The game, against the Kansas City Royals, was briefly delayed as stadium workers stretchered the fan off the field, per the Associated Press
Credit: Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire
NEED TO KNOW
- A fan fell from the stands at the White Sox’s Rate Field and into the visiting team’s bullpen
- The fan has been hospitalized
- The game, against the Kansas City Royals, was briefly delayed as stadium workers came to the fan’s aide
A fan fell over a railing into the visiting team's bullpen at the Chicago White Sox's Rate Field on Wednesday night and was later hospitalized.
During the fourth inning of the White Sox's matchup against the Kansas City Royals, as the Royals had runners on first and second with no outs, attention turned to the outfield after the fan fell from the stands, according to the Associated Press. The game was briefly delayed as stadium workers appeared to take the fan off the field on a stretcher, the outlet reported.
PEOPLE has contacted the White Sox for comment.
One of the Royals' pitchers, who was in the bullpen where the fan fell, said he did not witness the incident.
“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 pitcher Nick Mears said, per the AP.
Mears said that he and the other Royals pitchers moved to the other side of the bullpen as the stadium workers came to the fan's aide.
“Baseball's just a game when it comes to that stuff in my mind,” Mears said. “Obviously human lives are something different. Kind of 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.”
A White Sox fan told the Kansas City Star that the incident occurred earlier, at the end of the third inning, after the White Sox scored a run.
“He jumped up to celebrate and fell over,” White Sox fan Zach Kreigler said of the fan, per the Star. “He just got excited and flipped over. I've never seen anything like that in my life. I just hope he's okay.”
Almost exactly one year earlier, a Pirates fan fell 21 feet from the stands at PNC Park and suffered a broken back and neck, a punctured lung and broken ribs.
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