Selig: Teams Reviewing Stadium Safety after Death

Major league teams are reviewing stadium safety following the death of a fan at a Texas Rangers game last week, while still encouraging players to toss balls into the stands.

Shannon Stone, a 39-year-old attending a Rangers’ game in Texas last week with his 6-year-old son, fell over a railing while trying to catch a ball flipped to the stands by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton.

“It was horrible accident. It’s heartbreaking. It really is – it’s almost beyond comprehension to believe something like that could happen,” baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said before Tuesday’s All-Star game during a question-and-answer session with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Each team determines its own ballpark safety features based on local laws.

“I think everybody is reviewing parts of their ballparks where something like this could happen. Maybe there’s some things that they can or can’t do. So I guess is what I would say to you is common sense should always take over in these situations. And so to say here today, ‘No we shouldn’t do this,’ or ‘No, we shouldn’t do that,’ no, I wouldn’t say that. Absolutely not.”

Selig is concerned about the impact of the accident on Hamilton.

“I’d worry about anybody who did something nice, who did something that was really thoughtful, and that happened,” the commissioner said.