Fowl ball: KC Royals’ Michael Massey hits unlucky bird during BP in Pittsburgh
It’s always a good idea to arrive early to a baseball game. You never know what you might see.
On Friday, Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey created a scene during batting practice at PNC Park:
He hit a flying bird with a line drive during his BP session at the plate.
Players nearby were astonished by the moment. There was a pause as the Pirates’ grounds crew picked up and removed the bird from the infield.
Massey dropped to one knee, visibly taken aback by the sequence.
“I was kind of freaking out,” Massey said. “It came out of nowhere. I didn’t really have a reaction, but I wasn’t happy about it. I hit a line drive and it caught him pretty square. It kind of nosedived and it was kind of crazy. I don’t know how else to describe it.”
After a few minutes, Massey continued his batting session. A bit later, as he walked off the field, he mentioned that it was his “Randy Johnson moment.”
In 2001, Johnson famously hit a flying bird during a spring training game in Arizona. He threw an electric fastball that sent the bird, and feathers, flying.
Johnson’s viral scene has been watched countless times in the years since.
In 2016, the Royals were a part of another bird incident (near-bird incident?) when second baseman Cheslor Cuthbert fouled off an offering from St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright.
Wainwright’s pitch came perilously close to clipping an incoming bird near home plate. However, the bird got out of the way just in time.
It’s extremely rare for a batted or thrown baseball to hit a bird. Now, Massey can add his name to this list of baseball oddities.
“I don’t think anyone will ever do that again in batting practice for us,” Massey said.
This story was originally published September 13, 2024 at 7:09 PM.
