Atlanta Braves fan dies after falling from stands

THIS is the gruesome fall no one saw coming during the Atlanta Braves’ game against the New York Yankees. And a baseball fan has paid the ultimate price.

A BASEBALL fan in the US has died after falling from the upper level of the stand at Atlanta’s Turner Field during the Atlanta Braves’ game against the New York Yankees.

The fan, who is yet to be formally identified, was allegedly leaning over a railing yelling at Yankees player Alex Rodriguez — who was about to take the plate — when he appeared to have lost his balance and fell to the ground level seating below.

The man is reported to have come into contact with wires connected to the main screen behind the home plate, before landing face down on a stairway metres below.

Paramedics rushed to the scene and performed CPR on the injured fan before he was carried away on a spinal board.

The Atlanta Braves released a statement on Twitter confirming the man had died in hospital.

Statement from the Atlanta Braves: pic.twitter.com/WvmeT8BaSr

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 30, 2015

The fall occurred during the seventh inning while play continued, as players and officials were unaware of the incident unfolding some 30 rows back from the home plate.

Fans rushed to clear the area where the man fell, many attempting to hide the disturbing images from nearby children.

A large pool of blood stained the staircase for the entire innings before police cordoned off the area.

Some family members were escorted to a room near the Braves clubhouse. Many, including Atlanta outfielder Cameron Maybin’s son, were crying.

“None of our family guys got hurt other than there were some young children there that got to see stuff that’s not real nice,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

A security guard at the holding room for family members said witnesses saw the man trying to hang onto a wire that runs from the protective net behind the plate to under the press box. The man then fell the rest of the way into the seats.

The force of the man’s weight caused the wires and the mesh netting to shake for several seconds.

Police sectioned off the lower seating area at Turner Field where the man fell and are conducting an investigation at the scene.

“That’s terrible,” Braves pitcher Matt Wisler said. “You never want to hear something like that. We’re all in the dugout paying more attention to that than we were the game when it first happened.”

Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius was standing on second base, following his double, when he saw the man fell.

“I was thinking about it the whole time,” Gregorius said. “All I can say is my condolences to the family. It was right in front of the camera in the press box. He hit the wires.”

The fall immediately followed the introduction of Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning.

Major League Baseball said it had been in contract with the Braves and was monitoring the situation.

MLB has said this season that it is studying the issue of fan safety in the wake of several people being hurt by foul balls and flying bats. Some players have called for more protective netting around the field.

— with Charles Odum, AP