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Josh Hamilton 'very distraught' over Rangers fan who died reaching for a ball he threw
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Shannon Stone, a 39-year-old firefighter from Brownwood, TX, fell 20 feet during a Texas Rangers/Oakland Athletics game Thursday (July 7). He later died at the hospital, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office.
Stone was at the game with his young son. After between-inning warm-ups in the top of the 2nd inning, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton tossed his warm-up ball into the stands, which is a very typical practice at major league games. Stone reached too far over the low railing and fell to the concrete below the stands.
"We had a very tragic accident tonight and one of our fans lost their life reaching over the rail trying to get a ball," says team president Nolan Ryan. "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."
Ryan also says Hamilton is "very distraught" over the incident. Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the Stone family, but gosh - can you imagine how Hamilton must be feeling? Poor Josh. Immensely sad all around.
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that is heartbreaking
I feel so bad for the family and Josh Hamilton. Accidents happen though not much you can do besides raise the railing even further.
I hope the Rangers or MLB have a top notch intervention program. Josh's substance abuse history is well-known, and this kind of stress will mean he will be at great risk of a relapse.
What a terrible tragedy especially for the young boy. He will never be the same. God help this boy recover from the loss of his father.
Tragic all around. So sad.
Including a video of the fatal fall is crass and insensitive. Shame on you guys.
I wouldn't even watch the video :( (insensitive)
I agree. That video should not be shown. I can't even look at the freeze-frame shot before you click play. Couldn't it be of anything else?
Maybe this will result in eliminating the practice of tossing balls into stands. At the very least, if it's allowed to continue, stadiums should review their configurations to ensure the safety of their fans. Why do people lunge for these things anyway? It's just a baseball for God's sake!
All this for a five dollar baseball? That poor child and his mother are going to have constant nightmares over this and feeling so sad for them. Josh shouldn't blame himself. Like he knew the guy was going to tumble down and unfortunately die from this. The Rangers need to install some kind of netting or padding around that area so this never happens again. Again, was this worth a five dollar baseball?