A turtle stole the show at Bradenton Marauders baseball game. Here’s how it happened

Baseball has a long history involving animals.

There was the Billy Goat curse with the Chicago Cubs, which was broken in 2016.

The Cubs fell victim to the black cat jinx in 1969. And there was a bird that exploded mid-air from a Randy Johnson pitch.

Add a turtle to the mix.

On Saturday, a turtle halted play in the Bradenton Marauders tilt with the St. Lucie Mets at LECOM Park.

In the top of the second inning, the turtle went viral around minor league baseball when it roamed in the outfield at the Bradenton ballpark.

The Mets were leading 2-0 when the game stopped briefly. Three Marauders outfielders attempted to corral the turtle, but it showed off a little speed to evade them. It was probably the same speed used to defeat the hare in Aesop’s fable.

In the video posted to X, formerly Twitter, that has been seen more than 411,000 times, Marauders pitcher Magdiel Cotto became the hero when he ran from the bullpen to pick up the turtle and take it off the field through the bullpen door.

The clip also produced a new variation of the, “Is it a bird ... is it a plane ... it’s Superman,” trope. The broadcast said, “Is that a squirrel? Or a rodent? ... It’s a turtle!”

Cotto returned to the field later to record his first professional save. The Marauders are 15-18, but riding a 10-game winning streak in the Florida State League. They’re the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Watch the video below: