The Arizona Diamondbacks rewarded a beekeeper who ended the delay of Tuesday’s game by letting him throw the first pitch in one of the most bizarre scenes at a baseball field.
Before the game was set to begin, the Diamondbacks announced it had been delayed due to hundreds of bees gathering on the netting behind home plate. The social media team decided to have some fun with the unorthodox delay by posting random facts about bees.
Statement from the Arizona Diamondbacks. pic.twitter.com/Yx6kxYoilr
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 1, 2024
Fun bee fact #1:
Almost 90% of wild plants and 75% of leading global crops depend on animal pollination. One out of every three mouthfuls of our food depends on pollinators such as bees. Crops that depend on pollination are five times more valuable than those that do not.
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 1, 2024
Fun bee fact #2:
Honeybees have a dance move called the ‘waggle dance’. It’s not actually a dance move at all, rather a clever way of communicating between themselves to tell their nestmates where to go to find the best source of food.
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 1, 2024
Then, roughly an hour after the announcement, a beekeeper appeared on the field. Using a scissor lift, the man ascended to the source of the delay and got to work. The crew at Chase Field elevated the moment by playing Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” as the beekeeper was working.
The most popular man at Chase Field tonight. #dbacks #beekeeper pic.twitter.com/NOG2XLty6X
— John Marshall (@jmarshallap) May 1, 2024
The man, identified as Matt Hilton of Blue Sky Pest Control, then threw out the first pitch to a very appreciative crowd.
The @Dbacks rewarded beekeeper Matt Hilton with a ceremonial first pitch!
He is pure electricity. pic.twitter.com/We6hMwOgBJ
— MLB (@MLB) May 1, 2024
During an interview, Hilton revealed that he was at his son’s game when the organization called him about the issue.
“I was actually at my son’s tee ball game,” Hilton said. “It was the last game of the season when I got the call to come out here.
“I thought I was here to just take care of a bee problem and people were pretty hyped up.”
Matt Hilton was at his son’s tee ball game when he got called in to work to remove some bees.
Just hours later he was a viral sensation and threw out a ceremonial first pitch at the @Dbacks game. 😂 pic.twitter.com/uTsmL8KAt4
— MLB (@MLB) May 1, 2024
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