A terrifying incident unfolded at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park on Wednesday night when a fan plummeted over the railing, falling from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field. This startling event immediately drew parallels to previous instances where spectators have tragically succumbed to injuries from falls at other major league stadiums.
As of Thursday, the fan, identified as Kavan Markwood, remained in critical condition following the mishap. The incident occurred just as Pirates’ standout Andrew McCutchen smashed a two-run double in the seventh inning, propelling Pittsburgh into a 4-3 lead. Immediate medical attention was provided to Markwood by the training staff of both the Pirates and Cubs, along with personnel from PNC Park, for about five minutes before he was transported off the field on a cart. Subsequently, he was rushed to the trauma center at Allegheny General Hospital.
On Thursday, Pittsburgh Public Safety, encompassing the city’s Police and EMS services, conveyed that the fall is currently being treated as accidental. Past accidents have seen similar outcomes, with fatal falls occurring at ballparks in both Arlington, Texas, in 2011 and Atlanta in 2015.
In response to such events, various safety measures have been adopted by Major League Baseball and its teams. The height of railings at ballparks is decided by teams based on local regulations and codes. According to Brian Warecki, the Pirates’ vice president of communications, the railing along the Clemente Wall is 36 inches, significantly above the requirement of 26 inches.
There has been increased scrutiny over railing heights following fatalities. For instance, after the 2011 tragedy where a fan fell approximately 20 feet, the Texas Rangers raised their railing height by 12 inches to a total of 42 inches. Similarly, a settlement was reached in 2018 between the Atlanta Braves and the family of Gregory Murrey, who perished after falling from the upper deck of Turner Field, which had a 30-inch railing.
Concerning foul ball netting, until 2015, many stadiums only had netting directly behind home plate. However, a series of incidents where fans were injured by foul balls prompted MLB to recommend extending the netting in December 2015 to run from dugout to dugout. By 2018, all ballparks had implemented netting extending to the far ends of each dugout.
In 2019, following an incident where a 2-year-old girl sustained a skull fracture after being hit by a foul ball at the Houston Astros’ stadium, MLB announced that several clubs would enhance protective netting to the foul poles and extend it to where the stands begin to angle away from the field.
Regarding alcohol policies, while MLB does not impose strict rules on alcohol sales timing, many clubs cease sales by the end of the seventh inning. Yet, in 2023, due to newly introduced rules that expedited game play, a number of clubs experimented with prolonging sales until the eighth inning, although several have reverted to the previous cutoff.