Swarm In, Swarm Out

On Thursday, July 2, at the top of the ninth inning in a game between the Padres and Houston Astros, bees were seen buzzing around in the outfield.

“The left fielder [Kyle Blanks] started waving his hands around and then Tejada [the batter] pointed towards the outfield and everyone just saw a bunch of bees,” recounted a Padres fan.

The mid-afternoon game drew 23,284 people, a much larger figure compared to the 16,670 and 15,276 that attended the previous two nights of the four-game series.

Yet, a large number of fans were driven out of the stadium prematurely. People sitting near the left-field area and around the foul pole were evacuated.

“They were getting their butts kicked anyway,” said a Padres fan who had to leave the game early. The large crowd and stadium workers leaving the stadium made it seem like the game had already ended.

“They’re just waiting for an exterminator,” said a Padres staff member.

Before the game resumed after 52 minutes on hold, a beekeeper sprayed down the bees who were swarming around a chair and a ballgirl’s jacket.

The Padres went on to lose to the Astros 7-2.