The Moment a Fan Could Have Fallen to His Death During the Home Run Derby
- Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:31am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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PHOENIX (AP) — The ball arching against Chase Field’s bright lights, Keith Carmickle climbed up on a narrow table, leaned forward and lost his balance, momentum carrying him toward a 20-foot fall to a pool deck below.
Keith Carmickle awaits a home run ball during Monday's home run derby. (Photo: Hardballtalk.nbcsports.com)
Had it not been for the quick reactions of his brother, a friend and a handful of fans Monday night at Major League Baseball’s All-Star Home Run Derby, Carmickle might have suffered the same fate as Shannon Stone, the Texas Rangers’ fan who died Thursday night trying to catch a ball thrown into the stands.
“I thought: I’ve lived a good life,” Carmickle said.
Seated in a small section of seats above the right-field fence, Carmickle, from Kingman, and his group had already grabbed home run balls by Robinson Cano and Adrian Gonzalez, and were looking to add another to their collection when Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder came up in the second round of the derby.
Trying to snare a towering shot by Fielder, Carmickle stepped up onto a metal table about 18 inches wide and reached down for the catch. He missed the ball, which hit the wall several feet below him, and the momentum carried him forward, headfirst over a short railing.
(Photo: AP)
Carmickle was headed for a hard landing when his friend, Aaron Nelson, grabbed his legs and his brother, Kraig, grabbed him around the arms. The crowd above and below gasping, Carmickle dangled briefly over a deck where a couple of cameras were positioned behind Chase Field’s pool before his brother, Nelson and a few fans pulled him back to his seat.
The near miss was eerily similar to what happened to Stone, the 39-year-old memorialized in Texas earlier Monday after falling 20 feet to his death while trying to catch a ball thrown into the stands by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton.
“He tried to catch it, I grabbed his legs and his brother grabbed his arms,” said Nelson, who, along with Kraig Carmickle, is from Chandler. “So when he went over the ledge, we pulled him back. He wasn’t going down, I was holding on.”
The Carmickles and Nelson gathered themselves after the close call and let out a few shouts before breaking into high-fives. They relived the moment with a few of the fans around them, then again as they looked at photos taken by an Arizona Republic photographer, who had shots from behind of Carmickle standing on the table, then falling.
They spoke with security personnel a few minutes later and were allowed to remain in the game, with Carmickle putting his arm around a security guard who told him to be careful before he walked back to his seat.
“I stepped up on the table, I missed the ball by 2 or 3 feet and went over,” he said. “We caught three balls and I told the guys I was going to go for the cycle. Dude, they were really holding onto me.”
Fielder didn’t notice the close call and continued his turn in the derby.
“I didn’t see it,” he said. “We don’t need any of that.”
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Comments (108)
Gypsy123
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:42amDumb people every where.
Report Post »noleftturn
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:36amthe price of a ticket doesn’t allow you to be an IDIOT!!
Report Post »Carl1 Supports Israel
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 11:11amGravity don’t kill people, baseballs do. Ban them!!!!!
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 11:47amDarwin looking for another one.
Report Post »huck555
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 12:13pmActually, it does.
Report Post »Lawlcat001
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 12:17pmbazinga^
Report Post »OneofMany
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 12:56pm@Carl1 Supports Israel…. PERFECT!! VERY FUNNY and SADLY VERY ACCURATE. Guns just stand up and start shooting people with no humans around, same with knives and drugs… Same with baseballs, they call people to them, people cannot resist… ban baseballs and stadiums are also under investigation …..
Report Post »KenInIL
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:37pmBaseball stadiums need to install seat-belts !!
Report Post »Cherynn
Posted on July 13, 2011 at 11:41amGravity always wins.
Report Post »jeffyfreezone
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:31amHow long before our Dear leader bans baseball?
Report Post »MASTER YODA
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:35amAttention Blaze: This is NOT a video of what happened. It is a slide show. Don‘t advertize it as a video when it’s not.
Report Post »TRILO
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:29amWhat is wrong with people. Are we that infatuated with stuff and fame? Risking your life and the lives of those below you all to catch a baseball that was hit by some overpaid athlete. After the tragedy the other day with the father falling to his death this man attempts this stupid stunt. These baseball stadium owners need to put an end to this problem right now. You lean over a handrail and it is a $5000 fine. This behavior is absolutely stupid.
Report Post »asoble
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:21amThe man should be kicked out just for wearing those shorts.
Report Post »single stack
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:20amWhat a freaking idiot.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:14amThank goodness they caught him before taking the final plunge into eternity; God above be praised for putting people in the right place to save his life. http://artinphoenix.com/gallery/grimm
Report Post »DAYWATCHER
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:07amWhat is wrong with this man? Since when is a baseball worth your life? Was he drinking/drunk or is he just a Dumb A**?
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:17amRight before he climbed onto the table he could probably be heard saying, “Hey, y’all, watch this!”
Report Post »thegman
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:05amI think they should impose a very high fine on him. Then use a video of him to show before every game, with a warning of a fine for standing that close to the edge.
Report Post »War_Eagle
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:20am@ TheGMan
It wouldn’t be tolerated at CB Park. We have season tickets to the Phillies and I was once almost thrown out of the park just for handing a beer over the rail to a buddy who was sitting in another section.
The ushers are pretty good about not putting up with any crap, particularly if there are children around.
Report Post »Ofra1
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 12:28pmHELLO!! You’re talking about Philly.. the City of Beat Up Any Brother you Can!!
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:47amFan is short for fanatic!
Report Post »War_Eagle
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:47amTo the author: you ought to be ashamed of yourself for comparing Shannon Stone to this moron.
