Apparently, the Cleveland Indians have been having a problem this year with seagulls at Progressive Field. There's been a marked increase in the numbers of birds roosting on the buildings along the river and they've discovered that the pickings at Progressive Field are pretty darn good after a game. However, being seagulls, they don't wait until the game is over to stake their claim and lately they've been hovering around the field during game time and occasionally land en masse on the outfield.
The day we arrived in Cleveland, the Indians won a close game against Kansas City in the tenth inning when a ball hit up the middle bounced and then struck a gull before the outfielder could snatch it up. Not a very auspicious way to win, but a win's a win.
Recognizing something had to be done, park personnel came up with the idea of shooting off fireworks in between each half inning. A single loud pop of a firework (above) designed to scare off the circling birds before they'd have much of a chance to alight on the field.
