Wrong place, wrong time.
Can you still say “the stars aligned” if something bad happens? This innocent bird had a lot of things line up for it, but not in a good way.
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen was doing a side session with a pitching coach and did the unthinkable. As he was practicing his curveball, a thrown pitch struck a bird in mid-air, killing it instantly.
If a baseball pitcher hitting a bird with a pitch sounds familiar to you, you’re probably familiar with the video of Randy Johnson nailing a big ol’ bird during a pitch in a live game.
At least the bird that Gallen hit was just off to the side in a practice. Johnson sent a white bird into oblivion in a puff of white feathers during a broadcasted game with thousands of people in the stands.
And here’s the greatest part about this story, if it is indeed possible to find a silver lining in this poor bird’s death: Both Zac Gallen and Randy Johnson were pitching for the Diamondbacks when they struck and killed birds with pitches.
Is it too soon to make a “Two Birds, One Team” joke? Also, for those keeping score at home:
Arizona Diamondbacks – 2, Birds – 0
The video just so happened to get caught by Bally Sports Arizona, who ended up posting the clip onto their social media along with some commentary.
The announcer in the video, which is put into slow motion towards the end so you can really see the bird take the baseball to the chest, states:
“Zac Gallen was…well he couldn’t wait to tell everybody as he made his way back from throwing a side session here because he hit a bird.
I’m an animal lover, so this hurts me, but in the spirit of Randy Johnson, I think you know where we are going with this, the bird is no longer with us.
I know Zac Gallen took some time to recognize that, but he hit it with a curveball, mid-air, mid-flight, and our cameras caught it.”
Rest in Peace Diamondbacks bird (again).
Even the announcer called back to the legendary clip of Randy Johnson obliterating a bird with a fast ball. The one that Zac Gallen took out was substantially smaller than the behemoth that Johnson took down.
If you haven’t seen the video yet, watch as the bird literally goes *poof* and the crowd reacts in a mixture of horror and amazement:
The quote tweets and comments on the video from Bally Sports Arizona were flying in (no pun intended), and I have to say that a couple of them made me laugh out loud:
— SU Baseball Stats (@SUBaseballStats) May 17, 2023
