The Orioles were cruising past the Yankees late in the game when chaos broke out—courtesy of an unexpected visitor. In the bottom of the eighth, just as Aaron Judge settled in at the plate, a kitten showed up near the left field line. At first, nobody noticed: not the ump, not the players, not even the pitcher. But a cop did, and he alerted head groundskeeper Danny Cunningham. Still, the game kept moving for another pitch or two before attention fully shifted to the scared, confused cat darting along the warning track.
The kitten, completely out of place, made laps near the outfield fence while everyone just watched. No one from the grounds crew moved in for several minutes, prompting players like Joey Gallo to suggest a timeout. Fans were recording, amused and concerned at once. Eventually, the grounds crew half-heartedly corralled the kitten, but they came unprepared—no gloves, no net, not even a towel. The cat maneuvered past everybody, faked one direction, then turned and sprinted into open space, dodging multiple failed grab attempts like a running back breaking tackles. The crowd was torn between cheering for the kitten’s escape and wondering why the Yankees didn’t have a better plan for dealing with field invasions from small animals.
It was a mess. A guy with a ponytail and gloves finally showed up, years too late, as the cat made its escape toward freedom. Everyone laughed, some felt bad for the kitten, and the Yankees looked unprepared. The Orioles kept their lead, but the Bronx cat stole the inning.