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As baseball fans, we often forget to remember that we are all human beings who have a love for this game and the teams that we root for. The time we get to spend at a ballpark or even just in front of a TV watching the game by ourselves or with our loved ones is special and more often than not is very happy and goes by without incident other than the home team winning or losing. Unfortunately, that was not the case at Turner Field on Saturday night as a fan fell from the upper deck to the field level area behind home plate. Immediately afterwards, paramedics rushed to the area as fans fled the area. The fan, a 60 year old man who has not been identified publicly and will not be until his next of kin are notified, was described as being in "grave condition" in the immediate aftermath. Sadly, the man did pass away
The Atlanta Police Department announced the 60-year-old man who fell from the upper deck at Turner Field tonight has passed away.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) August 30, 2015
The Braves did release a short statement concerning the death of the fan shortly after it was announced that he had passed away
Statement from the Atlanta Braves: pic.twitter.com/WvmeT8BaSr
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 30, 2015
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that tragedy has struck at Turner Field, as a fan did die in 2013 from a fall as well. The Atlanta Police Department does not appear to suspect any sort of foul play, but would like to hear from any fans in the area where the man fell from or from anyone who has any information pertinent to the investigation. Toxicology reports will be done to determine any other factors that may be in play
APD asking anyone who was in the area of where the fan fell to contact either Homicide or Crime Stoppers with anything they may have seen
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) August 30, 2015
At Talking Chop, we are all thinking of the fan who passed away's family and loved ones as well as the fans at the game who had to bear witness to the event as it unfolded (including those who saw anything on television). We can all argue with one another about personnel decisions or whether to pinch-hit for a pitcher, but its easy to forget that we are all human and incidents like these bring in to focus just how important it is to do everything you can to stay safe at games and to cherish the time you get to spend with those you care about.