Quick: What’s the most American scenario you can think up?
If you said, “bald eagle lands on MLB pitcher’s shoulder during National Anthem,” you’re in luck! That very thing happened to Seattle Mariners starting pitcher James Paxton during a home opener against the Minnesota Twins.
Even better? Paxton is Canadian.
Home Openers
As every red-blooded baseball fan knows, home opener games are always chock full of pregame pomp and circumstance, so it’s no surprise that the Mariners had a bald eagle on hand to majestically fly around the field during the National Anthem.
However, pitcher Paxton got quite the surprise when said bald eagle decided his shoulder was a better resting spot than the ground.
Much to Paxton’s credit, he kept his cool as the eagle attempted to roost on him. That’s probably more than most people could say. Did you see the talons on that bird? They’re called “raptors” for a reason.
The Eagle Has Landed
Here’s slo-mo footage of the attempted landing. As you can see, the eagle even dug into Paxton’s jersey in an attempt to gain a foothold, but that polyester fabric was just too slick.
When you make a spelling mistake on twitter pic.twitter.com/8Uty8uEDNN
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 5, 2018
However, while Paxton impressively managed to keep his composure in the moment, the eagle might have rattled him just a tad. He pitched five innings with four hits, one walk, and two earned runs.
While that was a respectable outing, the Mariners ultimately went on to lose the game 4-2. Then again, while a loss is never what any team wants, it’s probably a good thing Paxton didn’t knock his performance out of the park, so to speak.
As superstitious as baseball is, he probably would have had to have an eagle land on his shoulder prior to the start of every game.
Nevertheless, this will certainly be something Mariners and baseball fans alike remember for a long time.
Source: Yahoo! Sports
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