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Guardians Rookie Johnathan Rodriguez Heroically Saves Baby Bird in Outfield

Madison Williams

Cleveland Guardians rookie outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez hands a bird to a grounds crew member.
Cleveland Guardians rookie outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez hands a bird to a grounds crew member. / Bally Sports Cleveland/Screengrab
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Cleveland Guardians rookie outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez has had an eventful first week in MLB since he was called up to the majors on Monday.

During his second MLB start on Wednesday against the New York Mets, Rodriguez became a hero in the outfield as he saved a baby bird that was laying in the grass. Rodriguez used the opportunity of pitching coach Carl Willis making a mound visit to starting pitcher Triston McKenzie to scoop up the bird and hand it off to a grounds crew member. Rodriguez safely put the bird in a towel.

When asked about why he felt the need to move the bird off the outfield, Rodriguez admitted he was afraid he'd step on him, he told Andre Knott of Bally Sports Great Lakes.

Rodriguez will surely encounter many other birds on the field during his MLB career, but maybe not all of them will get this special treatment.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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