Fan falls onto netting behind homeplate at Yankee Stadium

[riverside sluggers]

Fan Falls Out of Upper Deck in Yanks' Loss to White Sox

Steinbrenner Calls Freak Incident 'Exciting' as Chicago Wins Pitchers' Duel

By MIKE FITZPATRICK, AP Sports

 

NEW YORK (Aug. 9) - Jose Contreras wriggled out of a couple jams at Yankee Stadium. One fan apparently put himself in much more serious danger and was fortunate to survive. Teenager Scott Harper, center, is pulled to safety after falling from the upper deck onto the netting behind home plate. Contreras pitched shutout ball against his former team, and the Chicago White Sox got home runs from Paul Konerko and Tadahito Iguchi in a 2-1 victory Tuesday night over the New York Yankees. The game was delayed for four minutes in the eighth inning after 18-year-old Scott Harper of Armonk, N.Y., plummeted about 40 feet from the upper deck onto the large net behind home plate.

 

"That was the only exciting thing that happened today," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said. After the final out, Harper was carried from the ballpark on a stretcher, his head immobilized in a neck brace, and taken to Lincoln Hospital for observation. Harper told three friends he was sitting with that he was going to test whether the net would hold his weight - and then he jumped, police said. "I've never seen anything like that before. I think that's New York, you know, anything can happen."- Ozzie Guillen. "I was hoping I wouldn't see that again. You could break your neck."

- Joe Torre

 

Obviously shaken after he landed, Harper sat with his head in his hands for a few moments before climbing on the net back up to the loge level as players watched and the crowd roared. He was hoisted over the railing and led away by security. Det. Kevin Czartoryski said Harper was arrested and police expect to charge him with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. "I've never seen anything like that before," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I think that's New York, you know, anything can happen."

 

It was the second time in five years a fan fell or jumped from the upper deck at Yankee Stadium. In May 2000, 24-year-old Stephen Laurenzi of Yonkers, N.Y., was unconscious for a short time while sprawled on the netting as a game between Boston and New York went on. He also was arrested and taken to a hospital for observation. In 1997 and 1998, there was only a high backstop behind the plate and no netting extending to the stands. After Harper was pulled off the net by security, Cliff Politte retired Robinson Cano and Gary Sheffield with a runner on second to end the eighth.

 

Konerko hit his 28th homer leading off the ninth against Alan Embree, leaving Steinbrenner upset with Joe Torre . "I'm not pleased with the manager," Steinbrenner said. "I don't know why they kept the left-hander in there... He should never have pitched to Konerko. Konerko's their best hitter." Alex Rodriguez hit his AL-leading 33rd homer and third in three days leading off the bottom half against Politte. Bernie Williams, who missed the previous two games with a sore right shoulder, came off the bench for the Yankees with runners at the corners in the ninth. He was 5-for-6 against Chicago closer Dustin Hermanson before lining out to first to end the game.

 

Hermanson threw only one pitch for his 29th save in 30 chances. The White Sox, who have the best record in baseball, rebounded nicely one night after the Yankees beat another ex-teammate, Orlando Hernandez. Contreras (7-6) allowed only a first-inning single to Cano, a leadoff single to Rodriguez in the fourth and a leadoff single to Tony Womack in the eighth. The big right-hander struck out six and walked two in seven-plus innings, outpitching Shawn Chacon. "I think it's my best outing in a major league uniform," Contreras said.

 

The Yankees signed Contreras to a $32 million, four-year contract after he defected from Cuba in October 2002, but he struggled badly against the rival Red Sox and was inconsistent throughout his season and a half in New York. He was dealt to Chicago for Esteban Loaiza at the trade deadline last year. "You always know that the Yankees' future is right this minute, and that was just an example of that," Torre said. The Yankees got another excellent outing from Chacon (0-1), the hard-luck loser. He gave up only Iguchi's fourth-inning homer and two singles in seven innings, lowering his ERA to 1.42 in three starts with New York since he was acquired from Colorado. "That's a tough loss," Chacon said.

 

Chacon retired nine straight batters before Iguchi lofted a 1-1 pitch over the short porch in right field. Contreras got in trouble in the bottom half, but struck out Jason Giambi with Rodriguez on third for the second out. Jorge Posada then hit a sharp grounder that appeared headed up the middle for an RBI single, but it deflected off Contreras to Konerko at first base, and he tagged Posada to end the inning. Contreras also retired Hideki Matsui with two on to end the first and a runner at second to end the sixth. "His arm angle was a little different. I think he threw a little more sidearm than when he was with us," Derek Jeter said. "I think it caused his fastball to move more."

 

Notes: Both benches were warned after Contreras plunked Rodriguez with first base open in the first inning. ... LHP Randy Johnson will miss his next turn in the rotation because of a bad back, leaving the Yankees unsure who will start Thursday night against Texas. It probably will be RHP Scott Proctor if he's not needed Wednesday against Chicago.

[sarasoxfan]

the fact is this is ione more piece of conclusive proof that all chokee fans are total *******s, douche bags and morons.....he didnt fall...he jumped...

If I had my way he would have been pushed, but the fact is he did it on purpose.

more importantly, those f*** faces lost

 

from the post...

August 10, 2005 - A thrill-seeking teenager hoping to make ESPN highlights plunged over 50 feet from the upper deck seats into the netting behind home plate last night in the eighth inning of the Yankees' 2-1 loss to the White Sox.

