Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton, left, and bench coach Don Kelly stand in the dugout during a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Man falls from 21-foot Clemente Wall at PNC Park in Pittsburgh during Cubs-Pirates game
PITTSBURGH (AP) 鈥 A man fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during Wednesday night鈥檚 game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs.
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton, left, and bench coach Don Kelly stand in the dugout during a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
PITTSBURGH (AP) 鈥 A man fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during Wednesday night鈥檚 game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs.
Right after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put the Pirates ahead 4-3, players began waving frantically for medical personnel and pointing to the man, who had fallen onto the warning track.
The fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel before being removed from the field on a cart.
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The team issued a statement shortly after the game ended saying the man was transported to Allegheny General Hospital. No further details were given.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Cubs manager Craig Counsell both alerted the umpire crew of the situation immediately after the play.
鈥淓ven though it鈥檚 350 feet away or whatever it is, I mean the fact of how it went down and then laying motionless while the play is going on, I mean Craig saw it, I saw it. We both got out there,” Shelton said. “I think the umpires saw it because of the way it kicked. It鈥檚 extremely unfortunate. That鈥檚 an understatement.鈥
Players from both teams could be seen praying and McCutchen held a cross that hung from his neck while the fan was taken off the field. The game was paused for several minutes while the man was tended to but there was no official stoppage in play.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see anything happen, but I saw (Counsell鈥檚) face when he came out on the field, and I could tell that it was a very scary moment,鈥 Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said. 鈥淎ll we could do was just pray for a good, strong recovery for him and his family. I have never been part of something like that before and I hope I am never part of something like that again.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a humble reminder of the gratitude we should all have to play this game. Folks obviously come out to support us, and they are a big reason why we are able to do what we do. It鈥檚 obviously tough. At a time like that, you want (the fans) to know you love them.鈥
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Fans have died from steep falls at baseball stadiums in the past.
In 2015, Atlanta Braves season ticket holder Gregory K. Murrey flipped over guard rails from the . That was four years after Shannon Stone, a firefighter attending a game with his 6-year-old son, fell about 20 feet after reaching out for a foul ball tossed into the stands at the Texas Rangers鈥 former stadium.
Both incidents prompted scrutiny over the height of guard rails at stadiums. The Rangers raised theirs, while the Braves settled a lawsuit with Murrey鈥檚 family.
A spectator at died following a fall on an escalator.
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