The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs entered their Monday night game with a combined 51 wins, offering little expectations for excitement and highlights. But a nomadic squirrel had other ideas, sparking roars from the crowd and the broadcast.
During the bottom half of the second inning, the bushy-tailed creature made its way into the outfield, catching the attention of the Pirates’ broadcast on AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh, along with nearly every person inside Pittsburgh’s PNC Park.
This squirrel has come into PNC park and caused an absolute ruckus. The Pirates booth is fascinated with it! pic.twitter.com/WiYKup5s67
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 20, 2022
Initially, play-by-play voice Greg Brown was confused as to why the crowd was getting hyped for a 2-1 pitch in the second inning of a scoreless game. But then he saw the furry animal scurrying about the field. Pirates rookie shortstop Oneil Cruz dazzled fans after getting called up to the majors Monday night, but even he was overshadowed by the rogue squirrel.
“Ahh, the crowd is cheering the squirrel,” Brown noted.
“Now where’s this squirrel live?” analyst Bob Walk asked, seemingly befuddled by the situation. “There’s no trees out here.”
On a night where weather was not an issue, the grounds crew likely expected a relaxing day of work, but their job description quickly changed as the squirrel entered the game. A bucket, two nets and three grounds crew members weren’t enough as they chased the squirrel around the field, unsuccessful in their attempts at catching it.
“Get the hammer, Russ!” Brown joked, quoting Clark Griswold from Christmas Vacation. “SQUIRREL!”
Eventually, the squirrel made its way into the visiting bullpen, allowing play to resume and the groundskeepers to catch their breath as they pondered the feasibility of adding a dog to their crew. It may have been the last we would see of the squirrel during the night, but it wasn’t the last we would hear about it. Throughout the game, the topic of the rogue squirrel made its way back to the broadcast.
“I wonder what happened to that squirrel out there,” Walk said about three hours later. “They had him cornered underneath the visitor’s bullpen bench.”
“You don’t wanna know,” Brown answered.
Yikes. Hopefully Clark Griswold and a hammer didn’t actually get involved.
