Why did a bird fly in during a scoring opportunity? The bird survived, but Lee Jung-hoo could not capitalize on the chance and was left disappointed.
Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) started as the sixth center fielder in the home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, held on the 13th (Korea time), recording 3 at-bats with 0 hits and 1 walk.
Lee Jung-hoo, who struggled against the Dodgers' mound, also faced an unexpected "special guest." It was a scoring opportunity with runners on first and second base and one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, trailing 0-1.
As Lee Jung-hoo stepped up to the plate and awaited the first pitch from Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan, he was suddenly attacked by a pigeon. The pigeon swooped quickly near Lee Jung-hoo's head, and he ducked to avoid it, startled and stepping out of the batter's box. The umpire was equally surprised and called a timeout.
Cameras captured the confused pigeon after landing on the Oracle Park ground, and local broadcasters remarked, "Is that a bird? I've never seen such a scene. It's amazing that the bird is a fan of Lee Jung-hoo."
After regaining his composure, Lee Jung-hoo swung at a 96.5 mph (155 km/h) four-seam fastball from Sheehan that was down the middle, but he popped out to center field and failed to capitalize on the opportunity.
The American San Francisco local media outlet SFGATE noted, "The bird had a sufficient presence to disrupt the flow of the game between Lee Jung-hoo and the San Francisco Giants with two runners on base."
Meanwhile, a well-known incident involving a pigeon in Major League Baseball occurred in 2001 when Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks struck a flying pigeon with a fastball traveling at 160 km/h, killing it instantly. SFGATE reported, "Lee Jung-hoo avoided the bird at the plate, and fortunately, today's bird survived."
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