A man attending a Texas Rangers game with his young son died after falling out of the stands and about 20 feet to the ground while trying to catch a baseball tossed his way Thursday night, the Rangers and Arlington fire officials said.
"We had a very tragic accident tonight and one of our fans lost their life," team President Nolan Ryan said.
A very somber Ryan didn't get into details about the accident or release the man's name.
TV replays showed the man falling head-first and landing behind a 14-foot-high wall. The area where the man fell is out of sight from the field.
The accident occurred in the second inning after Oakland's Conor Jackson hit a foul ball that ricocheted into left field. Josh Hamilton retrieved the ball and tossed it into the stands. Replays on Oakland's television broadcast showed the man reaching for the ball and apparently catching it before tumbling.
It is the second fatal fall at a MLB ballpark this season. In May, a 27-year-old man died after he fell about 20 feet and struck his head on concrete at Coors Field in Denver.
In May 2010, a 51-year-old man died three weeks after falling about 14 feet during batting practice at Milwaukee's Miller Park.
Last July at Rangers Ballpark, a man fell about 30 feet trying to catch a foul ball. That fan, Tyler Morris, suffered a fractured skull and sprained ankle.
