Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen threw a warmup toss on Wednesday in Oakland that accidentally struck and killed a bird.
Gallen was warming up in the outfield prior to the Diamondbacks’ 5-3 win over the Athletics when his curveball connected with a bird. Bally Sports Arizona’s television crew caught the moment on video and aired it during the broadcast.
Zac Gallen has joined Randy Johnson in the exclusive club of…
…hitting a bird with a pitch pic.twitter.com/7E8SuITbbh
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) May 17, 2023
The unfortunate occurrence puts Gallen in the company of two Hall of Famers, Randy Johnson and Dave Winfield.
Johnson was playing for the Diamondbacks during a spring training game in 2001 when a bird flew just in front of home plate and was struck by a pitch.
Police got involved when Winfield, then playing for the New York Yankees, fired a warmup toss in August 1983 that killed a seagull in Toronto. Winfield was charged with animal cruelty and wound up at a Toronto police station, but the charges were later dropped.
–Field Level Media
