Cleveland Guardians rookie outfielder Will Brennan has issued an apology after his line-drive single in Monday’s 3-0 win over the White Sox struck and killed a bird in the infield. Following the game, Brennan tweeted:
“I truly am sorry @peta and bird enthusiasts. An unfortunate sacrifice.”
Here’s the fatal play in question:
The ball left Brennan’s bat at 100.1 mph, which suffice it to say left the bird with little chance of surviving the impact. As the Guardians’ tweet above notes, this isn’t an isolated incident.
Less than a week earlier, Diamondbacks hurler Zac Galllen struck and killed a bird with a pre-game warm-up pitch in Oakland. The most iconic of all such phenomena is of course Randy Johnson’s 2001 pitch during an exhibition game that incinerated a passing bird.
As for the 25-year-old Brennan, he’s now slashing .210/.250/.276 on the season with one home run and four stolen bases and an average of one dead bird per 22 hits.
Brennan’s Guardians are 21-26 and in third place in the American League Central. After the White Sox series concludes on Wednesday, Brennan and the Guards will play six straight against the Cardinals and Orioles — i.e., revenge-minded teams with bird names.
