Baseball game postponed for hours due to bee nest, beekeeper steals the show

NOS Sports•today, 08:29

Fans and players had to wait nearly two hours Tuesday evening for the baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers to start, but when it did, all eyes were on one special attendee, beekeeper Matt Hilton.

Just before the Major League Baseball (MLB) game, a large bee’s nest had emerged above home plate. Within no time, thousands of bees had gathered above the spot where the batters, catchers and umpires had to take their seats.

See how Hilton removed the bee’s nest in the X-post below:

Hilton himself was at his son’s baseball game when he received a phone call. “From the minor league to the big league,” Hilton said after the game. “Pretty cool.”

About an hour after the game’s scheduled start, Hilton was wheeled onto the field in a golf cart to loud cheers. When he put on his beekeeping gear and waved to the crowd, the crowd went even louder.

He removed the nest with special equipment and after a fist in the air from Hilton, the beekeeper received an ovation of applause for his services.

It is not the first time that a sporting event in the United States has been plagued by a bee swarm. Last month, tennis players Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev had to flee when a swarm of bees entered the court during their match in Indian Wells.

That match was stopped for about two hours to remove the bees.

When that also happened last night in the game between the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers and there was still a half-hour wait to ensure that play could take place, Hilton was allowed to play again.

As a thank you for his performance, he was allowed to throw the first pitch to start the game.

See how Hilton threw the first pitch in the X-message below:

“I thought I was going to do my thing and walk outside again,” said the beekeeper. “But it was a lot of fun with all those people cheering for me.”

“It was nerve-wracking,” Hilton said of the moment he threw the first pitch, still in his beekeeping gear, of course. “There was a lot of pressure to get the game going.”