July, 7, 2011. A Texas Rangers fan who leaned over a railing while trying to catch a ball tossed into the stands by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton has died.
"We had a very tragic accident tonight and one of our fans lost their life reaching over the rail trying to get a ball," team president Nolan Ryan said somberly after the Rangers' 6-0 victory over Oakland. "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."
Neither the Rangers nor Arlington fire officials identified the man.
The Brownwood News reported on its website, citing the Brownwood city manager, that the victim was a firefighter in the city that is about a three-hour drive southwest of Arlington.
Ronnie Hargis was sitting next to the victim in the first row of seats in left field. The men had been talking before the accident. Hargis reached out to try to grab the man, who fell headfirst through a gap of several feet that is between the seats and the 14-foot-high outfield wall.
"He went straight down. I tried to grab him, but I couldn't," Hargis said. "I tried to slow him down a little bit."
That this young man died while leaning for a ball is, obviously, a tragedy. The practice of intentionally tossing balls into the stands is as old as time, but one thing that's clear, from incidents like these and from many incidents of fan interference throughout baseball, is that when balls fly in the direction of fans, they often act instinctively. That's natural, or something like it, and sometimes it has awful results.
