Remember When Dave Winfield Killed A Seagull?

This could have easily been a "Can't Predict Baseball" kind of post because this was as likely as the time when Randy Johnson killed a bird with a pitch. On this day in 1983 Dave Winfield accidentally killed a seagull at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto while throwing a warm up pitch prior to the fifth inning. The Yankees would ultimately win the game but the celebration would be short lived as Winfield would be arrested by the Ontario police and was charged with animal cruelty.

That sure was a fowl ball that Winfield will never forget. Winfield was charged and allowed out on bail for $500. The bat boy in Toronto insisted that this was done on purpose and obviously Winfield denied purposely hurting the animal. Winfield faced up to six months in jail but thankfully for the Yankees outfielder the charges were dropped the very next day.

What would a bizarre incident like this be without a quote from the great Yankee manager Billy Martin?

"They say he hit the gull on purpose? They wouldn't say that if they'd seen the throws he'd been making all year. It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man." 

Nine years later Winfield would join the Blue Jays to complete the full circle.