Fowl play: Two birds killed in separate Major League Baseball-related incidents

It’s been a rough week for birds who enjoy a good game of baseball. You might even call it fowl play.

Not one, but two birds tragically (and against very slim odds) lost their lives at the bad end of a fast-moving baseball.

Most recently, it was a line drive by Cleveland Guardians outfielder Will Brennan. And it’s tough to spot, even on camera. Thanks to Twitter user @cjzero, we have an edited version of the live play that shows exactly what happened. And just in case you’re not convinced, the game had to stop momentarily for the grounds crewman to come out and scoop our poor feathered friend from the field.

While Brennan was in good spirits about the assassination, he didn’t want to ruffle any feathers and later tweeted an apology, saying, “I truly am sorry @peta and bird enthusiasts. An unfortunate sacrifice.”

The next day, Brennan hit a home run and honored what he now calls “a fallen hero” with a hand gesture. The Guardians shared a clip on their Twitter account.

In a strange twist of fate, a similar incident occurred just last week but with pitcher Zac Gallen for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Gallen was warming up in the outfield of the Oakland Coliseum, when an eagle-eyed camera caught a curveball clip a bird. The bird did not survive.

Brennan and Gallen join a very short list of baseball players who have had unintentional altercations with birds on the field. Perhaps the most famous was Arizona Diamondbacks legend Randy Johnson, who hit a bird during a Spring Training game in 2001 and it exploded in a flurry of feathers.

There are at least two other documented incidents involving birds.

First, then-Cleveland Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo earned a walkoff single when his ball hit a seagull among a flock of birds in the outfield. The bird shook it off and flew on its merry way, but the ball got past Kansas City Royals outfielder Coco Crisp, allowing the winning run to score. At least the bird survived.

And finally, Dave Winfield of the 1983 New York Yankees accidentally hit an unfortunate seagull with a warm-up pitch. The bird did not survive, and Winfield had to report to a local police station because of it. Animal cruelty charges were short-lived, but eventually dropped.