"This is going to be the curse of the goose for Dodgers. It will be talked about for years to come" - MLB fans point towards goose's removal from Dodger Stadium as the newest MLB curse

Did the Los Angeles Dodgers just put a curse upon themselves? That's certainly what the majority of MLB fans think after witnessing an interesting occurrence in Game 2 of the NLDS between Los Angeles and San Diego.

During the eighth inning of the aforementioned game at Dodger Stadium, with the home squad trailing 5-3 against the San Diego Padres, a goose landed on the field in between plays.

Just a few moments later, three groundkeepers ran to the field with a towel and a trash bin. One groundkeeper placed a towel on the goose and then proceeded to kind of harshly throw it in the bin. The other two then carried the bin off the field. The move drew jeers and boos from the crowd.

What was supposed to be an ordinary incident of wildlife interrupting and leaving a sporting event was made into a spectacle and a harsh ending due to human intervention. With sports comes superstition, and with numerous hexes and curses throughout the league's history, this is what MLB fans on Twitter pointed out during the incident and have now called it the "Curse of the Goose."

It certainly makes for interesting folklore just in case the "curse" runs its course through the pages of history. Since the goose's being thrown out of Dodger Stadium, the Dodger has failed to win a game against the San Diego Padres in consecutive games for just the third time in two years.

Most infamous MLB animal-related curse

Perhaps the most infamous animal-related curse in MLB history is the Curse of the Billy Goat. This was supposedly casted on the Chicago Cubs by William Sianis, the owner of Billy Goat Tavern.

At the height of the excitement during Game 4 of the 1945 World Series between the Cubs and the Detroit Tigers, Sianis was watching the game at Wrigley Field with his pet goat named Murphy. The antelope allegedly bothered spectators in the stands and both the pet and its owner Sianis were escorted out of the stadium.

There were various editions and stories about what the tavern owner originally said, but the gist of it was the claim that "the Cubs ain't gonna win no more."

The Cubs eventually fell to the Tigers in seven games and had to wait until the 2016 season (108 years from their last title and 71 years since the curse) to touch the World Series trophy again.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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