 

The stunt will also likely land him in hot water.

[YankeeDoodle]

Letterman's Top Ten:

 

Top Ten Things Going Through This Guy's Mind At This Moment

 

10. "Thought the third base coach was giving me the 'jump' sign"

 

9. "Will I get to watch the end of the game in my jail cell?"

 

8. "Figured I'd beat the traffic"

 

7. "If I had a girlfriend, she'd be impressed"

 

6. "I'm sure Steinbrenner won't mind"

 

5. "If Marv Albert uses this, I hope he adds a comical 'bong!'"

 

4. "Giambi said that stuff he gave me would make me fly"

 

3. "I hope they do some funny jokes about this on Leno!"

 

2. "I wonder if the newspaper will refer to me as a 'moron' or an 'idiot'"

 

1. "If a drunken stooge can't disgrace himself at sporting events, then the terrorists have won"

 

Letterman warned his audience sitting in the balcony that there's no netting below.

[yankeessuck013]

yeah, I'm not sure if it was on accident or on purpose, but good to hear he's all right.

 

if it was on purpose it was a really good act, he acted all dazed and confused, sitting there for a couple minutes....

 

Watch Out Hollywood, Here comes ANOTHER CRAZY YANKEE FAN!!!!!

[YankeeDoodle]

He did it on purpose. Got arrested for that, too. So now that he's unscathed, it's fair game to criticize how he could've seriously injured those sitting beneath the net. Game sucked, but you don't hurl yourself off the balcony. This Yankees team isn't worth it.

 

Didn't a guy jump of Niagara and survive? Insane.

[Sizzlin22]

I'll raise you one better. This one guy jumped out of an airplane on his first skydiving trip. His parachute failed. He fell through the ait with no back up or anything. He hit the ground face first, got up and walked away with nothing more than a few minor broken bones in the nose and face.

[yankeessuck013]

Maybe they're being too hard on the kid. Afterall, if my team stunk as bad as the Yanks did and I had to watch a bunch of cheating Juice-Boys play every night, I'd probably want to jump off something too

[yankeessuck013]

some yankee fans thought this was an accident (not yankeedoodle or other yankee fans on this board, mostly on YES)...so heres my rant:

 

Yankee fan that isn't at least one of those things. 9 times out of 10, they fall under the "biased" category. Want examples of that? Okay, here goes:

 

1. Yankee fans are actually numb enough to believe that A-Rod didn't get hit with Dye's throw on purpose a few nights ago.

 

2. Yankee fans are actually numb enough to defend A-Rod's slappy play in the playoffs.

 

3. Yankee fans cry about the umps making CORRECT calls in the playoffs last year. Things get so out of hand, the police have to line each foul line in full protective gear. I guess that's the "Yankee class" we hear about so often. Yet when a bad call goes their way, it's "just baseball".

 

4. Yankee fans actually defended Clemens when he threw the bat at Piazza. They were numb enough to believe Clemens when he said "I thought it was the ball". Really? Even if that were true and a guy that has held a baseball ALL HIS LIFE couldn't tell the difference between a bat and a ball, WHY WOULD HE BE THROWING A BALL AT PIAZZA RUNNING DOWN THE LINE!?!?!?

 

5. Yankee fans defend and CHEER for an admitted cheater (Giambi). Apology or not (and it was a very weak one at that), why would you cheer for someone that has helped to put a black mark on the game?

 

6. Yankee fans are actually numb enough to believe Sheffield when he said "I didn't know the cream was a steroid". Yeah, okay.

 

Want me to keep on going? Now before you say something like "most Yankee fans aren't like that", I suggest you read through the posts on the Yankee board and you'll see you're wrong. In EVERY one of those cases above, the VAST overwhelming majority of the posts on the Yankee board were made by Yank fans defending the Yankee players for their actions.

[yankeessuck013]

I didn't find it funny, but rather stupid. That kid could have killed himself and people sitting around him.

[riverside sluggers]

on espn they said his friends dared him to jump onto the net, dumbass

[yankeessuck013]

hmmm....well if they double-dogged dared him, then he has to accept, if he didnt he would be known as a pussy, oh wait...he's a yankee fan, same thing

[BariNoVa]

yeah, I'm not sure if it was on accident or on purpose, but good to hear he's all right.

 

if it was on purpose it was a really good act, he acted all dazed and confused, sitting there for a couple minutes....

 

Watch Out Hollywood, Here comes ANOTHER CRAZY YANKEE FAN!!!!!

 

Sure, he was dazed and confused.... he'd just fallen 40 feet (or whatever it was), could have broken his neck, might have been a little concussed.... so that part of it didn't have to be an act. But, the fact is, he jumped. Fans want to be noticed, too....

[schillingouttheks]

And to the lengths they'll go to get on television, looking like a dumbass or not

[Ray10]

The guy that did this is an idiot. But I liked the Letterman top 10. That was funny.

[Manny Goes Boom]

Maybe they're being too hard on the kid. Afterall, if my team stunk as bad as the Yanks did and I had to watch a bunch of cheating Juice-Boys play every night, I'd probably want to jump off something too

 

LMAO!!! SIG GOLD!

[ARod2212]

I was actually at the game the last time that happened. Appropriately enough, Yankees-Red Sox. I went to go get some food and came back with the game still at the same point when I left. I looked to the netting and saw a guy with a liquor bottle in the net.

 

Alcohol and dumbasses are a dangerous mix.

 

But it can be entertaining as hell.