A baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers was delayed for almost two hours due to a swarm of bees on the protective netting behind home plate at Chase Field on Tuesday night.
A swarm of bees has delayed the Dodgers-Dbacks game pic.twitter.com/eKk01ZGhOk
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 1, 2024
🐝 bees at the ballpark. The #Dbacks vs #Dodgers game is delayed due to bees on the foul ball screen. pic.twitter.com/NBeaRUvedz
— Mark McClune (@MarkMcClune) May 1, 2024
The entire section behind home plate had to be cleared for safety reasons while a professional beekeeper was called to remove the beehive. The game, which was scheduled to start at 6:40 p.m. local time, was rescheduled for 8:35 p.m. because of the delay.
The Diamondbacks-Dodgers game is in a delay due to a bee swarm along the netting behind home plate. pic.twitter.com/AKuVon2Zmo
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) May 1, 2024
Due to the lengthy delay, the Diamondbacks had to switch their starting pitcher from Jordan Montgomery to Brandon Hughes. Bee delays are not uncommon in baseball, particularly in the Southwest, and all MLB can do is wait for the bees to be cleared before the game can continue.
The Dodgers entered the game with a 19-12 record, leading the NL West, while the Diamondbacks had a 13-17 record.
After approximately 20 minutes, a scissor lift was brought out and a beekeeper arrived at the stadium around 70 minutes after the scheduled first pitch.
The beekeeper pumped up the crowd as he rode in on a cart, suited up, and tackled the swarm with spray and a shop vac to remove the bees.
I CAN BEE YOUR HERO BABY. pic.twitter.com/1wkMHbdc5u
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 1, 2024
Vacuum victory! pic.twitter.com/lHcjlZORjm
— Nick King (@NickKingSports) May 1, 2024
The delay lasted nearly 90 minutes, and the players were given 30 minutes to warm up again before the game started. This delay caused the Diamondbacks to change their starting pitcher.
The Bee Guy throwing out ceremonial first pitch pic.twitter.com/bLzWOtbZhU
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 1, 2024
Bee swarms are common in Arizona during the spring and have caused delays in spring training games in previous years. The presence of a retractable roof at Chase Field did not prevent the bees from forming a swarm during the game.
The delay added an unexpected twist to the matchup between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, which started with the Dodgers winning in unusual fashion.
The game was delayed for 18 minutes in a previous incident in May 2019 between the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants due to a bee swarm.
A bee swarm delayed the start of a baseball game between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks at Chase Field. The swarm created safety concerns, leading to the evacuation of the section behind home plate and the involvement of a professional beekeeper to remove the bees.
The delay lasted approximately two hours, causing a change in the starting pitcher for the Diamondbacks. Bee delays are not unheard of in baseball, especially in warm climates, and similar incidents have occurred in the past.
Despite the delay, the game eventually began, and the Diamondbacks fell to the Dodgers.
Fans reacted as follows:
Just grab the queen and move her.. I’ve seen it done on TikTok.
— Phillip Slaton (@phillipslaton) May 1, 2024
I bet no one saw this coming
— Bryan (@bryankiwi12345) May 1, 2024
the need one of those smoke throwers bee keepers use
— gnarlygale (@gnarlygale) May 1, 2024
@chizel3d lmfao didn’t have this on my MLB bingo card for this season
— Ryan Gerstel (@TheRyanGerstel) May 1, 2024
Slap an LA logo and DBack logo on some bee keeper suits and tough it out
— 💤 (@WinTheDays) May 1, 2024
they STILL havent started yet??? GET A BLOW TORCH AND SOME RAID!!!!
— matt s (@realmattbookie1) May 1, 2024
A bee delay w @Dbacks and @Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/P6aWguvfET
— Todd Walsh (@ToddWalsh) May 1, 2024
Beekeeper descends from the hive to chants of MVP MVP from the @Dbacks crowd. pic.twitter.com/18o8B8JD0c
— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) May 1, 2024
Someone getting fired for not noticing that sooner.
— Daniel Herrera (@DANYO_SON) May 1, 2024
How does nobody notice that thing growing before the game started lol??
— Zam (@lZamX) May 1, 2024
Hopefully he was using soap and water and not spraying chemical all over the place 🤪
— AZLFE (@WiZZelS1) May 1, 2024
Did they call a guy, or was this an on staff member?
— Ben Everard (@beneverard) May 1, 2024
Bet that stadium is buzzing with excitement.
— Matt Mead (@whodamoose) May 1, 2024
What, do they have bee vacuum dudes on standby?
— Richard Ozenbaugh (@TheOzenbaugh) May 1, 2024
Good entertainment no doubt!
— Fitzwell🇺🇸💯 (@frankfitzwell) May 1, 2024
