This isn't the first time an such an incident occured. As ESPN remembered, there was this from twenty-five years ago:
On August 4, 1983, Dave Winfield and the Yankees were playing against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Winfield had a great game, driving in two runs as the Yankees won 3-1. Unfortunately, he was arrested after the game. In the middle of the fifth, Winfield finished his warmups and tossed the ball to a batboy. The ball hit a seagull on the head, killing the bird, and Winfield was charged with cruelty to animals.
"They say he hit the gull on purpose," said Yanks manager Billy Martin "They wouldn't say that if they'd seen the throws he'd been making all year. It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man."
Although accidental, Randy Johnson set the standard for taking out a bird: [External Link]
Posted at 2008-03-09 17:08:43 [PermaLink]