Buzz Buzz
The MLB is used to animals in its stadiums - Cubs, Bluejays, and Diamondbacks (oh my!), but at Chase Field on April 30 baseball fans felt a different kind of buzz. That's right, on Tuesday night a large colony of bees kept the Diamondbacks from facing off against the Dodgers for nearly two hours. Thankfully, a brave beekeeper jumped to action so both teams could play ball.
On Tuesday night, directly behind home plate, a large colony of bees set up shop on top of the protective netting that keeps fans from getting beaned by a foul ball. The swarm pushed the first pitch back by nearly two hours, from 6:45 PM to 8:35 PM.
Blame The Roof
The Diamondback social media crew alerted fans to the setback, noting that the bees likely entered through the retractable roof of Chase Field giving the insects free rein over the stadium.
Holding Out For A Hero
Beekeeper Matt Hilton became a local hero when he was sent out to remove the bee colony. At the time of the game he was at the last T-Ball game of his son’s season when he received a call for help. A quick 45 minutes later he was in downtown Phoenix and ready to rock. Entering the stadium to Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero,” Hilton got to work and safely removed the bees with a special vacuum.
MVP
Once Hilton was finished he was not only surrounded by chants of “MVP” from the crowd, but he was given the chance to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Not bad work if you can get it. He later told AP:
I thought I was just going to do my thing and cruise out, but it was fun because of the thousands of people cheering for you. It was a little nerve-wracking – I’m not going to lie – a lot of pressure to get this game going.
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