PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man fell off the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall on the right field at PNC Park during Wednesday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs.
Shortly after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to raise the Pirates 4-3, the player frantically waved for the medical professional and began pointing at the man who fell on the warning truck.
Fans tended to be removed from the cart field for about five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staff and PNC personnel.
The team issued a statement saying that the man had been taken to Allegheny General Hospital shortly after the match ended. No further details were given.
Pittsburgh Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, was featured on X late Wednesday night, and the man was in a state of crisis and police were investigating it.
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Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Cubs manager Craig Counsel both warned the referee crew of the situation immediately after play.
“Whether it’s 350 feet apart or not, I mean how it goes down and the play lies still motionless while it’s going. “I think the judge saw it because of the way it got kicked. It’s very unfortunate. That’s an understatement.”
Fans are taken from the field at PNC Park on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 after falling from the stands in the seventh inning of a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh.
You can see players from both teams praying, and McCutchen had a cross hanging from his neck while the fans were away from the field.
“I really hate what happened tonight,” McCutchen posted on X late Wednesday night. “Thinking about that guy, his family, or his friends won’t help you. Pray for him tonight. Think of his loved ones, and hold your family a little tighter tonight. I hope he will pull.
The game was paused for a few minutes, and while men tended to do so, there was no official suspension.
“Nothing happened, but I saw (the counsel) face as he came out on the field and I can say it was a very scary moment,” said Cubs Shortstop Danceby Swanson. “All we could do was pray for a good, strong recovery for him and his family. I had not been part of that before.
“It’s a humble reminder that we’re all grateful that we have to play this game. People are clearly coming out to support us. They’re a big reason why we can do what we can. It’s obviously difficult.
The fan has passed away in a sudden waterfall at a baseball stadium in the past.
In 2015, Atlanta Braves season ticket holder Gregory K. Marie flipped the guardrail from the upper deck at Turner Field. That came four years after Shannon Stone, a firefighter who attends a game with his six-year-old son, fell about 20 feet after reaching for a foul ball thrown into the stands of the former Texas Rangers stadium.
Both incidents prompted scrutiny over guardrail heights at the stadium. The Rangers raised them, and the Braves settled a lawsuit with Murei’s family.
The audience at Pittsburgh’s Alicia Stadium died after falling on an escalator.
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