Last night at Rangers Ball Park in Arlington, a baseball game was underway, the Rangers and the Oakland A's.
Earlier in the day, the A's were informed that their former manager, Dick Williams, the man who led them to back to back World Series Championships, had passed away.
So there was already an air about the game, and somewhere in the second inning, a screaming foul ball bounces off the stands and trickles into left field, where Josh Hamilton, the Texas Rangers' left fielder was playing, and as he picks up the ball, fans in left field scream for him to toss it into the stands, and like any other night, in any other stadium that has a baseball game going on, the player obliges the minion, he lifts the ball into the air for someone to catch it, and for that moment, that player is more than a ball player, he is now their hero, and a bit closer to them than before.
In the case last night, as this was unfolding, the fan, a father, a husband, and a fire fighter from Brownswood, Texas, about three hours drive southwest of Dallas, leaned over the railing, and lost his balance and fell down behind the electronic score board in left field, some 20 feet to concrete. There were fans standing next to this fan trying to catch him before he went over, their effort, valiant and all, but could not hold on to him, and with his son standing next to him, watched as he landed head first onto the concrete.
The Oakland A's bullpen just feet from where this unfolded, watched the man fall, and then witnessed the rush to his aid by paramedics and other emergency people. The reports from the players were, that the man was alert, and was asking about his son, and wanted to make sure he was alright. Then they transported to a local hospital, where he succumb to the injuries.
This is like the ripple affect of the pebble falling into the water. What sort of effect does this have on those that were directly involved?
For Josh Hamilton, the man who tossed the ball into the stands, as he has done countless times while he has worn a major league uniform, needs to know that it wasn't his fault.... He has survived his demons and he has accomplished so much in his return to his major league best over the last several years. His story has been talked about by not only himself, but by others. His faith, his sobriety, his ability to overcome all that he has done to himself, his a testament to his strength in faith, and those who he surrounds himself with. How will he deal with this in his head, only he can answer that question, but more so, his teammates, and the “Ranger Family, will all be effected and must come to each others aid to deal with this.
For other fans that watched this unfold, it will be something that everyone will have to deal with on their own. They are affected, they witnessed it, they know now, from news reports and video, of this tragedy, and will take from it what they will.
Baseball, is the one sport, aside from maybe hockey and Arena Football, that you can walk out of the stadium or arena with a piece of the game that was actually in use at the time that you were able to retrieve it. Think about it, a baseball, a hockey puck, and sometimes a football are items that are used, touched by those who we consider to be special people, heroes maybe, but just the same, we are able to take it from the field, along with the memory.
I have gone to countless games of baseball, and all the while I have come close to catching a foul ball only to have bounce away from me, or caught just before it was able to reach my hands. I did fight off a ball boy for a foul ball while I was working as a photographer once... at the old Arlington Stadium
Gary Ward was at bat, and he cued ball a foul tip to the first base dug out, where the photographer's well were, and the ball boys hands reached down, and mind slid in underneath and snagged the ball. NOW this really doesn't count, because the ball boy would have given me the ball anyway after the game, but it was just the same as I was able to secure the ball, and throw it into my photographer's bag for safe keeping.
I remember my Dad telling me, when we used to go to games, (before he passed away) that the fun thing while he was growing up in New York, was to see if they could get the player to sign the ball that was hit as a foul ball or home run, I took that to heart, and took that foul ball, and had a bunch of guys sign it, old timers that played the game, they had assembled for a promotion for Upper Deck trading cards, and I was able to get Hall of Fame, and future Hall of Fame players to sign it. That ball now resides in a plastic cube in my house.
I wonder, how this baseball that was so precious to retrieve for the young son of the fire fighter, who reached over and lost his balance, and passed away, where will that wind up, and what kind of memory will be kept with it, and for a moment in the sun, the boys dad was bigger than any hero, he was THE DAD!
Just the thought is that, those involved will find strength in their faith, and surround themselves with friends and family, and to get through this horrible moment, and find that the sun will rise again, and it will continue to do so, and that the game of baseball can, and will serve as a reminder that there is still good things to enjoy! But for now, we will remember, and hope that they will be alright!
Just a thought!
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