TUCSON, Ariz. – A swarm of bees invaded the field on Thursday and forced a game between the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks to be called after five innings.
The bees literally chased Rockies pitcher Darren Oliver from the mound. He kept trying to go back on the mound, but the bees would go after him again.
Finally, he left for good and let another pitcher complete the inning.
“I love this game,” Oliver said, “but I like myself a little bit more.”
Oliver said the bees apparently were attracted to the coconut oil in his hair gel.
“It was kind of funny at first, but after awhile I started getting a little nervous and scared out there,” he said.
The Diamondbacks took the field in the sixth, but by then the bees had spread out all over the field, and play was not resumed. Arizona beat the Rockies 3-1 in five innings.
Joe Garagiola Sr., attending the game with his son, Diamondbacks general manager Joe Garagiola Jr., said he had never seen anything like it.
“And I go back to 1942,” the elder Garagiola said.
Bonds heads back to San Francisco for rehab
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – A mental break away from everybody might be just what Barry Bonds needs right now.
Exhausted and testy, the San Francisco slugger returned to the Bay Area on Thursday to continue rehabilitating his surgically repaired right knee because the Giants believe SBC Park is better suited for him than the team’s spring complex.
There is no timetable for Bonds’ return.
The seven-time NL MVP said Tuesday he could miss half or all this season while recovering from the surgery, though the Giants are hoping he’ll be coming back sooner.
“Anybody who thinks Barry Bonds is going to quit doesn’t know Barry Bonds. There’s no way,” trainer Stan Conte said. “When somebody has a second surgery, it’s a little discouraging. And that’s called being a human being.”
Bonds, who has had two operations on his right knee in the last two months and also had surgery on his left knee in October, flew back to San Francisco with assistant trainer Dave Groeschner.
Bonds, at the center of the steroids scandal, said earlier this spring it was frustrating not to be with his teammates and on their schedule. On Tuesday, he blamed media scrutiny for his problems.
Bonds is third on the career home run list with 703, trailing only Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755).
Millions tuned in for steroids testimony
NEW YORK – More than 1 million households tuned in last week to watch baseball players testify about steroids to Congress.
When players testified from 4-6 p.m. EST during the March 17 hearing, an average of 624,000 households were watching the hearing on Fox News, 526,000 on CNN and 166,000 on ESPN News, according to Nielsen Media Research.
C-Span, which also televised the hearing on one of its networks, said it does not get ratings.
AP-ES-03-24-05 1703EST
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