Fan dies from fall at Rangers’ ballpark

ARLINGTON, Texas – A fan died Thursday night from injuries suffered after falling from the left-field stands at Rangers Ballpark while trying to catch a ball thrown to him by Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton.

The Brownwood Bulletin reported that the victim was Shannon Stone, a Brownwood firefighter.

A fan sitting near the man said that the man was a Brownwood firefighter who was attending the game with his young son.

A news release from the Arlington Fire Department said that the fan went into full cardiac arrest en route to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:26 p.m. CDT. He fell at 7:33 p.m.

The accident occurred in the second inning. Oakland right fielder Conor Jackson hit a foul ball down the left-field line, and the ball ricocheted back onto the field of play.

Hamilton picked up the ball and threw it toward the fan, who leaned for the ball, slipped and went over the railing head first.

The Rangers said that he fell some 20 feet into an opening between the stands and the out-of-town scoreboard.

Ronnie Hargis was seated next to the fan. Hargis said that the man was attending the game with his son. Hargis guessed that the boy was 6 to 8 years old.

“I tried to grab him, but I couldn’t,” Hargis said. “I tried to slow him down a little bit. He went straight down.”

The fall was near the Athletics’ bullpen. Relievers Brad Ziegler, Craig Breslow and Joey Devine saw the man conscious and moving as he was being taken to the hospital.

Ziegler was sobbing in the Oakland clubhouse after the game.

“They had him on a stretcher and were carrying him out,” Ziegler said. “He was saying 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.”

Team president Nolan Ryan said that the team had been informed about the death.

Former President George W. Bush was at the game and was aware of the accident, Ryan said.