Fan Dies at Texas Rangers Game While Trying to Catch Ball
A man died at the Oakland A's-Texas Rangers game Thursday night in Arlington, Texas when he fell 20 feet over the left field wall while trying to catch a ball.
The victim, identified as Shannon Stone, had reached over a rail to grab a foul ball thrown into the stands by Rangers' star Josh Hamilton in the second inning. Stone, who was in the lower level with his son, tumbled into an area behind a wall near a scoreboard.
Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan said, “We are deeply saddened to learn that the man who fell has passed away as a result of this tragic accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.” He added, “As anyone would be, Josh is very distraught about this, as the whole team is."
Ronnie Hargis, who had been sitting next to Stone, said, “He went straight down. I tried to grab him, but I couldn’t. I tried to slow him down a little bit."
Other witnesses claim Stone was severely bleeding, although A's reliver Brad Ziegler said he thought Stone would recover because he was asking medical officials to "please check on my son up there."
The Rangers, who won, 6-0, played the rest of the game without knowing Stone had died.
Last year, Rangers Ballpark was host to another accident when a fan fell 30 feet from the upper deck while trying to catch a foul ball during a game in July. That man wound up with a fractured skull and a sprained ankle.