Dumbass Fan nearly falls from stands during homer derby trying to snag ball

Keith Carmickle and his friends had already caught three balls during Major League Baseball's Home Run Derby Monday night and wanted more.

He nearly got a lot more: a headfirst fall to a pool deck about 20 feet below.

Chasing a home run hit by Milwaukee's Prince Fielder, Carmickle was saved from a long fall when his brother and a friend grabbed him around the legs and arms, then pulled him back as he dangled above the deck area behind the pool in right field at Chase Field.

His near miss came the same day as the memorial service for Shannon Stone, a 39-year-old fan who died last Thursday while trying to catch a ball thrown into the stands at a Texas Rangers home game.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/07/11/sports/s202943D66.DTL#ixzz1RrV25TAP


Keith Carmickle hangs over the railing above the pool deck after falling over in an attempt to catch a ball during the Home Run Derby Monday night at Chase Field in Phoenix. (Norm Hall/Getty Images)

Lucky dumbass! Last week was a tragic accident. This clown would've been a Darwin candidate.

And this handjob has a freaking baseball glove too.
I was sixteen the last time I had a baseball glove.

Nice shorts too, Neanderthal.
What are you NINE?

a fly ball that they can sell for big bucks on ebay.

I have shorts like that though not the same color or exact same design but have shorts just like that. Most people that live here do. Average high is 105 in Phoenix in July.

Also if I was sitting in the outfield bleachers during a home run derby I'd probably bring a glove.

seriously. As with a baseball glove at a homerun derby.

That being said, it's a $30.00 ball, autograph be damned. Not worth risking a life.

the gene pool could use some chlorine.

It's a wonder there are not more deaths.

Nine years ago a puck killed a young hockey fan at an NHL game, and the league responded by installing netting in all its arenas, despite the fact that such nets do detract from fans' view of the game.

Why can't major league baseball install horizontal netting extending a few feet out from beneath upper-deck seating in its stadiums? It would not interfere with sightlines or play (except perhaps some foul balls; but few home run balls that such netting would catch would have failed to clear the lower-deck fence). The cost would be negligible to a multibillion dollar business.

The only real downside I can imagine is that a feeling of additional safety might encourage beer-soaked fans to take just that many more chances in lunging for balls. They should be set up in such a way that anyone who falls into one can't easily perform a self-extraction (I'd recommend sending home anyone who fell into one as a deterrent).

The lower level, where you are right by the dugout and can get struck by a foul ball. I've sat in those seats a few times and yes, I brought my glove, because I don't want to get killed by one.

The ones that they put in just for the Home Run Derby?

Man, that would've sucked.

Fans don't seem to be satisfied with just going to a game anymore. There is so much in place to entertain the fans now - giveaways, this obsession with foul balls (why?), giant video screens, voting on which song to play later in the game, blah blah blah. The first game I ever saw with my dad was in old Tiger Stadium. We sat in box seats. The field was a deep emerald green, as were the seats, which were dusted off for us by an usher. The uniforms were glistening white. I got to see Al Kaline and Brooks Robinson play. I don't recall any hat tricks, a video screen with replays, games for the fans, or any of the associated crap you see now, yet I remember that game better than any other baseball game I've attended since.

They use them at elevated driving ranges. They're only about 6 feet long, don't obstruct vision, and they prevent people from dying.

Seems like small change to save a life.
GAC