Haye KestelooOn Tuesday, a Major League Baseball game between the Twins and Pirates in Minneapolis was delayed for nine minutes when a DJI Mavic Pro flew over the Target Field.
Correction: a previous version of this article said Mavic 2. The drone is a Mavic Pro.
DJI Mavic Pro disrupts MLB game
On Tuesday a Major League Baseball game was disrupted for nine minutes when a drone was spotted over the Target Field. The drone incident took place at the top of the fifth inning with the Twins up 5-1 against the Pirates.
“That was really crazy. I’ve never seen that before,” Berrios told the Washington Post after the game. “In my mind, I said: ‘Really? That has to happen right now when I’m pitching?’ I just tried to keep focused.”
Pitchers in the bullpens tried to take out the drone by throwing baseballs at it, during the delay. In the meantime, umpires conferred with managers and MLB security about how to proceed. After a short while, the drone left and the game was able to continue.
“Definitely a 2020 moment right there,” Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli reportedly said.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibits drones and other ‘unmanned aircraft systems’ from flying within a radius of three nautical miles of any MLB stadium starting one hour before a game’s scheduled start and ending one hour after the game’s end. This rule also applies to NFL games, top-tier NCAA football games, and auto racing events.
“Under FAA rules, Target Field is restricted airspace during a game,” said Matt Hoy, Twins senior vice president of operations. “It was just a small drone, and hopefully just a fan wanting to take pictures, but for security reasons, MLB doesn’t allow any drones around the park.”
save your artsy drone footage of Minneapolis for after the game, please.#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/EAYUjjqv5s
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) August 4, 2020
Both the Minneapolis police and the MLB are investigating the drone incident with the DJI Mavic Pro.
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Photo credit: Star Tribune
Wiebe de Jager
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