There is nothing quite like attending a professional sporting event. The live experience brings something that you just can’t get on television. I attribute much of that to the feeling you get from being a part of the crowd, a collective excitement that magnifies the impact of any positive or negative occurrence in the game. Baseball, in particular, takes on a whole different dimension when you’re watching it in person. This week was a tough one for baseball fans, though. First, three fans were injured in San Francisco on Tuesday when a bat, formerly held by Pablo Sandoval of the visiting San Diego Padres, went flying into the stands, hitting three people, one of whom required hospitalization. That was nothing to what happened on Thursday in Arlington, Texas, though. A man fell to his death when reaching for a ball tossed to him by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton.

I have been going to baseball games since early childhood. For years, I brought a glove with me, even if we were sitting in the nosebleed seats at the old Veterans Stadium, and I had absolutely no chance of coming within 200 feet of a ball. At some point, I stopped bringing the glove, but never lost the desire to snag that elusive foul ball. Despite attending countless games, I have never even managed to get closer than a row or two away from one. Shannon Stone, a fireman from Brownwood, Texas, was sitting in the outfield stands with his young son, equipped with a glove that they bought on the way to the game. Stone had been urging Hamilton to toss a ball his way, and in the second inning, the player obliged. Stone reached too far and lost his balance. A man next to him attempted to grab him, seeing that he was losing his balance, but it was too late. Stone fell headfirst twenty feet to the concrete floor below. His son remained in the stands, distraught at his father’s fall. Stadium personnel rushed to him and put him on a stretcher. He was conscious and told them to send someone for his son. He was then taken to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries.

There are no words to describe the horror of this situation. Most of us would not think twice about reaching for a ball like this. Players all over the league make that same toss every day. Josh Hamilton, whose comeback from substance abuse issues has been well-document, must be tortured by this, despite the fact that he did nothing wrong. The other fans who were sitting nearby and witnessed the whole event have to be haunted by what they saw. Worst of all, a young boy watched his father die. People will continue to take their children to baseball games, of course, and they will continue to try to get a hold of a baseball whenever possible. I am sure the Rangers will look into whether or not any changes need to be made to the railings to ensure safety, but it doesn’t look like there is any blame to be assigned here. If I ever do manage to catch a ball, I am sure I will think of Shannon Stone and his son.

Bad sports, continued:

2) Along most of the route taken by cyclists in the annual Tour de France, there are no barriers to prevent fans from being very close to the passing riders. Perhaps there should be. A big mess occurred last week when a woman, who was standing far too close to the course, came into contact with a rider who was in the middle of a large pack. The rider went down, taking a whole group of riders down with him.

3) NFL Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey died on Wednesday at the age of 69, while Sean Matti, a senior walk-on with the Purdue football team, was found dead on Tuesday. He was 22.

4) We had a larger than usual list of athletes behaving badly this week. Hines Ward, receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was arrested for DUI on Saturday. Adam “Pacman” Jones, the Cincinnati Bengals defensive back who is better known for his off-the-field troubles than his actual play, was also arrested on Saturday, charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after he refused to leave a bar where he was reportedly drunk and creating a disturbance. Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson and Chicago White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham both found themselves making public apologies this week after being taken to task for using gay slurs, Jackson during a recent radio appearance and Beckham after scratching a message in the dirt near second base for Chris Getz, a former teammate who was playing second base for the Kansas City Royals, who the White Sox were playing.

5) John Daly, a golfer who, like the aforementioned Pacman Jones, is as well known for his off-the-course antics as for his actual play, carded a thirteen on the fourth hole of the John Deere Classic on Friday. Not surprisingly, Daly failed to make the cut.

6) Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz charged the mound on Friday night, going after Orioles pitcher Kevin Gregg, who he felt had been throwing at him. Gregg threw three inside pitches at Ortiz, and then yelled something at him after Ortiz failed to run out a popup he hit on the fourth pitch.

7) While undergoing some contraction work, part of the roof of a soccer stadium in the Netherlands collapsed, killing one person and injuring thirteen others.

Good sports:

1) New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter joined the exclusive club of Major League Baseball players who accumulated 3,000 hits in their careers on Saturday. He did it in style, hitting a homerun for the hit that got him to the big number, one of five hits he had on the night.

2) Three months ago, Allan Guei won a free throw shooting contest at Compton High School. The contest was organized for top students to compete for $40,000 in scholarship money. This week, Guei, who is a star basketball player in addition to being a great student, decided that others could use the money more than he could, as he has a full scholarship to Cal State Northridge to play basketball. He donated the money to the seven other students who had made the finals of the contest. Now that’s really something special.

3) In dramatic fashion, the U.S. Women’s Soccer team defeated favored Brazil on Sunday, overcoming several bad calls along the way. The Americans won on penalty kicks, 5-3, after the regulation time ended with the teams tied at two, following a last second equalizer by Abby Wambach.

Bad sports, good sports appears every Monday

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02

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