Pigeon invading Citi Field drew on-broadcast discussion

There have often been some unusual situations with animals on broadcasts, whether those animals were brought in as a stunt or showed up on their own. The latest case of that came on Peacock’s MLB Sunday Leadoff this week, with a pigeon showing up on the Citi Field infield during the Los Angeles Angels-New York Mets game, being chased off by the grounds crew, and then returning to foul territory:

https://twitter.com/NBCSports/status/1695864786410414181

Announcers Brendan Burke, Mark Gubicza, and Todd Zeile had some funny comments there, from “They were booed vociferously” to “He’s waiting for his opportunity.” And this is only the latest case of an animal on a broadcast, with other recent ones including the pademelon on Fox’s FIFA Women’s World Cup set, a spider on a TV camera at Wimbledon, and further incidents with a possum in the press box at the Oakland Coliseum. A pigeon on the field is probably preferable to one previous animal-involved incident at Citi Field, though, the 2019 case of a bat invading the press box.

The Mets won this game 3-2 thanks to a bottom-of-the-ninth rally. That saw Francisco Alvarez reach base after being hit by a pitch, D.J. Stewart single, Mark Vientos walk, and then Rafael Ortega single in winning run Tim Locastro (who pinch-ran for Alvarez).

THE METS WIN WITH A WALK-OFF on #MLBSundayLeadoff! pic.twitter.com/dql05o7xCq

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) August 27, 2023

The pigeon was not credited in the box score. But it did produce a memorable moment of its own.

[NBC Sports on Twitter]