After a fan died at the Ballpark in Arlington after falling while trying to catch a ball tossed into the stands by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen says he's not taking chances.
↵↵↵"We are all guilty of throwing balls into the stands," McCutchen said. "I throw balls in the stands every inning."
↵When asked if he would throw balls into the stands during tonight's game with the Cubs, McCutchen said he was reluctant to take the chance unless it's a short, underhanded toss to a nearby fan.
↵"Right now, no," he said. "If there's a ball caught, and I make the third out and I'm right by the warning track, and I can underhand it to somebody, other than that, I'm just not going to do it."
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I'm sure there are lots of entire teams that are now telling their players to stop throwing balls into the stands. From a player's perspective, there's just no point in taking the risk. This won't prevent fans from reaching for foul balls, of course, and so in the wake of this tragedy, I imagine we'll see teams rebuild railings and take other safety precautions as well.