March 24, 2001: Randy Johnson Bird Killer

On March 24, 2001, Randy Johnson drilled a bird, that exploded on contact, while pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks in a Spring Training game against the San Francisco Giants. It was a freak accident that would be remembered forever especially since it was caught on film.  The bird's family could not be reached for comment.

Johnson will always be remembered for his dominance on the hill. He was a 10 time all star, 5 time Cy Young award winner who pitched a no hitter and a perfect game in his career. The Diamondbacks went onto win the World Series that season and Johnson was named the MVP of the series. He put together a remarkable career. The incident with the bird was something to be remembered but it definitely didn't have any long lasting impact on Johnson or his team.

Unfortunately the bird community still insists on trying to interfere in baseball games and it is only matter of time until another one is caught by a low hanging fastball. I know that I have made light of this incident and when it comes down to it I sort of find it funny. The chances of something like this happening have to be one in a million and unfortunately he was that one bird in a million.

Here is a video of the incident with a little skit afterwards. I almost fell out of my chair.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwpRHrAh3pk