(CBS/AP) 

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers fan killed last month when he fell from the stands at Rangers Ballpark while reaching for a ball will be honored with a bronze statue at the stadium.

The Rangers announced Monday that the statue will depict Brownwood firefighter Shannon Stone and his six-year-old son Cooper at a Rangers game. The statue likely will be in place for next season outside the park’s home plate gate.

Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan said it’s a fitting tribute to honour Stone, who fell as he reached for a foul ball tossed his way by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton.

Stone’s wife, Jenny, said her family was “touched and grateful” and hoped the sculpture would be a reminder of “the importance of a family’s love — love of each other, love of spending time together and love of the game.”

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The Rangers announced in July plans to raise the height of all rails in front of the seating areas “to the highest standard in the United States at this time.” Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said around that time that all major league teams are reviewing stadium safety, following Stone’s death.

During the Home Run Derby on All-Star Weekend, a fan chasing a home run hit by Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder was saved from a long fall when his brother and a friend grabbed him around the legs and arms, then pulled him back as he dangled above the deck area behind the pool in right field at Chase Field.

The Texas Rangers will raise the height of the rails at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, the team said Tuesday, after a 39-year-old fan fell to his death while trying to catch a ball.

“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,” the team said in a statement.

As the rails are being refitted, the Rangers said they would take “interim” steps, such as posting new signs that will remind fans not to lean, sit on or stand against the rails. The team will also issue a warning prior to the start of each game via its public address system, the Rangers said.

The news comes in the wake of the death of Shannon Stone, a veteran firefighter and Rangers fan whose death prompted a national outpouring of condolences.

In the second inning of the ill-fated game on July 7, star outfielder Josh Hamilton tossed a souvenir ball into the stands after a batter hit a foul ball. Stone stuck out his glove and reached for the ball, but lost his balance and flipped over the railing of the outfield seats. He fell about 20 feet and crashed head-first into an area near a scoreboard, suffering fatal injuries.

Stone is survived by his wife, Jenny, and his young son, Cooper, who witnessed the tragic accident.

Another man fell at the stadium last year but survived. On July 6, 2010, a fan fell while trying to catch a foul ball. The man, Tyler Morris, survived the 30-foot drop but fractured his skull and injured his foot and ankle.

“The safety of our fans is our top priority,” Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan said in the statement. “The initiatives we are announcing today for Rangers Ballpark in Arlington will help to ensure that we meet that priority.”

ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers have taken the first steps toward making their ballpark safer following the death of a fan during a recent game.

The club announced Tuesday plans to raise the height of all rails in front of the seating areas “to the highest standard in the United States at this time.” It was not immediately clear how high that would be, or how soon it would be done. A news conference at the stadium was planned for later in the afternoon.

“The safety of our fans is our top priority,” Rangers president Nolan Ryan said in a news release. “The initiatives we are announcing today for Rangers Ballpark in Arlington will help to ensure that we meet that priority.”

Ryan was released Tuesday from a Houston hospital after being tested for a heart ailment.

The Rangers noted that the current height of the rails exceeds code, but there have still been several accidents.

A woman posing for a photo fell over a rail following the first regular-season game at the stadium in 1994, and last year a man trying to catch a foul ball fell over a rail on the second deck. Neither was seriously injured. However, on July 8, Shannon Stone fell headfirst over the left-field wall, dropping 20 feet onto concrete trying to catch a ball tossed by a player, and died within an hour.

Some rails were raised following the 1994 fall, but none after the 2010 incident.

Because it will take time for the rails to be changed, the club is taking some immediate steps to remind fans to be careful.

The most prominent is adding signs near the rails that read, in all capital letters, “DO NOT LEAN, SIT ON, OR STAND AGAINST RAIL.” The same warning will be made before each game over the public-address system and on the scoreboards. Plus, stadium workers will more closely monitor the rails.

The Rangers’ next home game is Friday night.

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Alexi Ogando punched his glove and bounced off the mound, punctuating the last out the right-hander would get in a nearly flawless first major league start for the Texas Rangers.

Ogando pitched six scoreless innings and Texas remained undefeated with a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night in a matchup of first-time major league starters.

“I think you’ve seen two coming stars,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “You saw well-pitched games on both sides.”

Defending American League champion Texas improved to 5-0, its best start since winning the first seven games in 1996. The Rangers are the first team in the majors to five wins — the only other undefeated teams are Baltimore (4-0) and Cincinnati (4-0).

