The New York Mets opened things up with an 11-7 Opening Day win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the Mets' offense exploded in the win, there was another incident that took place in the outfield, as one bird died after a collision with another bird. Carson Benge detailed everything he heard in a postgame interview with SNY.
"I heard a thud, I looked over and it was just down. Down for the count."
Carson Benge talks about the dead bird in right field pic.twitter.com/GYCsO4q4ms
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 26, 2026
The bird dying at Citi Field was a first for the stadium. While there may have been incidents in the past at other fields, there isn't a strong case for documentation. The most famous example of a bird dying on a baseball field came in Spring Training in 2001 when Randy Johnson threw a pitch that killed a flying bird. Additionally, in 1983, Dave Winfield accidentally killed a seagull while making a warm-up throw before the New York Yankees faced the Toronto Blue Jays.
The bird dying was not a bad omen for the Mets as they dominated the Pirates on Opening Day. Benge joined the Mets' history books with a home run in his team debut. While Benge did his part, he also got plenty of other support from teammates, as the Mets rallied from a 2-0 first-inning deficit to capitalize on some mistakes by the Pirates. The Mets forced Paul Skenes out of the game after a five-run first inning.
New York has seen its share of cats and birds on the field over the years. While this one did not prove to be bad luck, it was also something of an oddity on a day where everything went right for the Mets. They will continue their three-game series with the Pirates on Saturday.
