Football
Associated Press 18y

Wayward seagull flies into pitched ball

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Seagulls shouldn't fly between Bisons and
Bulls.

One of the birds had the misfortune to learn that during
Sunday's Triple-A game between the Buffalo Bisons and the Durham
Bulls. The seagull was struck by a pitch, carried off the field by
a player and later flew away.

The Bisons were batting in the bottom of the 11th inning when
the seagull flew between the mound and home plate just as Durham
reliever Jason Childers released the ball.

The ball knocked the seagull to the ground. Ramon Vazquez swung
and missed, with the ball getting away from the catcher. Since it
was a third strike, Vazquez ran to first and was thrown out.

Umpires conferred on the bizarre happenings and ruled play
should have stopped as soon as the bird was hit. The bird beaning
was captured on videotape by the stadium's camera crew during the
Bisons' 3-2 loss in 16 innings.

During an exhibition game in 2001, Randy Johnson threw a pitch
for Arizona that killed a dove as it flew in front of the batter.

In 1983, Dave Winfield, then with the New York Yankees, threw a
ball that hit a seagull at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Winfield
was charged with cruelty to animals, a charge that was dropped the
next day.

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