http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Fan-falls-from-second-deck-in-Texas-Rangers-Ind?urn=mlb,254098


Big League Stew Tue Jul 06 07:46pm PDT

Fan falls from second deck in Texas, Rangers-Indians game halted
By 'Duk

If umpire Tim Tschida looks a bit rattled in this picture to the right, it's because he had good reason to be.

In one of the year's scariest moments, a male fan fell out of the second deck while reaching for a foul ball during Tuesday's game between the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers in Arlington.

The fan fell onto a crowd of people below and the field was cleared of players as medical personnel sprang to action.

From the Associated Press:

Texas' Nelson Cruz fouled a ball into the first row of seats in the club level along the first-base line, and the fan attempted to snag the ball before losing his balance and tumbling about 30 feet onto the seats below.

Paramedics were on the scene quickly to attend to the fan, who was strapped to a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a hospital.

The game was stopped for 16 minutes and several players on the field looked shaken.

Anthony Castrovince, the MLB.com reporter for the Indians, reports that the fan was taken to a hospital in Ft. Worth and "is responsive and can move all extremities." Meanwhile, the people the fan landed on were treated at the park for injuries not considered serious.

That's seemingly good news to hear after watching the situation at The Ballpark, but it's not as if we can breathe a deep sigh of relief just yet. Remember it was only earlier this year that a fan fell out of the stands at Miller Park and died three weeks later from his injuries, despite being conscious and moving as he was transported off the field.

We'll post any updates if there are any to be had and hopefully they'll be positive reports. In the meantime, be careful out there, folks. Not all guard railings at our ballparks are high enough to prevent every possible fall.

Related: Nelson Cruz, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers

Yikes! What a frightening situation. I hope that fan will be o.k. and have a full recovery. A foul ball is so not worth this.

Exactly. I hope and pray he'll be all right. Several of the Indians players were on their knees praying, as a matter of fact.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhllsPnhAy4

Someone put together all the calls from the game of the fall - the Rangers' TV & radio announcers, as well as the Indians' TV & radio announcers. Of course, I am very familiar with the Cleveland announcers, especially Matt Underwood on Fox Sports Ohio and Tom Hamilton on the Indians' Radio Network. Everyone's accounts are just chilling. I didn't even see a replay myself and am not sure I want to. My brother had the game on the radio and rushed out to tell us what had happened.

Was he a Rangers Fan or an Indians Fan?

If he was a Rangers Fan...they should say they won that game for him, if he was an Indians Fan...they should win a game for him!

Since the game was in Texas, I'm guessing it was a Ranger fan (though I'm not positive). I heard on the news that this guy is supposed to make a full recovery - which is a true miracle. God sure had angels surrounding this man!! :D

This guy is VERY lucky to be alive, let alone moving and responsive.

Those decks are high up and just think of all the hard surfaces he could have impacted against. Sheesh, what a chilling story.

You could just see the utter shock, then sheer horror on everyone's faces - players, fans, umpires, etc. It truly is a miracle that this man is alive. Sadly, I predict that he or someone in his family will be suing the Rangers for not providing adequate protection to keep him from falling. :eek:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100707&content_id=12030404&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Texas firefighter has fractured skull after ballpark scare

By T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com

07/07/10 9:23 PM ET

ARLINGTON -- Tyler Morris, a firefighter from Crawford, Tx., suffered both a fractured skull and a fractured ankle as the result of a 30-foot fall from the club level to the lower seating bowl at the Ballpark in Arlington on Tuesday night.

Morris remains hospitalized at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth where he was visited by Rangers president Nolan Ryan on Wednesday morning.

"He was in very good spirits," Ryan said. "He's a die-hard Rangers fan. He grew up a Ranger fan, he grew up in the area and hasn't lost any enthusiasm about the Rangers."

Morris, who was attending the game with a group of fire-fighters, fell while trying to catch a fifth-inning foul ball hit by Nelson Cruz. The ball first soared over his head and then caromed back toward him. Morris told Ryan that he remembers reaching for the ball, it tipping off his fingers and then he fell over the side.

"He doesn't have recall as to what happened to cause him to lose his balance," Ryan said.

Morris hit the ribbon-board on the facade of the private suites directly beneath the club level and then fell into the stands below. He landed mainly on a man and a woman sitting in the stands. That may have cushioned the blow to prevent worse and possibly life-threatening injuries.

"I think anytime somebody falls that distance, my expectations were worse than what we saw today," Ryan said. "We were very fortunate. My thought was we had some serious injuries on our hands."

There were four fans who were injured from Morris' fall, mainly suffering cuts and bruises. All received attention at the Ballpark and declined to go to the hospital. Morris was immediately treated by on-site paramedics and other medical staff, put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. He has undergone multiple tests including two CATscans.

"I was extremely pleased with the job that our paramedics did in getting to the scene, stabilizing him and getting him on the stretcher," Ryan said. "The ushers and the security personnel also did a great job securing the scene so they could do their jobs and get him out of there."

Morris ended up with the baseball. A fan retrieved it, gave it to an usher and Ryan was able to give the baseball to Morris. Ryan also gave him an autographed Josh Hamilton bat and some other Rangers gifts.

"He was thrilled to get (the baseball) as much as anything," Ryan said.

The first rows in the Rangers upper decks are fronted by a railing that is 30 1/4 inches high. That is four inches higher than the building code for a facility like the Ballpark, Ryan said. The railing is 42 inches in front of the aisle-ways and 46 inches high in the second deck of the Home Run Porch in right field.

Ryan said Rangers executives met on Wednesday morning to discuss all aspects of what occurred, from the response of the paramedics to possible additional safety measures needed.

"When the Ballpark was built, (the railings) were built above (specifications) so we feel good about that," Ryan said. "We feel this was strictly an accident. It's unfortunate that it happened but it's difficult to guard against."

Ryan said there could be additional signs and warning posted but nothing has been decided yet.

T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

You could just see the utter shock, then sheer horror on everyone's faces - players, fans, umpires, etc. It truly is a miracle that this man is alive. Sadly, I predict that he or someone in his family will be suing the Rangers for not providing adequate protection to keep him from falling. :eek:

Very possible. While I'm certainly glad the man doesn't seem to be critically injured, I don't think it's fair to blame the team for his injuries. He might have just lost balance or been a bit overzealous going after that foul ball. Neither of those things can be blamed on the team.

I mean, sure it's cool to snag one, but it's JUST A BASEBALL! :eek:

I actually did catch a ball at Jacobs Field (and I refuse to call the ballpark where the Cleveland Indians play anything else, thank you) on my 22nd birthday. I was there with my mom and grandpa - we had bleacher seats. The Indians were playing the KC Royals that evening, and the Royals were finishing BP and getting ready to leave the field before game time. I leaned over the bleacher railing and called down to a Royal player (I don't remember which one) that it was my birthday and could I please have the ball? He didn't say anything, but the next thing I knew, the ball was flipped up in my direction. To catch it, I had to lean to my right and leap. It just grazed the tips of my fingers, but I was able to hang onto it.

My catch did get applause - from my mom. :lol: She was impressed - but I have long arms that later enabled me to catch two wedding bouquets. :lol: But the fact remains that I was still very close to the railing and very easily could have tumbled over. Thank goodness the momentum took me closer to the bleacher seats.

Plus, I still have that ball - almost 9 years later!!! :D