A significant bee-related delay occurred during a Major League Baseball game at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The game was halted due to a large swarm of bees congregating on the net behind home plate, leading to concerns about player and spectator safety. The situation required the intervention of a local beekeeper, Matt Hilton, who was called in from his child's T-ball game to address the issue. The delay lasted over an hour as officials, armed with an industrial vacuum and a lift for the beekeeper, worked to safely remove the bees, which needed a 30-minute cooling off period. The game resumed after the bees were cleared, with the beekeeper receiving cheers from the crowd as he descended from the hive and even throwing the first pitch. Officials noted the game was very close to being called off due to the delay.
“We have bees landing on the net right behind home plate." “How many?" “Hundreds. No wait, thousands!” On the swarm of bees –– and knight in polyester armor –– that preceded tonight's game: https://t.co/Ol2BWW484u
VIDEO: @NickKingSports talks with the beekeeper who saved the Diamondbacks game tonight. https://t.co/2IqeWjvyhn
Matt Hilton, beekeeper and pest control company branch officer, made his big league debut on Tuesday night. On the buzz of baseball: https://t.co/Omr1GEA5DU
The beekeeper who saved Dodgers-Diamondbacks from a colony of bees got to throw out the first pitch https://t.co/e6nyyipp2f https://t.co/UYYsbRwpWV
Mike Rock, the VP of Chase Field ballpark operations, said the game was "very close" to being called off tonight because of the bee delay
He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A beekeeper 🐝 (via @Dbacks) https://t.co/aXMQtDW60u
huge night of baseball between a punch thrown in Milwaukee, a bee delay in Phoenix, and half the league no longer airing on Comcast due to carriage disputes
A bee swarm in Arizona. A cat running onto the field and into the Angels' dugout. It's been quite the night for non-humans in Major League Baseball.
The Keeper of the Bees throws out the first pitch and he crushed it! https://t.co/2cFhpzVMeE
Bee guy is living the life after saving the night in Arizona @StoolBaseball https://t.co/O3S1myaUha
A swarm of bees created quite a baseball buzzkill in the desert. https://t.co/MNDLmnUrAi
A little bonus reading for #Diamondbacks & #Dodgers fans tonight -- Bee etiquette: How to behave around our pollinating friends and avoid bee attacks https://t.co/NPSUIqwcuQ via @azcentral @Dbacks @Dodgers #bees
This is fitting: Matt Hilton, the bee removal guy, told the Dbacks broadcast he was at his kid's T-ball game when he got the call about the Chase Field bees “I thought I was here to just take care of a bee problem. But people were pretty hyped up. Pretty cool.”
The diamondbacks bee keepers job looked so easy, he basically was just a janitor
IT’S MATT THE BEE GUY #BeeDelay https://t.co/FZTYOelsWl
This bee dude has trained his entire life for this moment 👏🐝🤣 #beedelay https://t.co/OcCfSYV31M
EXCLUSIVE: @kirsten_watson from @SportsNetLA interviewed one of the worker drone bees at @ChaseField and asked him why they decided to gather at the net behind home plate. "We just heard Ohtani was in town," the worker drone replied. #BeeDelay #Dodgers #DBacks #LADvsARI https://t.co/NkC1SuaKuQ
First pitch for @Dbacks game will be 8:45 p.m. Arizona Time. That's 40 minutes from now. Bees need a 30-minute cooling off period.
“I need a hero” played while the beekeeper ended the game delay in Arizona 💀 https://t.co/Y5lwyeWVrY
Thank you bee guy https://t.co/z0YYObDqdu
Beekeeper descends from the hive to chants of MVP MVP from the @Dbacks crowd. https://t.co/18o8B8JD0c
There goes my bee-ro https://t.co/wvavp1Cqvp
Bees in Arizona are currently being taken care of🤨 https://t.co/xmQXkChEV1
Beesball tweet https://t.co/AETSwpif6x
Players have come out of the clubhouse and are in front of the dugout to watch the beekeeper work. Guarantee this guy didn't expect this while he was out to dinner earlier.
Un-bee-lievable https://t.co/dtRDBR1Gnc
who knew beekeeper would be the MLB hero. https://t.co/V6J92gn7T1
Imagine being the local beekeeper guy that gets called in for this. What a moment. Hopefully an old town legend. https://t.co/hsNuHk5LPb
One hour into the bee delay, and still no sign of a beekeeper They do have an industrial vacuum at the ready on the field though
You have got to bee kidding me https://t.co/rJvVCUP15I
Dave Roberts Bee Keeper 😂 https://t.co/XQ58WCzBh1
🐝 delay? You can't bee serious. (via @Cut4) https://t.co/3GogZGpqSt
You can see how the area has been evacuated while the @dbacks wait for the beekeeper to arrive. https://t.co/Bwh0iG0bW8
Un-bee-lievable 🐝 https://t.co/nz5Cyabn6S
MLB is halting the game until the bee nest is removed A lift is in place for when a beekeeper arrives
Is there a beekeeper in the (Chase Field) house? @Dbacks
Bee delay in Arizona. And the bees demand sacrifice. Bring out the scissor lift https://t.co/hB8MOOmQhL
Salt Lake City sending their bees to take the Diamondbacks too https://t.co/7j3IINAysM
Dave Roberts said they're trying to figure out "how long will it take a beekeeper to come to take care of the situation" and whether they could start in the meantime "If a foul ball hits the screen, what happens to the bees at that point in time?" Umps are in contact with MLB https://t.co/9SxMieu0HX
We are under Bee Delay in Arizona! https://t.co/Sgvx1xd9VC
unBEElievable... 🐝 (via @Cut4) https://t.co/mlmnivR7Rn
Not the greatest photo but here is the bee swarm on the net behind home plate at the @Dbacks game. https://t.co/j74Wxr6MGk
We are in a…bee delay? Bee for real. https://t.co/vI4J6vjQUJ
BEES https://t.co/06E6BJzFi0
Folks, we are in a bee delay
A North Carolina family is living through a nearly un-bee-lievable tale! 🐝 https://t.co/6EoNnNeV2L
Unbelievable. https://t.co/gaSuftZ3Jm