Cardinals Minor League Pitcher Bitten by Bear
St. Louis Cardinals minor league pitcher Dalton Roach was bitten by a bear while hunting for deer in Eau Claire, Wisconsin this month, according to USA Today. Roach was bow hunting in the Trempealeau County Woods when a black bear climbed the tree he was perched in and bit him on his back. Roach is a pitcher for the Cardinals' Double-A team in Springfield, Missouri.
"He was just kind of moseying around. He didn't look like he was on any kind of a mission or anything," Roach told the Leader-Telegram. "But when he got to about 20 yards away, he took a left turn and came directly under my tree." Roach then said he put his phone away when he heard the noises below and realized a bear was climbing up the tree.
“By the time he was under my tree and then up behind me was 15 seconds.” 😱
— Jennifer Hoff (@JennHoffReports) October 27, 2021
A Wisconsin man hunting deer sees a bear instead.
That then climbs up to his stand and bites him in the back.
Dalton Roach recalls more of the encounter on @kare11 at 10p. pic.twitter.com/KVjiMea1PX
"The next thing I know I can hear him right behind me and feel him breathing on my back," Roach added. "Then I feel a paw on my lap. He just kind of left the paw sitting there, so it's not like I wanted to make a big move and make him squeeze. Right when I thought this might be it, I decided I wasn't going to just go out and it was better to at least try to do something to get out of this situation."
Roach then realized the bear was biting him and decided to take action. "Right when I thought this might be it, I decided I wasn't going to just go out and it was better to at least try to do something to get out of this situation," Roach said, who elected to spin to clear some space leading to him facing the bear who weighed up to 300 pounds. The Bear got out of the tree when Roach tied to make himself look as big as possible. As the bear was circling the tree, Roach called a friend and asked him to drive his truck toward the tree if he heard Roach yelling.
Dalton Roach said the bear was 250 to 300 pounds and he had to start "yelling and hollering" to get the animal to leave.
— 9NEWS Denver (@9NEWS) October 27, 2021
https://t.co/xiSypHv3NM
The bear eventually wandered off, and Roach climbed down the tree once it was out of sight. Roach then checked himself into the hospital where the staff cleaned the bite with saline, prescribed antibiotics and give him a tetanus shot along with the first injections of the rabies vaccines regimen, which he will continue for the next couple of weeks.