Stone, by all accounts, was sober and was not acting up, but merely slipped and fell while trying to catch a ball thrown to him. This idiot was drunk, was showing off for his buddies, and put himself and the people below him in jeopardy.
Just a little bit different.
Report Post »USAMama
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:58amYeah, no comparison at all. What happened to Shannon Stone was a tragic accident, this was a really stupid move. Why on earth would anyone stand on that table with no railing over a 20ft drop? I‘m glad he’s safe, but that was really stupid.
Report Post »kwatch
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:29amtouche- and look who lives- the dumbshhhhhhhhit.
Report Post »JJ Coolay
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 12:37pmI don‘t know that we know for sure Stone wasn’t drunk and I don’t know that we know for sure that this guy was. 2 pretty big presumptions to further your case that there was a big difference.
While this guy is certainly idiotic and has a very short term memory, the 2 were similar and calling out the Blaze for drawing similarities is absurd. EVERYONE was thinking about that Stone when reading about this guy.
Stone’s incident was tragic indeed and yet he lost his life chasing a baseball. Hmm… seems similar enough to me except that the guy at the Derby was fortunate enough to not hit bottom.
Report Post »JRook
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:50pmAgree 100% One was leaning over to retrieve a baseball for his son that was thrown to him and toppled over the rail. Very tragic. We can only hope this guy had a few beers on board to explain away getting up on the table. Very dumb move.
Report Post »Black Manta
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:37pmAnd with that it‘s a shame the situation’s the same and see what happens to good people but nothing happens to the pagans….Some times I wonder….
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:45amCull the flock. I feel bad for Shannon Stone. This guy? Not so much.
Report Post »MIBUGNU2
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:51amBan this IDIOT from the Park for Life !!
Report Post »thegodfather
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:35amThat first photo of him standing on the edge says it all. What freaking dumb-ass
Report Post »NOTAMUSHROOM
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:39amHold my beer and watch this……
Dr G. would have been so proud.
Report Post »USAMama
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:54amExactly, not too bright!
Report Post »conservativeme
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:26amBall parks are going to have to put NASCAR type fences up around the stands to keep IDIOTS like this guy from being an IDIOT. I love it how businesses have to spend so much money to keep people from doing stuff like this. Why are people not requied to be responsible for themselves? Oh, yea – our liberal “everyone’s a victim” courts have awarded the idiots pay for being idiots!
Report Post »82dAirborne
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:39amWe do NOT need more fences! We need fewer idiots. When enough of them go over the edge most people will stop. The rest will continue to be idiots and we can do without them.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:39am82ndAirborne
So indeed the concept of Darwinian theory that the idiots will eventually eliminate themselves from the gene pool; so how have we found so many in DC then?
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 11:16amSnowy, if Darwinian theory actually worked, there would not be a Democrat party.
Report Post »JJ Coolay
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 12:39pmNOTHING about Darwin’s theories work, people!
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:19amIt’s amazing what a grown man will do for an $8 baseball. Grow up people.
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:34amThese people are too stupid to grow up and it’s one reason the progressives feel the need to impose the nanny state on everybody else that happens to have a clue.
Report Post »Pablo
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:41amYes, right up to dying. Grow up, people. It‘s a freakin’ baseball.
Report Post »bondroid
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:17amIt’s called “Thinning the herd.”
Report Post »georgeisn6
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:14amAnyone stupid enough to go to a professional sporting event at any time any where for any reason, has probubly fallen on their heads as a child and therefor are immune to any damage in any subsiquent fall’s on their head.
Report Post »IAMMADDOG
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:31amTell us how you REALLY feel.
Report Post »JJ Coolay
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 12:44pmGeorge that doesn’t even make sense.
Report Post »First of all, how can you be “immune” to physical force?
Secondly, does the late Mr Stone fall into the first or second category because he certainly doesn’t qualify for both.
Thirdly, what does merely “going to a game” have to do with being dropped on your head and subsequently being able to within stand further physical abuse?
KEA
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:13amI hate the pop up stories! If im interested in a story LET ME CLICK IT!
Report Post »The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:08amPlease use the “tips” comment space at the bottom of the page to voice your annoyance with the “next story” pop-up screens. They certainly are not listening to anything else.
Report Post »Want our country back
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:45amWhat a jackass….. amazing what a few brewskies will do to your brain. My guess is he forgot about the firefighter who died a long long long time ago, like Sunday.
Report Post »GRAMPA-D-NH
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:56amExactly and the sad reality is we’ll probably see an over reaction by the league to cage in the spectators and ruin it for the 99.99999% of responsible human beings.
Report Post »Divineliberty
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:11ambarefoot drunk and stupid
Report Post »rightwingheroes
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:12amyea the top picture says it all. when you ask for death don’t be surprised when it comes for you.
Report Post »1proudAmerican
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:10amNow there will be a law against catching a ball at baseball games, just like other laws that dictate common sense. Someone gets hit by a car while walking in same direction as traffic, so a law is passed making that illegal; a kid riding a bike dies of a head injury, so a law is passed requiring bike helmets; drivers texting get in a car accident, so a law is passed making that illegal, etc. There are too many people who just don’t think, and liberals want to control all of us with more and more laws. Enough!
Report Post »chershaw8
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:41amStupid is as stupid does.
Report Post »nacilbuper
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:41amFor a baseball? Really?
Report Post »JohnBirch
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:39amThin the herd!
Report Post »It’s a good thing.
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:36am.
Should have let him fall. The Gene Pool needs a break……….
For a Damn Baseball C’mon Man…………………
Report Post »JohnBirch
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:40amSpank:
Report Post »Great minds think alike!
Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:54amCandidate for the Darwin Awards. It will catch up to him at one time or another, when smart people are not around.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:35amCulling the herd of idiots.
Report Post »