05/01/25 10:02:00
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05/01 09:59 CDT Man who fell from 21-foot Clemente Wall at PNC Park during
Pirates game in critical condition
Man who fell from 21-foot Clemente Wall at PNC Park during Pirates game in
critical condition
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- A man who fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right
field at PNC Park during Wednesday night's game between the Pittsburgh Pirates
and Chicago Cubs remained in critical condition on Thursday morning.
Right after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put
the Pirates ahead 4-3, players began waving frantically for medical personnel
and pointing to the man, who had fallen onto the warning track.
The fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the
Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel before being removed
from the field on a cart.
The team issued a statement shortly after the game ended saying the man was
transported to the trauma center at Allegheny General Hospital.
Pittsburgh Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, posted on X
Thursday that the "incident is being treated as accidental in nature."
Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Cubs manager Craig Counsell both alerted the
umpire crew of the situation immediately after the play.
"Even though it's 350 feet away or whatever it is, I mean the fact of how it
went down and then laying motionless while the play is going on, I mean Craig
saw it, I saw it. We both got out there," Shelton said. "I think the umpires
saw it because of the way it kicked. It's extremely unfortunate. That's an
understatement."
Players from both teams could be seen praying and McCutchen held a cross that
hung from his neck while the fan was taken off the field.
The five-time All-Star said Thursday that the team was "devastated" and that
they prayed together after the game. Asked to describe his viewpoint of the
sequence, McCutchen declined, saying that he is trying not to think about it
and is more focused on the man's health.
"We're just hoping for the best for him," he said. "I hope he pulls through
because he's the reason why we are here. He's the reason why we play the game.
People that show their support so we can do something we love, partly because
of him and because of fans. So, I just pray that he's alright."
The game was paused for several minutes while the man was tended to but there
was no official stoppage in play.
"I didn't see anything happen, but I saw (Counsell's) face when he came out on
the field, and I could tell that it was a very scary moment," Cubs shortstop
Dansby Swanson said. "All we could do was just pray for a good, strong recovery
for him and his family. I have never been part of something like that before
and I hope I am never part of something like that again.
"It's a humble reminder of the gratitude we should all have to play this game.
Folks obviously come out to support us, and they are a big reason why we are
able to do what we do. It's obviously tough. At a time like that, you want (the
fans) to know you love them."
Fans have died from steep falls at baseball stadiums in the past.
In 2015, Atlanta Braves season ticket holder Gregory K. Murrey flipped over
guard rails from the upper deck at Turner Field. That was four years after
Shannon Stone, a firefighter attending a game with his 6-year-old son, fell
about 20 feet after reaching out for a foul ball tossed into the stands at the
Texas Rangers' former stadium.
Both incidents prompted scrutiny over the height of guard rails at stadiums.
The Rangers raised theirs, while the Braves settled a lawsuit with Murrey's
family.
A spectator at a 2022 NFL game at Pittsburgh's Acrisure Stadium died following
a fall on an escalator.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
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