ATLANTA — As a photo of a smiling Gregory Murrey flashed on the Turner Field scoreboard, a lengthy pre-game moment of silence was held Sunday for the fan who fell from the stadium’s upper deck.
Murrey, 60, died of his injuries late Saturday night at Grady Memorial Hospital and there was a solemn feeling Sunday morning as the Yankees arrived for their series finale against the Braves.
“It’s something you don’t expect to ever happen at a game,” Joe Girardi said. “Our guys are still startled by it.”
Like many in attendance Saturday, the Yankees manager was still trying to grasp what occurred in the visitor’s seventh inning when Alex Rodriguez walked up as a pinch-hitter.
A longtime Braves season-ticket holder, Murrey might have rushed to the railing to yell at A-Rod according to reports when he lost his balance. Though the cause is believed to be an accident, results of an investigation were still pending.
Murrey’s death marked the third fatal fall at Turner Field since 2008, though a 2013 incident was ruled a suicide and the circumstances of each incident have differed.
Murrey’s death was also the 24th fatal fall at a baseball park since 1969, according to Robert Gorman, co-author of a book titled “Death at the Ballpark.” Atlanta has had the most.
Yankees third base coach Joe Espada said he witnessed the man just before he struck the concrete landing, a drop of some 50 feet, near a section reserved for players’ family and friends.
The mother of Yankees catcher Brian McCann was seated in Section 202, close to where the man fell. His children had already left the park before the seventh inning, but the young son of Braves outfielder Cameron Maybin was reportedly crying.
“There were a lot of families in that section. I know some of our guys had to deal with that when they got home,” Girardi said. “It’s very, very sad.”
No one else was injured in the fall Saturday, before the year’s largest crowd – 49,243.
Many of the Yankees players’ first inclination that something was wrong was the trembling of the protective net behind home plate; Espada saw the man strike one of the netting’s anchor wires on the way down.
Fans scattered from the nearby seating areas and paramedics removed the man on a board after about 10 minutes of emergency work. Some pictures posted to social media showed the blood streaked concrete about 40 rows from the playing field as the game continued without interruption.
“I don’t think any of us really knew the condition he was in,” Girardi said when asked about the consideration of suspending play. However, “I think you have to think about it.
“Obviously, it’s in the hands of (major league) baseball and the Braves, but I know some of our guys said it was hard to concentrate. And that’s what you worry about, too.”
Braves second baseman Jace Peterson, whose girlfriend was approximately 10 feet from the spot where the man fell, told MLB.com that he was “surprised” that the game was played to a conclusion.
“I thought we would at least pause it for a little bit,” Peterson said. “I wasn’t sure what happened. We came in after the game and got the news.”
In a statement, the Braves mourned “an incredibly passionate Braves fan” whose “tragic loss is felt throughout Braves Country.”
The American flag flew at half-staff Sunday and Braves president John Schuerholz told MLB.com that grief counselors were made available to players, their friends and family members.
A statement by the family, obtained by Atlanta TV station WXIA, remembered Gregory ‘Ace’ Murrey as “a husband, father, grandfather, son, brother and friend to many” and an “extraordinarily wonderful man” who “dearly loved his family, Atlanta and the Atlanta Braves.
“The night Greg passed away he was doing one of his favorite things – watching the Braves.”
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