Baseball Fan dies catching ball

[Boycey]

A fan fell to his death at Texas Rangers Ballpark after catching a ball tossed to him by Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton.

The man was reaching for a ball thrown to him by Hamilton during the second inning and toppled over a railing after making the catch. Television pictures showed him falling some 20 feet from the outfield seats to a paved area behind a scoreboard.

It is almost a year to the day since a similar accident at Rangers Ballpark when fan Tyler Morris fell from the second level to the lower bowl while trying to catch a foul ball on July 6, 2010. He suffered a fractured skull and broken ankle.

"We are deeply saddened that the man who fell has passed away as a result of this tragic accident," club President Nolan Ryan said in a statement on the Rangers website.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

The Rangers clubhouse was closed following the game as the players were informed of the tragedy.

"We spoke to the ballclub, so they understand what happened," Ryan said. "As any of us would be, Josh is very distraught over this."

The fan landed in sight of the Oakland bullpen.

"They had him on a stretcher and were carrying him out," local media quoted A's relief pitcher Brad Ziegler as saying.

"He was staying stuff like: 'Please check on my son.' And people were telling him: 'We'll check on your son, sir.' "I think he had his arm splinted from falling, but he was conscious and moving. To come in and find out about this is just tough."

Texas won the game 6-0.
Reuters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAQRSdGOMmY

Sad story

[Tony Baloney]

Terrible story. Read it earlier that he promised his son he'd catch a ball. Bet the player that chucked it into the crowd feels shit.

[stew]

Terrible story. Read it earlier that he promised his son he'd catch a ball. Bet the player that chucked it into the crowd feels shit.

He is devastated alright. The guy fell 20 ft onto concrete and hit his head, his last words were to make sure his son was taken care of as he was alone without him. Absolutely horrible situation.

[Forever Green]

Jesus what an awful story. Feel sorry for the player but especially the family. RIP

[Myles Na G.]

Shocking incident. If you watch the footage, there's one point at which you wonder if the man had a last chance to save himself. His right hand seems to touch the barrier in front as he falls and I wonder if he'd grabbed at it whether he could've stopped his fall. Awful for the son watching.