Josh Hamilton Distraught Over Fan's Death

Jul 8, 2011, 14:11 by Sarah Long

Texas Rangers player Josh Hamilton was distraught after the death of Shannon Stone, a Brownwood firefighter who fell to his death in Thursday's game.

Stone fell around 7:30 p.m. during the second inning of the Rangers-Oakland A's game, KDAF-TV, Dallas/Fort Worth, reported.

Witnesses and the Arlington Fire Department said Stone, 39, lunged to catch a foul ball outfielder Josh Hamilton threw into the center field stands.

He fell 20 feet head first over the rail onto concrete. Another fan saw Stone leaning over the rail and grabbed his shirt but could not hold on to him.

Stone was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth but went into cardiac arrest on the way and was pronounced dead around 8:30 p.m.

"When you think you've had a bad day, something like that puts things in perspective. It's just devastating," Oakland manager Bob Melvin told the Associated Press. "I don't even know what to say. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family."

Rich Harden (1-1) gave up five runs and eight hits over five innings in his second start of the season for the A's, the Associated Press reports.

"(The game) didn't really matter after what happened," said Harden, who was with Texas last season, as reported by the Associated Press. "It's horrible. You try to refocus. You have a job to do. But it's hard to ignore that."

Rangers President Nolan Ryan said: "We are deeply saddened to learn that the man who fell has passed away as a result of this tragic accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

Ryan said Hamilton was obviously upset over the incident.

"I think as any of us would be," Ryan said. "Josh is very distraught over this, as is the entire team."

Source: UPI