A standout reliever last season, Ogando (1-0) allowed only two hits and struck out four, the last being Jack Cust for his final out despite a developing blister on his index finger.

Michael Pineda (0-1) struck out four and walked one in his major league debut. He gave up five hits, four of them for extra bases. None of them were home runs by the Rangers, who hit 13 balls out of the park their first four games.

“He was poised out there,” Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. “He should feel real good about it, the way he pitched, the way he controlled the game. We couldn’t have asked for a better outing.”

The 22-year-old Pineda became the first Seattle pitcher to make his major league debut in a start since Felix Hernandez on Aug. 4, 2005. Pineda, the first Mariners rookie to be in the opening day rotation since Freddy Garcia in 1999, stuck out four and walked one.

Nelson Cruz, who had homered in each of the Rangers’ first four games, drew a two-out walk in the second and scored on a standup triple by Mitch Moreland.

Josh Hamilton, the reigning AL MVP, had a run-scoring double in the sixth and scored what proved to be the deciding run on a double by Michael Young.

Center fielder Julio Borbon made a diving, runs-saving catch to end the seventh after the Mariners had already scored twice against a pair of relievers and had the bases loaded. The ball hit by Milton Bradley was slicing away from Borbon when he fully extended his body to catch it inches off the ground.

Neftali Feliz worked a perfect ninth for his second save in two chances.

Ogando is a converted outfielder who excelled out of the bullpen last season, when he was 4-1 with a 1.30 ERA in 44 appearances before pitching in five postseason games. The 27-year-old right-hander made three starts last summer for Double-A Frisco, but his other 56 minor league appearances were as a reliever.

The Rangers planned to keep Ogando in the bullpen this season, but Tommy Hunter strained his right groin the last week of spring training in Arizona — on the same day he was told he was in the starting rotation. Plus, former NL Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb isn’t ready yet in his comeback from shoulder surgery that has kept him from pitching in the majors since the 2009 opener for Arizona.

After a two-out walk to Bradley in the sixth, Ogando got a visit from pitching coaching Mike Maddux. A trainer was then summoned to check a smaller blister on Ogando’s index finger, but the hard thrower smiled and stayed in the game.

Ogando then struck out Jack Cust, and the usually stoic pitcher pounded his fist into his glove.

“I had to get the last out. … I asked them to let me finish the inning,” Ogando said. “They always ask me that question about how I look so calm on the mound. My mother, she is really calm, too quiet. Maybe I got it from her.”

Ogando was an outfielder in Oakland’s organization before being acquired by Texas in the Rule 5 draft in 2005. But he wasn’t allowed into the United States from the Dominican Republic until last year because of visa problems related to marriage fraud and a human trafficking ring involving several Dominican players.

Mark Lowe, traded with Cliff Lee from Seattle to Texas last summer, relieved Ogando to start the seventh. After getting a grounder from Justin Smoak, the first baseman the Mariners got in that deal, Lowe gave up three consecutive singles.

Jack Wilson’s RBI single made it 3-1 before 40-year-old Darren Oliver gave up an RBI single to Michael Saunders and Ichiro Suzuki reached on an error by second baseman Ian Kinsler.

NOTES: Smoak was 0 for 4, snapping a 14-game hitting streak. … New Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre is 0 for 13 since a grand slam Saturday. … Young made his first career start at first base. It came in his 1,513th career game, which pushed him Jim Sundberg for the second-most games played in team history. … Saunders badly misjudged the triple by Moreland. The center fielder ran to the warning track and leaped at the wall. Except the ball hit several feet below his glove, then ricocheted hard back into the outfield.

SURPRISE, Ariz. – Texas Rangers pitcher Omar Beltre has been diagnosed with a genetic narrowing of the spine and will have surgery next Tuesday.

Rangers assistant general manager Thad Levine says Beltre has a condition called spinal stenosis.

Levine says the Rangers don’t know of any other baseball player who has had this surgery. He says the condition is more often seen in older people and is “uncharted waters” for a professional athlete.

The 29-year-old Beltre made two starts for Texas last season. He’s been in the Rangers organization since 2000.

The former top prospect couldn’t get into the United States from the Dominican Republic for five years because of visa problems before making it to spring training last year.

Pitchers and catchers reported to spring training Wednesday for the AL champions.