that I've never seen. I can't believe that it's never been on any of the sports compilation shows before.

 

[owbc]

Terrible incident and I feel bad for everyone involved.

 

I know this probably won't make much of a difference, but I think MLB needs to remind fans not to lean over railings (the same way they do with watching out for flying bats and balls) and also install some warning signs near low railings. Those of us that closely follow MLB are aware of these incidents, but the average fan may not perceive the risk in the same way if they are not aware of the list of previous incidents. Also, I think the accident rate has gone up slightly because there are more ballparks now with 3-4 levels and more front row seats with a big drop. People also just need to remember that it's just a $10 baseball, not Barry Bonds' 700th HR or anything like that.

 

I do not support any increases in fences or railing heights. The railing was sufficiently high. The railings at Miller Park are especially high and sturdy, many of the higher parts at the bottom of the aisles have been replaced with glass in recent years.

[jason21nl]

There is a video of it on youtube and the announcers are chuckling and making some jokes about the guy falling over. Obviously they didn't know the severity of it, but they might want to make sure the guy is OK before the jokes start flying.

[LaprilOne]

Sad, sad stuff. The fellow really did not hang way out there, looks like he just lost his balance.

 

I am surprised that the teams liability/insurance lawyers for years allow throwing balls to fans, there are, as we see, bad things that can happen.

 

Would not be surprised to see some changes in this, maybe hand the ball to kids in the lower stands, but no more throwing it deep or up to the higher levels.

 

Ya, lower rows get the souvenirs, but it is not like you see balls thrown to the third and fourth levels ever, so, low seat will get the goodies, so it goes.

[azcheesehead]

This sort of thing has been going on forever, with lots of close calls. Today I saw a link to an amazing video that I've never seen. I can't believe that it's never been on any of the sports compilation shows before.

 

I grew up with a 80's blooper tape and that clip is definitely on there. I thought of that before clicking on the link. I have been to more than a couple of stadiums and arenas where I have been a little freaked by the "shortness" of the railing. As many have said, it is amazing that this doesn't happen more often. You also have to credit Hamilton. He seems to be handling this pretty well. I think a lesser man would go insane from this.

[GAME05]

i heard that a fan nearby shielded the kid's eyes from having to watch his father fall. i'm surprised this doesn't happen for the height of most railings, but it's pretty gut-wrenching when i hear about it, moreso for someone who has a family. that his last words were asking about the safety of his son is harder still, knowing that he was a good father. it amazes me that any announcer could make a joke out of it knowing how great a fall it is and that you'd be landing on rigid seats and cement.

 

the NHL added a lot of netting once a kid got killed by a puck, and i wonder if MLB will do something similar by raising the railings to make it hard to trip over. at the same time, that would also obstruct the view of a lot more people in the upper decks. giving a firmer warning isn't going to do much when a dude is intent on nabbing a ball to give it to his son.

 

a drunk guy falling over doesn't hurt quite as much, but this one does.

[RockCoCougars]

They could install a 'basket' a la Wrigley. I know that people have fallen in that before.

[bucksbeat]

The thing that scares me about this situation is that this was a sober individual, gently, although solely focused on the task that fell to his death. I've watched so many nasty people start pushing and shoving in the stands over a baseball. I think we're on borrowed time for a true disastrous event where a group goes over the railings or a child. I don't mean to sound dark as this story is bad enough.

 

I can definitely see baseball asking players to not throw any balls in the upper levels near railings as a precautionary measure and I'm sure stadiums will look more seriously at measures to keep fans from easily leaning over any railings.