The Tragic Accident at the Ballpark Last Night

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href=">At%2010:02%20last%20night,%20an%20email%20from%20the%20Texas%20Rangers%20arrived%20in%20the%20in-box%20bearing%20the%20subject%20heading%20&#8243; statement from texas rangers ceo and president nolan ryan. this is what it said: wp:quote><blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-default"></blockquote>That man, we now know, was </a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#%21/profile.php?id=100002222034966" target="_blank">Brownwood firefighter Shannon Stone</a>, a Cleburne High graduate and 17-year-veteran of the fire department who was <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.brownwoodnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=5647:breaking-news-brownwood-firefighter-dies-in-fall-at-rangers-game-&amp;catid=35:news&amp;Itemid=58" target="_blank">attending the game with his young son</a>, Cooper. Stone fell after catching a foul ball tossed to him by Josh Hamilton; said Ron Washington after the game, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/news/story?id=6747510" target="_blank">when speaking of Hamilton</a>, &#8220;I guess he&#8217;s got to deal with it in his own way.&#8221; Players knew of the fall, which occurred near the Oakland bullpen, but not the extent of Stone&#8217;s injuries. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110707&amp;content_id=21564000&amp;vkey=news_tex&amp;c_id=tex" target="_blank">From the Rangers&#8217; website</a>:<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-default is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>&#8220;When they had him on a stretcher and they were carrying him out, he was saying stuff like &#8216;Please check on my son, he&#8217;s left up there by himself.'&#8221; Athletics reliever Brad Ziegler said. &#8220;The people that carried him out reassured him that, &#8216;We&#8217;ll get your son, we&#8217;ll make sure he&#8217;s OK.&#8217; We just kind of assumed that he&#8217;s talking, he&#8217;s conscious, he&#8217;ll be OK. To find out he&#8217;s not is just &#8230; tough.&#8221;</p></blockquote><strong>Update at 11:30 a.m.:</strong> The Rangers have scheduled a 2:30 p.m. press conference with Ryan to discuss last night&#8217;s tragedy. Also, notes the release from team spokesman John Blake: &#8220;All of the flags at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington have been lowered to half-mast in the memory of Shannon Stone. The Rangers will also observe a moment of silence in Mr. Stone&#8217;s memory prior to Friday&#8217;s game. More information will be available at the media briefing.&#8221;<strong>Update at 2 p.m.:</strong> In advance of the Rangers&#8217; press conference, Major League Baseball has issued the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20110708&amp;content_id=21589220&amp;vkey=pr_mlb&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=mlb" target="_blank">following press release</a>: <div style="--button-text-color:#ffffff;--button-bg-color:#C2001A;--thermometer-percentage:13.666666666667" class="fundraising-thermometer-block wp-block-vmg-fundraising-thermometer"> <div class="container"> <div class="fundraising-thermometer-wrapper"> <h2 class="fundraising-thermometer-headline"> <strong>When news happens, Dallas Observer is there — </strong><br><strong>Your support strengthens our coverage.</strong> </h2> <p class="fundraising-thermometer-body"> We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If the <em>Dallas Observer</em> matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there. </p> <div class="fundraising-thermometer-button-wrapper"> <div class="fundraising-thermometer-button u-btn-primary"> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://dallas-observer.fundjournalism.org/support/?campaign=701V500000RxM4zIAF">CONTRIBUTE NOW</a> </div> </div> <div class="fundraising-thermometer-bar-wrapper"> <label class="fundraising-thermometer-label" for="fundraising-thermometer-bar"> Progress to goal </label> <div class="fundraising-thermometer-bar-container"> <div class="fundraising-thermometer-bar-container-inner"> <span class="fundraising-thermometer-progress-amount" style="left: calc(13.666666666667% - 28px);" aria-hidden="true" > $4,100 </span> <div class="fundraising-thermometer-bar" id="fundraising-thermometer-bar" role="progressbar" aria-valuenow="4100" aria-valuemin="0" aria-valuemax="30000" aria-label="Fundraising progress" > <div class="fundraising-thermometer-bar-fill" style="width: 13.666666666667%;" aria-hidden="true" ></div> </div> </div> <div class="fundraising-thermometer-goal-amount" aria-label="Goal amount"> $30,000 </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="advertisement-wrapper-container"> <div class="advertisement-wrapper sendtonews"> <div class='s2nPlayer k-YVSzPKyZ' data-type='float'></div><script type='text/javascript' src='//embed.sendtonews.com/player3/embedcode.js?fk=YVSzPKyZ&amp;cid=13268&amp;offsetx=0&amp;offsety=0&amp;floatwidth=400&amp;floatposition=bottom-right' data-type='s2nScript'></script> </div> </div> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-default is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>&#8220;All of us at Major League Baseball are shocked and saddened over the tragic death of Mr. Stone last evening. Our thoughts and prayers are with his son and his entire family. Major League Baseball has the utmost sensitivity to the safety of all the fans that come to our ballparks. Our players are encouraged to be fan-friendly and we will carefully review this incident with our clubs to continue to ensure a safe environment for our fans.&#8221;</p></blockquote>