Baseball May Kill You

Man tried to catch foul ball Josh Hamilton flipped his way

(NEWSER) - A fan fell to his death at Rangers Ballpark last night after trying to catch a foul ball tossed his way by Rangers left fielder Josh Hamilton. Witnesses say 39-year-old Shannon Stone, a firefighter attending the game with his young son, asked Hamilton for the ball then went headfirst over the railing and fell 20 feet to the ground after the outfielder tossed it to him. He hit the concrete behind the out-of-town scoreboard, ESPN reports. More»

Female umpire speaks out against baseball's 'stained-grass ceiling'

(NEWSER) - Forget blown calls. The real problem with umpires in the MLB, says Perry Barber: A complete lack of females. Barber, who has been in the business since 1981, works high school, college, spring training, and Independent League games—and tells DoubleX , “ We’re just going to have to storm the Bastille, baby, and flood the schools with women candidates and shatter what I call the stained-grass ceiling.” More»

Or, more accurately, maybe there's no such thing

(NEWSER) - Alex Rodriguez may be one of the greatest hitters of all time, but fans have always derided him for not being “clutch” enough, for not winning it all, for not being a “real Yankee” like DiMaggio or Berra or Mantle or Jackson. But stat geeks have long argued that “clutch hitting” is all a matter of luck, and the postseason too small a sample size to judge, writes Allen Barra of the Wall Street Journal. More»

IOC execs reject baseball, softball; decision faces Oct. vote

(AP) - Olympic leaders selected golf and rugby today for proposed inclusion in the 2016 Summer Games, rejecting bids from baseball, softball, and three other sports. The IOC executive board narrowed the field to two from a list of seven, which also included squash, karate, and roller sports. The board will submit golf and rugby sevens—a faster-paced version of the standard game—for ratification by the full IOC assembly in October. More»

(NEWSER) - The people of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, are perfectly happy with their AAA Red Sox farm team, and others from across Red Sox Nation are tagging along, NPR reports. Box seats cost $10 at McCoy stadium, and a hot dog can be had for less than an arm and a leg. “You don't have to mortgage the house to go see those professional…what do I want to call them…prima donnas,” a satisfied Massachusetts fan says. More»