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Feb 6, 2021 · In a spring training game in March 24, 2001, a dove flew by home plate and was hit by Johnson’s screaming fastball, causing an explosion.
- 27 sec
- 1M
- Wyatt Sexton
- Did The Bird Die?
- How Fast Was The Pitch?
- Was It A Strike?
- Who Was The batter?
- What Did They Do with The Bird?
- What Did Randy Johnson Think of It?
- Is This The First Time A Bird Was Killed During A Baseball game?
Unfortunately, yes. Video shows feathers falling off the bird, which was likely a mourning dove, as it falls to the ground. Rod Barajas, the catcher at the time, said "all you see is an explosion."
In order to determine the speed of a pitch, the ball needs to reach home plate. Since the bird was hit before the catcher got the ball, there was never a confirmed speed. However, Cronkite News in Arizonaestimated the fastball was around 100 mph.
The pitch was neither a strike nor a ball. There is no rule that states what happens if an animal happens to get in the way of a pitch, so the umpire crew decided to call it a no-pitch because it didn't reach the plate, essentially meaning the pitch never statistically happened.
Not widely known, but the Giants batter was Calvin Murray. He played five seasons in the MLB. You may know his nephew: Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.
After the players realized what had happened, Giants second baseman Jeff Kent went on the field and picked up the bird with his bare hands and pointed it toward Johnson while smiling. He took it back to the dugout, but it is unknown what happened afterward. A grounds crew member then picked and cleaned up the feathers that were on the field.
Johnson wasn't amused with Kent's joke, telling ESPN, "I didn't think it was all that funny." When describing what happened in an interview with Fox Sports Arizona in 2016, Johnson said it was "a blur." "It’s just hard to really put that into perspective. It happened so quick," he said. It seems that Johnson has lightened up about the incident over...
There are more birds that have fallen victim to baseball. ESPN saidformer Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield killed a seagull on a warm-up throw on Aug. 4, 1983 in Toronto. The incident was so serious, Ontario police arrested Winfield after the game and charged him with animal cruelty, but charges were later dropped. It's happened in the minors too. I...
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- 25
- Jordan Mendoza
Jun 10, 2018 · MLB pitcher Randy Johnson once made a bird explode with his fastball.» Subscribe to NowThis: http://go.nowth.is/News_SubscribeConnect with NowThis» Like us o...
- 2 min
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- NowThis Impact
Classic Sports Moment: Randy Johnson Kills A Bird. March 24th 2001 in a spring training game Randy Johnson hit a bird with a pitch and it evaporated. Check out our classic moment in sports...
- 43 sec
- 18K
- THE CBR SHOW
Mar 24, 2021 · On March 24, 2001, Randy Johnson struck a mourning dove with a fastball in a baseball game. Learn about the odds, the reaction, the aftermath and the legacy of this iconic moment.
- Greg Gottfried
Mar 23, 2021 · The story of Randy Johnson and the bird might have ended there. If you weren’t among the roughly 10,000 in attendance, it was something you read about in the paper.
Mar 26, 2023 · Arizona Diamondbacks' star pitcher Randy Johnson made a special kind of MLB history on a warm March day 22 years ago today. He hit a bird with a pitch.
