An unnamed male fan suffered a fatal heart attack during the seventh inning of Thursday's game between the Blue Jays and White Sox in Toronto. (Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIRE)
Kevin Youkilis was standing at third base during the bottom of the seventh inning of Thursday’s game against the Blue Jays when he saw a commotion in the stands across the diamond from him. He paid little attention to this until he saw medics running at full speed to the mass of huddled fans. It was at this point that he turned to third bas umpire Mark Wegner and told him to stop the game.
The reason for the commotion was one of the most unusual and tragic things to happen at a baseball game. While Kevin Youkilis was watching the commotion from across the diamond, what he didn’t know was that a male fan was suffering a fatal heart attack. Play was halted for four minutes while medics attended to the man and a stretcher was sped out from the medical center in the stadium. The man was wheeled off but he later died in a Toronto hospital.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the person who was taken out of here tonight,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said.
Player stepped to the edge of the dugout and fans watched on helplessly as paramedics pumped the man’s chest to no avail. Kevin Youkilis addressed the situation after the game, the man’s condition at that point was unbeknownst to anyone.
“I saw some medics jump out around the dugout and run over,” Youkilis said. “Then I saw a doctor or whoever was going, just pushing on the chest over and over and over. I thought maybe they were reviving him and then the next thing you know, they kept going and going. I was like, ‘God, man.’ We’ve got to stop this thing.”
This isn’t the first time paramedics at the Rogers Centre. Back on July 29th, a fan had to receive emergency CPR from the medical staff, but that fan survived the incident. It’s not the first time a fan has died at a baseball game either. Back in July 2011, Rangers fan Shannon Stone fell out of the outfield stands diving for a ball Josh Hamilton tossed into the stands and later died from the injuries he sustained.
There is no word from the Blue Jays if the family of the deceased will be receiving any benefits from the team or the league.
