Major league baseball playoffs
Major league baseball playoffs_ Texas got more than it bargained for from Tampa Bay rookie Matt Moore, who tossed seven shutout innings in a 9-0 Rays win in Game 1 win of their series. PAGE C13
Yanks-Tigers postponed: Rain suspended Game 1 of the New York-Detroit series, while both National League series start today
ARLINGTON - The pitch was perfect. The moment kicking off the major league baseball playoffs was beyond perfect. After the horrifying ordeal of the summer, it's exactly what 6-year-old Cooper Stone deserved in the emotional return to the ballpark where his father was killed in a freak accident.
In a moving scene Friday afternoon, the young boy threw out the ceremonial first pitch of the postseason at Rangers Ballpark at Arlington, the site of the fall from the stands that killed his father, Shannon, while the two watched their beloved Rangers on July 7.
Accompanied by his mother, Jenny, who was not present the night of the accident, Stone threw a strike to Josh Hamilton, his favorite player, crouched halfway between the mound and the plate as the tears flowed freely in the crowd.
It was the defending MVP Hamilton who, in a completely routine occurrence, tossed a ball to Shannon Stone to give to his son on that July 7 night. Shannon Stone caught it and fell over the railing onto concrete behind the left field wall nearly 20 feet below. The Brownwood firefighter, 39, died later that night, leading to new signage and restraints at the ballpark where another fan fell 30 feet from upper deck to lower deck last year and survived.
For the Stone family, the healing, three months in the slow progressing, continued Friday.
"(The Rangers) have turned a difficult return to the ballpark into a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Cooper," said Jenny Stone. "Nothing could be more exciting for a boy than throwing out the first pitch to his favorite player."
Since the accident, Rangers president and former Astros great Nolan Ryan has been in close communication with Jenny Stone, who was initially hesitant about a day like Friday.
"She had indicated to me earlier in the summer that Cooper was wanting to come out to the game, but she wasn't ready to deal with it," Ryan said. "She felt like before the season was over that she would bring him back because she felt like that was in his best interest because this is what he was wanting to do."
And cheered on by 50,498 in red and blue, Cooper Stone had his meeting with his favorite ballplayer in one of the greatest and saddest moments of the baseball season.
After Cooper's toss, Hamilton embraced the boy, then his mother. He held her for a while, speaking words that made it tough for her to control her emotions.
"I just asked her if they were believers in Christ, and she said they were. I said, 'Well, we know where your husband is right now. Make sure that the little one knows who his daddy was and what he stood for,'" Hamilton said.
The Rangers recently announced plans to build a statue of Shannon and Cooper Stone outside the home-plate entrance as a tribute to them, and to all fans. The team hopes to unveil it by opening day next season.
Before Friday, Ryan made sure Hamilton felt comfortable with the tribute. Hamilton is a recovering substance abuser whose career nearly was derailed by his personal demons.
"I went to Josh before we decided anything and asked Josh how he felt about it, because I didn't want to put Josh in any awkward position," Ryan said.
Cooper and his family sat near the Rangers' on-deck circle, and Hamilton gladly caught the boy's eye several times. It was a nice counter to the scoreboard in a game the Rangers lost 9-0.
"Just to see the smile on his face and him enjoying himself," Hamilton said, "it was pretty special to see."
source:foxsports
