Duck delay at Double-A! This gives fowl territory a whole new meaning
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There are a lot of birds in baseball.
In the big leagues, we have Cardinals, Orioles and Blue Jays. In the Minors, some lesser-known species inhabit the ballparks like Loons and Sky Carp. But when a pair of ducks interrupted Saturday’s Double-A Springfield game at Hammons Field, they made a statement. Should ducks have more baseball representation? (There's the RubberDucks in Akron, and let's face it, they're more a bath toy than a proper member of the feathered family.)
The Cardinals were at bat in the fourth inning against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and down 4-0. They had two runners on when the ducks, in what was clearly an act of sabotage against their more popular avian cousins, interrupted play. The couple -- a regular Bonnie and Clyde -- split up to cause maximum chaos. While the male continued on a straight path down the third-base line, the female resorted to intimidation tactics, quacking into the Springfield dugout.
When the grounds crew emerged to restore order, the male duck shouted a few more words of protest and departed in peace. The female, on the other hand, made a leisurely lap around the outfield, evading her pursuers at every turn.
In the end, the plan worked perfectly. The Cardinals were stranded at their respective bases, and the Naturals led off the following inning with a home run. But in the words of Daffy, “Oh, sure! Blame it on the duck!”