James Paxton was the star of the show in 2018 when the Minnesota Twins had their home opener.
That was a surprise. After all, Paxton was pitching for the Seattle Mariners at the time.
The Mariners were on the road to face the Twins at the first Target Field game of the season. As Paxton loosened up in the outfield, the national anthem began. A bald eagle flew around the stadium as it played, and the bird decided it would stop and perch on Paxton himself.
The southpaw took it like a pro, but it nevertheless was one of the more bizarre sights to see on a baseball field.
Appearing on the “Bradfo Sho” just over four years after the ordeal, Paxton told the full story from his perspective.
"It was like 29 degrees outside, and you know how the timing is all weird on these Opening Day games, so I was at the furthest part of my long toss when the national anthem played," Paxton said. "So I was the lone man standing in left field, standing out there for the anthem, and I see they’re going to let the eagle go.
"So I’m thinking, oh this is cool. He takes off and starts going right for me. I’m (thinking) no, he’s going to do a circle then go back (to his handler) standing on the mound. He gets closer and closer to me and he starts coming down, and I’m like ‘Alright, what do I do here? Do I run away from the eagle?’ So I looked at it, it just kind of comes at me and swoops in front of me, I back up so he doesn’t hit me and he lands right in front of me.
"And then I lock eyes with this eagle and I'm like oh boy, here we go. And the next thing I know, all I see is feathers coming at me, so I duck and he lands on my back. And at that point I’m like, oh he’s just trying to land on me, he thinks I’m his guy. So I’m like alright, I’m going to slowly try to stand up to see if he’ll rest on my shoulder. So I stood up, and I think because my adrenaline was going faster than I thought and he started falling off my back. And that was the scariest part, he was kind of grabbing at me and flapping and stuff and kind of biting my shoulder to stay on my shoulder. And then he fell off and the eagle guy was high-beaming out to me just saying 'are you OK, are you OK?' I was like 'yeah man, I’m fine.' Then I kept going with my long toss and it was hilarious because all anyone wanted to ask me about was the eagle, but it was like I had to pitch, right?”
The Mariners ended up losing that game 4-2, with Paxton getting a no-decision after allowing two runs on four hits over five innings. He went on to have one of the better seasons of his career in 2018, so there apparently wasn’t any bad luck that came from the situation.
Now, Paxton is a member of the Boston Red Sox and recovering from Tommy John surgery. Thus far in his time with Boston, there have been no eagle incidents.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram