After a colony of bees delayed the start to Tuesday night’s Arizona Diamondbacks game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, beekeeper Matt Hilton of Blue Sky Pest Control swarmed to the rescue.
Hilton safety removed the bees to relocate them to a safer destination so the game could get underway, which was a relief to both teams and all the fans at Chase Field.
The way Hilton went about removing the bees from the protective netting behind home plate was absolutely fascinating and involved spraying the bees with something before sucking them into a vacuum.
Seriously, you’ve got to watch how he did this. It’s a must-watch.
To be the best, you have to best the bees. pic.twitter.com/f2huVcpS0A
— MLB (@MLB) May 1, 2024
As a really cool gesture of gratitude, the Diamondbacks let Hilton throw out the first pitch for the game. As with the bee removal, he did not disappoint.
The @Dbacks rewarded beekeeper Matt Hilton with a ceremonial first pitch!
He is pure electricity. pic.twitter.com/We6hMwOgBJ
— MLB (@MLB) May 1, 2024
Is Beekeeper Matt Hilton the first guy to get a save BEFORE the game starts? pic.twitter.com/uCRJadnsBT
— MLB (@MLB) May 1, 2024
Funny enough, Hilton said he was at his son’s tee ball game when he got the call to action.
Matt Hilton was at his son's tee ball game when he got called in to work to remove some bees.
Just hours later he was a viral sensation and threw out a ceremonial first pitch at the @Dbacks game. 😂 pic.twitter.com/uTsmL8KAt4
— MLB (@MLB) May 1, 2024
While we’re sure it was annoying for the game to be delayed by a colony of bees, Hilton proved that anybody can … bee … a hero when called upon.