The Arizona Diamondbacks’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers is delayed due to a colony of bees swarming behind home plate, forcing the seats to be evacuated.
- The game was delayed over 90 minutes to get rid of the bee colony
- Beekeeper received public acclaim after colony removed
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The start of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers was delayed due to a colony of bees swarming behind home plate, forcing seats in a few sections to be evacuated.
The match was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. local time in Phoenix, with a delay of more than 90 minutes to allow the bees to be removed from the field of play.
The delay also caused the Diamondbacks to change starting pitchers for Tuesday’s game. Jordan Montgomery was replaced by Brandon Hughes.
Several spring training games have been delayed due to bee swarms, particularly in Arizona where temperatures are extremely hot.
Chase Field has a retractable roof, but it was open Tuesday night, allowing bees in.
Swarm of bees sat behind home plate in the net to catch foul balls in Phoenix
All seating sections near the bees have been temporarily evacuated so they can be removed.
Players waited over 90 minutes to start the match, including Shohei Ohtani
Finally, a beekeeper was lifted up to the pole 30 feet above the ground where the swarm was located. It pulverized and sucked them out of sight.
Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” played over the speakers at Chase Field as mosquito spray was deployed.
Once the colony was no longer on the playing field, the beekeeper was brought down to field level and pumped up the crowd. He received a huge ovation from those present Tuesday evening.
During this time, the Diamondbacks’ official X account posted several facts about bees.
“Nearly 90% of wild plants and 75% of the world’s major crops depend on animal pollination. One in three bites of our food depends on pollinators like bees. Crops that depend on pollination are five times more valuable than those that do not depend on pollination,” one of the bee facts reads.
The Mariners’ official account responded with its own facts in a 4,776 word post.
The game officially started at 8:36 p.m. local time.
