Man falls to his death at Texas Rangers game

[JD]

Originally Posted by Shasta Beast

What's the point of that gap? It's only 3 feet wide and I can't see a reason for it. If you need to get to the back of the scoreboard run the tunnel under the bleachers. Badly designed section of the stadium. Sorry for being captain hindsight.

I was in that stadium for the World Series last October, and believe me, the whole building is one giant cluster-you-know-what. It's like they just slapped a bunch of ball stadium parts together, looked at the final product and said, "Well, it ain't the Cowboys playin so I reckon it can handle the 10,000 fans that might come."

This story however is just gut-wrenching. That poor little guy. I can't imagine losing my dad like that on what is supposed to be a fun day together.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

A couple of those comments on the youtube vid make me embarassed to be a human. Disgusting people out there.

[Travis Munroe]

reading/watching this story is just a horrible way to end my night. Sick to my stomach. God bless the many that will need to overcome this event!

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

A couple of those comments on the youtube vid make me embarassed to be a human. Disgusting people out there.

Don't be embarrassed to be human. The majority of the depraved commenters aren't even human.

[Nammer403]

very tragic
i experienced my first ball game today too but i was in angels stadium and it amazes how fast the ball can travel into the stands

[FlamesAddiction]

As a tall person, I always get nervous around places of height that have low railings like that. Arenas and stadiums in particular seem to be horrible for that. I always thought that it wouldn't take much to lose your balance and go right over.

[Daradon]

Weird,

Feel bad for the kid, for sure. Wonder if booze had a part.

Agreed things could have been built safer, but people gotta pay attention and keep themselves safe. ESPECIALLY if they have a little one beside them.

[FlamesAddiction]

On the radio they said that he was a 39 year old fire fighter.

Puts his life on the the all the time and then dies in a freak accident like that. Just goes to show you, you never know when your last day might be.

[puckluck]

Why wasn't there nets in place to catch someone in case they did fall?

With the way fans lean over to try and catch homeruns you'd think they'd already have it in place. This is the third time someone has fell there. Negligence at its finest.

[Kefka]

Something about his last words likely being "please check on my son he's up there alone" seem to make it even hit harder for me. I feel terrible reading this whole thing. It's just a complete tragedy and a waste.

[Thor]

So horrible, so sad, so unnecessary.

[flamesaresmokin]

Originally Posted by Shasta Beast

What's the point of that gap? It's only 3 feet wide and I can't see a reason for it. If you need to get to the back of the scoreboard run the tunnel under the bleachers. Badly designed section of the stadium. Sorry for being captain hindsight.

I'm not sure how these teams get away with constructing ridiculously inadequate railings. It would be safer to have no railing on a ledge like that as you'd be aware that you will fall if you get to close. These are just made at the most moronic height. Why do you want the top bar at a point below someones waistline? Make the railing another foot taller and no one is going to accidentally fall by leaning over for a ball.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by flamesaresmokin

I'm not sure how these teams get away with constructing ridiculously inadequate railings. It would be safer to have no railing on a ledge like that as you'd be aware that you will fall if you get to close. These are just made at the most moronic height. Why do you want the top bar at a point below someones waistline? Make the railing another foot taller and no one is going to accidentally fall by leaning over for a ball.

And the railing is then directly in front of your line of vision, which sort of defeats the purpose of attending the game. Glass would be better, but people still don't like it.

Not sure what the reasoning for the gap is though, and it seems like netting in a place like that would be an easy safety measure.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Wow. That is so sad. I can't even imagine what it would be like watching a parent essentially die in front of my eyes. Especially in public.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by puckluck

Why wasn't there nets in place to catch someone in case they did fall?

With the way fans lean over to try and catch homeruns you'd think they'd already have it in place. This is the third time someone has fell there. Negligence at its finest.

Definitely. You can talk about personal responsibility all you want but this seems like something that the organization should've seen coming. People lean over to grab a ball all the time in baseball. I'm not sure how they didn't see the potential danger here. I'm sure there could've been a relatiely inexpensive way to create a safeguard between the railing and the wall.

Tragic. I don't even think the guy did all that much wrong, seemed he was just tall enough and maybe a little overzealous to get the ball.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Igottago

Definitely. You can talk about personal responsibility all you want but this seems like something that the organization should've seen coming. People lean over to grab a ball all the time in baseball. I'm not sure how they didn't see the potential danger here. I'm sure there could've been a relatiely inexpensive way to create a safeguard between the railing and the wall.

Tragic. I don't even think the guy did all that much wrong, seemed he was just tall enough and maybe a little overzealous to get the ball.

I'm not sure people lean over all the time. They may reach out with an arm but that's about it. It's just a ball.

We see balls fouled down the first or third base line all the time and fans don't even lean over at ground level. The ballboys always end up tossing the balls to little kids.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I'm not sure people lean over all the time. They may reach out with an arm but that's about it. It's just a ball.

We see balls fouled down the first or third base line all the time and fans don't even lean over at ground level. The ballboys always end up tossing the balls to little kids.

I've seen people lean over walls/railings countless times. Factor in alcohol and you've got the potential for injury, especially at a stadium with this setup (the gap between wall and stands). When you think about mitigating a risk you don't think about most of the time that people manage to stay in the stands. You consider the potential for the few times like this that can become tragic. You have to consider worst case scenarios.

You can't tell me it would'nt have been worth it for a multi million dollar baseball team to invest a bit of money to prevent injury at that part of the stadium. Its not like he jumped or committed suicide, he was doing something that many fans do at baseball games routinely.

[Resolute 14]

You see the rail, and you think you are safe. You just aren't thinking of the consequences. This guy was the third person to fall over a railing at that ballpark. There were probably lawyers lined up at his widow's door before she even knew he had died because this will be a slam dunk lawsuit.

And all the Rangers had to do was put a net in, just below the fence line. Given the two previous accidents there, and given another fan died in similar fashion in Colorado this year, it is absolutely mindboggling that neither the Rangers, nor baseball in general, put any thought into fan safety in these areas.

[flamesaresmokin]

Originally Posted by valo403

And the railing is then directly in front of your line of vision, which sort of defeats the purpose of attending the game. Glass would be better, but people still don't like it.

Not sure what the reasoning for the gap is though, and it seems like netting in a place like that would be an easy safety measure.

If a bar is slightly obstructing the view at least you don't have two or three people plummeting to their death. Since when does a sight line matter that much? We have to deal with netting, glass, tv cameras and other things in the way all the time anyway. If its that big of a deal people can sit a row higher and avoid it entirely.

Point is, yes its up to a fan to ensure they are aware of the surroundings but its also very much on the team and stadium to ensure that instances like this don't occur by making safety precautions. Especially when you have a 2.5 to 3 foot railing as the only protection over a15 foot drop.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Igottago

I've seen people lean over walls/railings countless times. Factor in alcohol and you've got the potential for injury, especially at a stadium with this setup (the gap between wall and stands). When you think about mitigating a risk you don't think about most of the time that people manage to stay in the stands. You consider the potential for

You can't tell me it would'nt have been worth it for a multi million dollar baseball team to invest a bit of money to prevent injury at that part of the stadium. Its not like he jumped or committed suicide, he was doing something that many fans do at baseball games routinely.

The stadium people are idiots and I hope there is a lawsuit and people lose their jobs.

But even if the family gets a bazillion dollars it can't bring a husband/dad back. Individuals also have to consider worst case scenarios.