What happened at PNC Park during Wednesday night's game between the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates made baseball seem vanishingly insignificant by comparison. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Andrew McCutchen hit a double into center field that gave Pittsburgh the lead. But while the play was going on, a fan fell from the Roberto Clemente Wall in right field, landing on the warning track some 21 feet below.
The game was delayed for 10 minutes while the fan received treatment in the outfield. They were eventually carted off on a stretcher and transferred to Allegheny General Hospital, according to a statement released by the Pirates.
The fan has not been identified, and there is no update on their condition as of this writing.
It was horrifying to watch unfold in real time, to put it mildly. And as you might imagine, it also left a profound impact on the players and coaches who were on the field when the incident occurred — including Pirates manager Derek Shelton.
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Derek Shelton understandably emotional after fan falls from PNC Park stands
Shelton met with reporters after Pittsburgh captured a 4-3 win. But his mind was very, very far away from the final score, or anything else to do with the game itself.
"I just want to offer thoughts and prayers with the incident that happened earlier in the game," Shelton said, before thanking first responders and medical personnel for reacting so quickly and administering care.
It was immediately clear that Shelton was still shaken by what he'd witnessed on the field, and understandably so. His press conference lasted just one minute; after all, there's not much to say, beyond praying for the best for the fan and their family.