Zac Gallen Accidentally Killed a Bird During Warm-Ups

Zac Gallen Accidentally Killed a Bird During Warm-Ups

Something about Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers and birds. Yesterday afternoon, D-backs ace Zac Gallen was getting some work in before Arizona’s road matchup against the Oakland Athletics. As he tossed a curveball, a bird flew into the crossfire and was struck. Unfortunately, it did not survive.

You can’t be an all-time Dbacks pitching legend unless you kill a bird with a baseball, unfortunately. That’s just the initiation process. Welcome to the club, Zac Gallen. pic.twitter.com/B9dRkFkOq1

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) May 17, 2023

This isn’t a new occurrence for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Back in 2001, now-Hall of Famer Randy Johnson absolutely obliterated a bird with a pitch during a spring training game. Look away, PETA.

This day in baseball history:
2001 Randy Johnson hits a dove and instantly kills it in a Spring Training game vs. the Giants. #bird #randyjohnson #MLB #killed pic.twitter.com/U0U9p6st31

— Alex Kielar (@AlexKTDT) March 24, 2020

Sheesh. This event became entrenched in baseball lore. The bird would eventually be featured in the logo for Johnson’s photography business.

Zac Gallen has also seemingly been channeling Randy Johnson in his performance on the mound this season. He is currently among the favorites to bring home the 2023 NL Cy Young Award. Johnson won his third Cy Young Award the same year he killed a bird – it would certainly be an interesting parallel if Gallen were to win it this year.

The D-backs also managed to win the World Series over the New York Yankees in 2001 after Johnson’s incident. Possessing a 25-19 record so far in 2023, Arizona is second in the NL West and in playoff position atop the NL Wild Card standings. If striking a bird with a baseball turns out to be some sort of omen for postseason success, Arizona at +8000 might be worth throwing a couple bucks on.

Gallen’s last start was May 13 vs. San Francisco. He went 7.2 innings, surrendering five hits and two runs while striking out six. So far in 2023, Gallen is 6-1 with a 2.35 ERA and 70 strikeouts over 57.1 innings pitched. He leads the National League with a 0.855 WHIP.

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