You haven’t truly lived until you’ve seen a group of approximately 20 adult groundskeepers chase a squirrel through the outfield of a Major League Baseball game.
Part of the beauty of baseball is that over the course of 162 regular season games, you never know what you are going to encounter on a random night out at the ballpark. For fans in Detroit in attendance as the Tigers welcomed the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night, that was a performance from a small squirrel that would have made Barry Sanders proud.
Where did the squirrel come from? That we can’t quite be sure. But as for the reason why it stuck around Comerica Park, the reason is obvious. Orioles third base coach Buck Britton was tossing seeds in its direction. And if there’s one rule when it comes to wildlife, it’s that you don’t feed them unless you want them to become permanent guests at your place of residence.
A squirrel got on the field at Comerica Park and Orioles third base coach Buck Britton made sure it had some snacks for the game. 😂 pic.twitter.com/I0VBTQlaT2
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) July 28, 2026
Eventually, the Tigers groundscrew decided that it probably wasn’t the best idea to have a squirrel just chilling in the stadium while two teams were trying to play a Major League game. What resulted was one of the most comical scenes in the history of sports. If you think that’s a bit of an oversell, watch and observe. This might single-handedly bring back the tradition of sports bloopers.
The squirrel is breaking ankles out there 😭 https://t.co/VHSj8H0MbB pic.twitter.com/dkE6jld78m
— MLB (@MLB) July 28, 2026
On the local call in Detroit, Jason Benetti channeled the legendary Kevin Harlan like he was calling a streaker at the Super Bowl.
“The chase for the squirrel is on. And the squirrel is in the corner and the squirrel is still eluding an entire horde of groundscrew members. And the squirrel is free once again. Hemmed in? No, I won’t be hemmed in! I have freedom on my mind! Trying to go between the legs and eventually he gets away again! And hops through the towel! And hops through another towel,” Benetti said in excitement.
Eventually, the squirrel was captured as you could hear audible boos from the Detroit crowd.
The squirrel is in custody pic.twitter.com/gIX1GGlGMC
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) July 28, 2026
On the Baltimore broadcast, Kevin Brown and Ben McDonald were in uproarious laughter as they couldn’t control themselves when umpire Bill Miller thanked the Tigers groundscrew for capturing the pesky varmit and got booed for the announcement.
Kevin Brown and Ben McDonald with the call of the night! 🤣🤣🤣
I am legit crying 😭✌🏻
Bill Miller the crew chief and umpire of this game congratulating the grounds crew on catching the squirrel and he got booed 💀#Birdland pic.twitter.com/YFqQskFgq6
— y – HiMyNameIsJC 🫡 (@HiMyNameIsJC_) July 28, 2026
Can you give a Sports Emmy on the basis on calling a squirrel roaming the outfield? If not, then we definitely need our own wildlife category for next year’s awards.
About Matt Yoder