Nearly two weeks after a fan fell to his death while reaching for a baseball, the Texas Rangers have decided to raise the height of railings at the Ballpark at Arlington. The team announced, "Even though all current rail heights in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington currently exceed code, the Rangers intend to raise the height of all rails in front of seating areas to the highest standard in the United States at this time."

On July 7, firefighter Shannon Stone was reaching for a ball—tossed by outfielder Josh Hamilton— for his 6-year-old son Cooper. But Stone lost his balance when trying to reach for the ball over the railing and tumbled 20 feet onto concrete, with Cooper watching. Since the stadium opened in 1994, there have been two other notable incidents of fans falling, including one from last year. The Rangers said that while the railings are raised, there will be the following safety reminders:


• New signage is being installed on the railings at the base of the aisles and in front of front row seating, which states "DO NOT LEAN, SIT ON, OR STAND AGAINST RAIL". The signage will be on the railings in front of all outfield seating from foul pole to foul pole and on all upper level seating, including the two suite levels.


• A pre-game warning with the same information will be made prior to the start of each game over the Ballpark's public address system and on the scoreboards.


• Security and Customer Service staff will enforce this policy with guests seated near the rails.

Before his team lost the World Series yesterday, Texas Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg bitched about Yankees fans during the ALCS, telling KESN, "I thought Yankee fans, frankly, were awful. They were either violent or apathetic, neither of which is good. So I thought Yankee fans were by far the worst of any I’ve seen in the postseason. I thought they were an embarrassment." more ›

Now that the Yankees have swept Minnesota, they will have to wait until tomorrow night to find out whether they will be facing the Texas Rangers or the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship series, set to begin Friday evening. The Rays were down 0-2 in the series before bouncing back to win two in a row and even the playing field with Texas, and now the Rays will be facing them for the tie-breaker on their home turf. (Cue DJ Kitty!) more ›

Last night, the Mets' game against the Texas Rangers was rained out due to the storm. However, the faithful--those Mets fans who stuck around while waiting to see if the game would be just be delayed--got a treat when some Rangers players decided to turn the tarp on the field at Shea Stadium into a wonderful Slip 'N Slide. more ›

It looks like Alex Rodriguez is set to come back as a member of the New York Yankees...and for less money than what they were rumored to be offering before. The former Yankees 3rd baseman is reportedly hammering out a 10-year, $275 million contract with the Yankees. Sources tell the Daily News that a deal could actually be worked out in the next 24-28 hours. So much for the 10-year, $350 million offer the Yankees... more ›

The news that Stephon Marbury is heading back to the Knicks may be only the second-biggest reconciliation in New York sports this week. There are reports that Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees are talking again and discussing what it would take to bring Rodriguez back to the Yankees. Apparently stung by the reaction to the timing of his opt-out, A-Rod has approached the Yankees and at least discussed the possibility of a new deal. The... more ›

An ESPN report yesterday cited sources that say the Yankees are ready to offer Alex Rodriguez a record contract extension. The offer for the Yankees third baseman would be an extension in the range of five years and $30 million a year. Rodriguez is currently signed with the Yankees through the end of the 2010 season at $27 million a year, but can opt-out of his contract in the 10 days following the World Series,... more ›

It was apparent early that Chien-Ming Wang didn’t have it. He was giving up flyballs, always a sign of trouble for him, and missing his spots. Despite that, he could have escaped the initial damage if his defense had helped him out. Bobby Abreu made two bad plays in the outfield and Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez couldn’t complete a rundown. Suddenly, it was 4-1 and things got worse after that. more ›

Perhaps the best news so far this off-season for the Yankees is the hiring of Lou Piniella by the Chicago Cubs. While that has no direct consequence on the Yankees right now, there are reports that Piniella wants the Cubbies to "aggressively pursue" the beleaguered Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. While A-Rod has a no trade clause and says he wants to remain with the Yankees, moving to the Cubs (who are accustomed to losing), would put Rodriguez in a less pressure laden situation for the $25-million man. Plus moving to the friendly confines of Wrigley would help the future hall of framer's numbers and Rodriguez could probably move back to shortstop. more ›

Could a "World" Baseball Classic really be called that without one of the world's best baseball nations? Probably not, which is why it's great to hear that Cuba will be playing in the inaugural WBC. President Bush, former owner of the Texas Rangers, stepped in to help solve the issue. Each team that plays in the tournament is guaranteed 1% of the net profit with escalating amounts as they advance and any winnings Cuba would receive would be in violation of a U.S. trade embargo. Any proceeds that Cuba would get is going to be donated to Katrina victims directly by Major League Baseball. Gothamist wonders what the over/under is on Cuban defections during the tournament. The Times notes that the Cubans travel with extra security (more security than players!) to international games to prevent defections. Is there a Vegas line on this? We're going to go with ± 3.5. more ›

The game wasn’t all good news for the Yankees. Both Ruben Sierra and Bernie Williams had to leave with injuries and while Williams’ injury appears to be minor, Sierra could be out for an indefinite period of time. The Yankees have already sent Tanyon Sturtze to the disabled list this week and will hope to avoid having to sending another player. more ›

Orlando Hernandez looks flat-out amazing these days. He may be the best pitcher on the Yankees pitching staff and right now is the only one that you can count on for a solid start. Last night Hernandez took his record to 5-0 with a 5-1 win over the hard-hitting Texas Rangers. more ›

Kevin Brown returned to the place where he broke in to the major leagues, but he was not welcomed back kindly. The Texas Rangers tagged him for five runs (four earned) in only five innings. Hopefully it was just a poor outing and not a step back for Kevin Brown. Brown's counterpart, Ryan Drese, managed to hold the Yankees to five hits over seven innings and zero runs. The Rangers held on for a 7-1 victory. more ›

The Yankees edged the Texas Rangers 2-1 yesterday behind eight-plus innings from Mike Mussina to increase their lead in the AL East to 2 1/2 games over the Red Sox. "Everything went right," Mussina conceded. "I can't complain about much of anything." The Yanks have now won 11 of 13. Mariano Rivera allowed one run and surrendered back-to-back two-out singles in the ninth before earning his 23rd save. more ›

Soriano still follows the Yankees and talks with his old friends, Derek Jeter and Jose Contraras. He also revealed that he was married last July, but kept it private fearing the New York media. Despite the fact that Soriano has played well in Texas, a Rangers official told The Times that he isn't untouchable. One team rumored to have hopes of acquiring Soriano is the Mets, which would mean Soriano could have some rice and beans again. more ›

Number 13: Rodriguez at his first Yankee's press conference. And his player page is up already at the Yankees' website. more ›