Fan’s fall has Sox taking care
Like every team in the major leagues, the White Sox always flip baseballs into the crowd at the end of innings.
But the Sox are going to be more careful after Thursday night’s tragedy in Texas, when a 39-year-old man died in a fall after reaching for a foul ball tossed into the stands by Rangers left fielder Josh Hamilton.
“It’s something that is unfortunate,” Sox center fielder Alex Rios said. “You don’t want that to happen to a fan or anybody. It’s sad.”
As for throwing balls into the stands, Rios said fans have a responsibility.
“They just have to be a little more careful and judge the situation a little better,” Rios said. “Because it’s just a ball. You don’t want that to happen. The guy lost his life for a ball and that’s a shame. I guess it won’t stop. We want the fans to be a part of the game too and enjoy the game.”
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was saddened by what happened at Rangers Ballpark.
“It’s a horrible feeling because he’s a human being and baseball fan, and I think everybody should be thinking, praying for them,” Guillen said. “You wish that never happened. Unfortunately it happened; it’s a very sad situation. I watched TV and listened to (Rangers president) Nolan Ryan. Very sad. Very sad moment for baseball.”
The White Sox are waiting word from major-league baseball regarding any new guidelines pertaining to throwing balls into the stands.
“Obviously, you want as much interaction as you can have between the fans and the players, and you just try to balance that with fan safety,” said Scott Reifert, the Sox’ vice president of communications.
Danks to rehab:Starting pitcher John Danks has often talked about the potential thrill of playing for the White Sox with his young brother Jordan.That has yet to happen, but the Danks brothers will be on the same field Sunday for Class AAA Charlotte.On the disabled list with a strained right oblique, John Danks is scheduled to make the first of two rehab starts with Charlotte. Jordan plays center field for the Knights.After the outing, John Danks is going to take three days off for the all-star break and make one more minor-league start on Friday before likely rejoining the Sox.Harrell to Astros:Right-handed pitcher Lucas Harrell, who had two brief stints with the White Sox this season, was claimed off waivers by the Astros Friday.Appearing in 3 games with the Sox, Harrell had a 7.20 ERA.Harrell also pitched in 8 games with the White Sox last season and was a combined 1-0 with a 5.28 ERA.