A fan suffered a terrifying fall from the stands into the Kansas City Royals bullpen during their game against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night. The supporter was taken away on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital for treatment, with reports indicating they tumbled from the bleachers.
Incident at Rate Field
The incident caused a brief delay at Rate Field, home of the White Sox, with Royals star Vinnie Pasquantino later questioning: 'Did we do the right thing continuing to play?' An eyewitness told the Kansas City Star that the man 'jumped up to celebrate,' only to 'flip over' and fall into the visiting bullpen. 'I've never seen anything like that in my life,' they said.
Kansas City had runners on first and second with none out in the fourth inning when the game was briefly halted as workers treated the fallen fan. 'Tonight's game was delayed in the fourth inning to allow White Sox personnel to treat a fan who had fallen in the visiting team's bullpen,' the White Sox said in a statement. 'The fan has been transported to a local hospital for additional treatment.'
Players React
There has not been any confirmation of the fan's condition following the scary fall. However, according to the Star, none of the Royals relievers were nearby when he landed in the bullpen. 'Thoughts to that guy - hopefully he's OK,' Kansas City first baseman Pasquantino said after the Royals' 6-5 loss. 'From what I've heard, the fan was kind of standing up on the edge of the bullpen and kind of just went over and then saw him lying there,' Royals reliever Nick Mears added.
Kansas City's relievers moved into a far corner of the bullpen after the fan fell. 'Baseball's just a game when it comes to that stuff in my mind,' Mears said. 'Obviously human lives are something different. [We were] just creating space for all of the people to come in and try to help him out. Just trying to make sure that he had the best care that he could get in that moment was kind of our priority.'
Similar Incident Last Year
This comes just a year after Pittsburgh Pirates fan Kavan Markwood jumped up to celebrate a play on the field before falling over a 21-foot wall and crashing onto the turf. Markwood was rushed to hospital in critical condition after the horrific plunge, which has left him with a broken neck, back, and collarbone.
