Recall: The Baseball Game Where Randy Johnson Hits Bird With Pitch

Remember when pitcher Randy Johnson hit that bird with his pitch? It was surely the most freakish incident caught on camera in baseball history; let's revisit this insane incident.

To add another layer of irony to the strangeness of the situation, the incident took place during a Spring Training game on March 24, 2001. That afternoon, Johnson's Arizona Diamondbacks were playing the San Francisco Giants in Tucson, Arizona.

It was a very typical preseason fixture, with fans coming to enjoy the atmosphere of the park as much as the game itself. When Randy Johnson first took the mound, fans never expected that such a strange event would ever take place.

"Pour one out for the bird. 21 years ago, Randy Johnson did this." - @ Arizona Diamondbacks

As Randy Johnson set himself up to throw the first pitch of the seventh inning, an oblivious bird whizzed directly across Johnson's line of sight. Unfortunately, for the poor bird, it was too late. Johnson's pitch clobbered it, igniting a flurry of feathers and killing the poor bird, who lay lifeless on the infield grass.

Most fans in the stands did not even register what had taken place, as the incident had happened at lightning speed. Only some fans positioned directly behind home plate were able to see what had transpired, and their mouths lay agape.

"A remake of The Birds that ends with the deus ex machina of Randy Johnson showing up with a sack full of baseballs" - @ Wyld Eyetalian Stallyn

The ball itself was called neither a strike nor a ball. The batter, Calvin Murray, was just as astonished as everyone else who was able to witness the disturbing event. Speaking after the incident, Johnson was quoted as saying: "It’s just hard to really put that into perspective. It happened so quick," he continued, explaining that he did not feel good about it.

Weirdest pitch of Randy Johnson's career lives on

Johnson is known for his hard fastballs, which were regularly over 100 miles per hour. The video has garnered over 5 million views to date on YouTube.

If any probability enthusiats happen to be reading this, perhaps they could figure out the exact odds, but they must be miniscule. Perhaps the bird was a sort of message in disguise. Johnson and the Arizona Diamondbacks would go on to win the World Series that year, conquering the New York Yankees in seven games.